The Classico Grand Prix has been heralded as the crown jewel event on the CalSpeed Super Series calendar for many years, harkening back to the original layout, and first laps ever turned at the Fontana, CA Facility. Making the 11th race on the Classico circuit even more special, this past weekend marked the 100th Super Series in CalSpeed’s history. Coined the “Classico Grand Prix Weekend”, two days of racing over Saturday and Sunday would see drivers take to the track in six different events, with Saturday’s schedule capped off by CalSpeed’s first-ever ‘All-Star Race’. There was plenty of hype around the event, with one of the most talented fields ever assembled, and the racing on track would not disappoint…
The format for this ‘test of the best’ would be a mix of both race strategy and craft, with 21 drivers battling a new track configuration, as well as each other over 25 laps. Throw in a pit stop and the need to take the special ‘joker lap’, and there was action a-plenty…
Former Super Series Rookie Of The Year and Sprint Series champ TJ Blackledge would lead the field away at the start, with none other than the current reigning Super Series champ Alyssa Yauney alongside. Unfortunately, Blackledge forgot to turn the autopilot off and would start to take the wrong course in the opening complex, heading back on course at the last second, making for a very chaotic opening set of corners. Coming out ahead of the whole schlimazel would be former Classico GP winner and Super Series champ, Miles Calvin, crossing the line first at the end of lap one. Calvin would hold on to that spot until nearly the halfway point, giving up the lead to former Classico winner KC Cook when he took his joker lap on lap 12. Cook would only spend one lap at the front, however, as the 3-time Super Series champ Jon Kimbrell would steal it away, staying there for the next 5 laps until he took the joker lap himself.
This promoted Calvin back to the top spot, as the aforementioned Cook had fallen down the order after doing both his joker and his required pit stop. Calvin would give the lead right back up to Kimbrell a lap later however when he did his own pit stop, with Kimbrell following suit after just one more lap around. This would hand the lead back over to Yauney, who had yet to make her required joker lap or pit stop, and with only about five laps to go. But she wasn’t the only one that still had some strategic moves to take care of, and one by one, drivers peeled off the normal line, leaving Miles Calvin ahead of the pack once again as the field took the white. Behind Calvin’s healthy lead, the duo of Kimbrell and Cook battled for the final two spots on the podium, with the latter coming out on top at the line by just .183 seconds.
It was a fun, and exciting way to end the first day of the Classico GP weekend, and the start of what is sure to be a staple for the event in the future…
2019 All-Star Race Top 10
- Miles Calvin
- KC Cook
- Jon Kimbrell
- Diego Morales
- Mike Smith
- Adam Nagao
- Chris Huerta
- Darren Mercer
- Alyssa Yauney
- Patrick Britain
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