McCoy Scores Emotional Win in Sprint Series R4

Both the temperatures and energy were high this past weekend as drivers finally returned to Sprint Series Round 4 after the lockdown-induced hiatus. Many drivers had not seen the track for quite some time and it would be quite the story once the checkered flew for the final event of the day…

Qualifying

Drivers might have been a bit rusty from the Covid closure from the past few months, but it was not going to be so for the likes of Vladimir Orlov. He’d score pole for the day as the only driver to get into the sub-1:03 range with this 1:02.927. We can’t say that a little bit of practice the day before didn’t help out either.

Qualifying Top 5

1)	Vladimir Orlov	1:02.927
2)	Tony Wika	1:03.007
3)	Matthew McCoy	1:03.073
4)	James Lieser	1:03.164
5)	Diego Alvarado	1:03.312

Heat 1A

The fight for the win went back and forth between drivers Donnie Clarke and James Lieser. While the pair dueled constantly, both Vladimir Orlov and Michael Collins maintained close quarters in hopes for the win. By the end, Clarke would score the win ahead of Lieser. Collins jumped several spots to finish 3rd after an unfortunate DQ at scales for Vlad.

Heat 1A Results

1)	Donnie Clarke
2)	James Lieser
3)	Michael Collins
4)	Mike Carlson
5)	Devins Baker

Heat 1B

Heat 1B began with Ivan Martinez taking the fight to the top against Diego Alvarado on pole. Alvarado’s grip on the lead would not waver, and meanwhile, Matt Steele– after starting P5– continued making inroads toward the front. The action would happen with 2 laps to go when Martinez made the pass for the lead, ultimately with the win ahead of both Alvarado and Steele for heat 1B.

Heat 1B Results

1)	Ivan Martinez
2)	Diego Alvarado
3)	Matt Steele
4)	Michael Chen
5)	Tony Wika

Heat 1C

From the getgo of heat 1C, it would be pretty clear that Matthew McCoy would keep a solid grip on the lead for the entirety of the race. John Rice, though not quite bumper to bumper, stayed close behind and away from the rest of the field. Heather Perrin led the brunt of the big pack, and after a stellar drive forward of 7 positions, made it up to 3rd to wrap it up behind McCoy’s uncontested P1 finish and Rice’s P2.

Heat 1C Results

1)	Matthew McCoy
2)	John Rice
3)	Heather Perrin
4)	Matthew Justmann
5)	Quinn Allen-Riley

C-Main

Ernesto Sanchez started 1st in the C-Main and things would look like easy street for him for the whole race. Meanwhile, the guys who would wrap up the podium behind him were dispatching driver after driver to catch up: that would be both Vlad Orlov bouncing back from beyond midpack, after being a hair light at the scales in his heat and new name Glen Daignault from a P7 start. At checkered, Sanchez would finish first just ahead of Orlov and Daignault.

C-Main Results

1)	Ernesto Sanchez
2)	Vladimir Orlov
3)	Glen Daignault
4)	Ethan Chen
5)	Jafar Albaqir

B-Main

In the B-Main, we’d see Nate Small leading the charge for pretty much the entire run. Tons of infighting ensued behind him, so his breathing room would extend as the race wore on. One amongst those names was Ayden Vaillancour. With only a few laps to go, Joey Andrews from several positions on back, would put on a good drive ahead to steal seats away from Vaillancour. In the end, Small cruised to the win just ahead of Andrews 2nd and Vaillancour 3rd.

B-Main Results

1)	Nathaniel Small
2)	Joey Andrews
3)	Ayden Vaillancour
4)	Chris Fox
5)	Brett Lopinsky

A-Main

Starting on pole for the final main of the day, Matthew McCoy made clear his command of the field ahead of fellow Full Throttle Racing teammate Ivan Martinez at the green flag. Just behind them were the likes of Diego Alvarado and Matt Steele, both of which posing a threat as well as contenders for the 2020 season. After the first lap, things started to calm down a bit in the front and the top pack of McCoy, Martinez, Alvarado and Steele, kept things nice and clean. Near the end, some shuffling in the group led to a cluster of drivers nearly side by side out of the final corner– at the checkered flag, however, McCoy would manage to stave off any attacks and go on to achieve his first ever W in Sprint Series Round 4!

A-Main Results

1)	Matthew McCoy
2)	Diego Alvarado
3)	Matt Steele
4)	Ivan Martinez
5)	John Rice
6)	Tony Wika
7)	Michael Martin
8)	Donnie Clarke
9)	Mike Carlson
10)	Matthew Justmann

Sprint Series 2020 Current Points Standings

1)	Diego Alvarado	865	(244)
2)	Ivan Martinez	847	(227)
3)	Matt Steele	822	(254)
4)	Tony Wika	794	(208)
5)	John Rice	792	(186)
6)	Michael Martin	783	(0)
7)	Donnie Clarke	781	(227)
8)	Tommy Haake	766	(197)
9)	Chris Millar	757	(0)
10)	Ronnie Swaim Jr	751	(0)