CalSpeed Super Series 2022 Round #9 Preview

(Its been a hectic few days at CalSpeed, and unfortunately time has not permitted a video preview; instead here is the written take on what we could expect for Super Series Round #9 tomorrow…)

Its the penultimate round in the 2022 CaLSpeed Super Series championship, and this weekend it rolls through the Classico Counter Clockwise circuit, and we have all the major players in attendance. The standings are oh so close in nearly every category, and after coming off the biggest race of the regular season last month, the hype is still strong in how this championship will turn out.

Speaking of, last months top two at the Classico Grand Prix were a pair of one-off entrants, as Evan Karp secured what has turned out to be the final Classico GP win, with former GP winner Charles Eichlin in second by just .064 seconds at the line. Joining them to snag the last of the special Classico trophies was Chase Nickells, a driver who has certainly stepped things up over the summer…

Overall Championship…

Leading all drivers however is the reigning champ Sam Hunt, who enters this weekend with a 43 point lead, and a chance to clinch his second Super Series title, and become just the third multi-time series champ in history. He’ll need to widen that gap by 14 more markers to do it, but we are on the track where he had a drop event earlier at round #4, although he did win here in the spring race in 2021…

His closest rival will be hoping for more of the former than the latter, as P2 man Ayrton Demoss looks to keep his hopes alive into October. Classico CCW is a solid place for the challenger too, having score his second career win here in 2020, followed by a 6th and 7th in 2021, and a runner up spot at the spring race earlier in April. For third place man Donnie Clarke, he’ll not only need a big event, but he’ll need a bit of misfortune top befall the top two to carry this thing into round #10, as the 68 points to the lead, and 25 to Demoss means plenty of work to do. Clarke was also on the podium in the spring however, so don’t count him out just yet..Perennial front runner Bill Kreig sits 4th in the championship and at over 100 out of first, his focus will certainly be on holding onto a silver cup via the top 5 podium versus trying to go get a title. Now his drop round is actually on this track from round #4, but that finish is the anomaly when you look at the other 6 races he’s run, including two 3rds, four 4ths, and a 6th. And that drop round? It was still a top 10. That is for sure a solid season thus far, and he’ll be hoping that the near 40 points he has on fifth place Sean Fite is enough to exit this weekend still in position for a silver cup, bolstered by the 62 over P6 man Jose da Silva, and 64 over Diego Morales in 7th. The top seven are really the ones that look like are in the conversation for the top 5 hardware, with the latter two possible having a different battle on their priority list…

Masters Championship…

At just 2 point separating the Masters contenders and two events to go, a clinch is not in the conversation here. Jose da Silva has taken over the point lead late this season after it was held by reigning champ Diego Morales nearly all season, and it truly a battle of titans. Morales is going for the three-peat and 4th total masters title, while da Silva is looking to make it 3 total and add to his 2017 and 2019 victories. The fact that the pair are also in the overall conversation just adds to their talent level as Masters drivers, setting the bar extremely high for the category for several years. Right there with them is Doug Yauney, who has improved leaps and bounds the last couple of season, and sits just 100 astern with two events to play. At over 100 over the rest of the category, its looking like all that needs to be sorted in the top three is what the order will be when we give out the cups…

Grand Masters Championship…

After a huge turn of events at the GP, Sheng Wu sees himself leading the Grand Masters category heading into the penultimate event of the season, and with a 50+ point lead to boot. Chris Carter is the primary challenge to his title shot, but only a tick over 40 more points back is the pair of Vince Azua and reigning cham John Rice. Carter was the most recent top points finisher at the GP, followed by Wu and then Azua, although Each of the quartet has had their own time in the sun so far this season. With just under 100 points and big point swings seen between all four, it is anyone’s guess how things will turn out. The last time we were on this track it was Wu, Azua, Rice: all separated by less than 15 points…

Sportsman Championship

The Sportsman category is the one that has the best chance of being wrapped up one round early, as breakout talent Emerson Thieman carries a near 200 point advantage over fellow up and coming talent, Frank Chen. With a drop of 291, Emo needs to just hold a 129 point lead to bring home the tile early, but the reigning SE title winner in the Sprint Series Chen won’t be making it easy. Chen has raised eyebrows plenty of times over the past couple of seasons, and has show he is one to watch here in his first Super Series season. Along with him, series veteran Jeremy Aldridge has continued his consistent season at the sharp end, constantly keeping the pressure on in the class, and sits just 19 points back. The trio look very good to maintain a hardware spot by the end of the year, with the battle for second looking like the big question mark with two events to play…

Team Championship…

What once looked to be a one or two horse battle has now clearly become a three-way fight for the return of the Team Championship, with Octane Motorsports holding the advantage heading into round #9. That advantage measures 65 over second place team Chandler Motorsports, while “3 for Dale” has been stellar the past two events to go from over 200 back to within 6 of Chandler coming into tomorrow. A clinch early is not in the conversation here, and with the way the drops look, it will be all about how consistent each member can be here in the final two events. The growth in the lineups has been huge, and the work they have been putting in is evident, now will be the time to set the stage for the finale, and to seal the deal on this winner take all Team Championship!

The stage has been set for the SOLD OUT penultimate round of the 2022 Super Series championship; will title wrap up early, or will we all see it come down to the final race in October?