Fite Goes Perfect in Sprint Series Round 1

The sophomore season for the CalSpeed Sprint Series kicked off this past Saturday, and with it, a new group of drivers looking to score their first CalSpeed championship. The 56 drivers in attendance would take to the Sportivo track the the first and only time this season, with six total [2R] drivers in the field, ticking off one of their two allowed events in 2016. It would be these [2R] entrants that would dominate the day, but several of the fulltime drivers also found their way to the sharp end…

It may be no surprise to regulars of the series that Sean Fite scored pole position, but that wasn’t a regular occurrence during his championship run, and he was all smiles with the effort. His primary rival from 2015 clocked the second fastest time, while Ashley Arnott brought things home 3rd overall, and highest of the full time drivers.

1. Sean Fite [2R]… 58.783
2. Ariel Rubio [2R]… 58.828
3. Ashley Arnott… 58.850
4. Don Diego Veloria… 58.939
5. Alex Bermudez… 58.979

Things would be a pretty close affair in heat race 1, as Fite would holding off fellow [2R] driver Riley Dugan for the top spot, with full-time runner Alex Bermudez bringing things home right on their bumper in third.

1. Sean Fite [2R]
2. Riley Dugan [2R]
3. Alex Bermudez
4. Ashley Arnott
5. Patrick OKeefe

While the first heat saw the top three right with each other, heat two saw the front five cross the line nose-to-tail, with another pair of [2R] drivers at the helm. Nick Marascio held off the aforementioned Rubio for the top spot, while a trio of full-time drivers came along for the ride.

1. Nick Marascio [2R]
2. Ariel Rubio [2R]
3. Duane Lawson
4. Don Diego Veloria
5. Kelly Bastian

While the heat races were close affairs, the fight for the lone transfer spot into the A-Main was a blowout, as Steve Frame led from the drop of the green, and ran out to a comfortable 3+ second lead. Behind him was plenty of fighting for the title of ‘best of the rest’, with newcomer Brandon Trostle taking home that honor.

1. Steve Frame
2. Brandon Trostle
3. Mike Gort
4. John Rice
5. Mike Skinner

[Sean Fite Win Shot] The start of the first Sprint Series A-Main of the season would be a wild one, as early contact towards the front of the field would start a chain reaction that would collect several drivers. A muliti-car accident is a rare occurrence in the series, but this time several drivers would catch the worse end including Patrick OKeefe, Luis Calderon, and Duane Lawson who all got turned around. Out front however it was all the reigning Champ, as the Sean Fite led Nick Marascio and Ariel Rubio away from the infighting that took place behind. Marascio would take a few looks, but would never get the pass to stick, and the trio would finish in that order for the first podium of the season. Behind them, Ashley Arnott would push her way to the forth position, finishing highest among the full time drivers, and with it, secured the effective point lead after round one.

1. Sean Fite [2R]
2. Nick Marascio [2R]
3. Ariel Rubio [2R]
4. Ashley Arnott
5. Dennis Kimbrell [2R]
6. Alex Bermudez
7. Riley Dugan [2R]
8. Don Diego Veloria
9. Diego Alvarado
10. Duane Lawson