Drivers took to the Grande CCW configuration for the first time this year for Round 2 of the 2020 Sprint Series season. Many drivers, including some under the spotlight last year, were making their first start for the year, having missed out on Round 1. Things would be quite interesting…
Qualifying
Coming up the ranks this round, we’d see a number of drivers making their first showing in the top 5 of qualifying. On top of that mountain, however, would be driver favorite Donnie Clarke with the pole position.
Qualifying Top 5
| 1) | Donnie Clarke | 1:11.406 |
| 2) | Kyle Odermatt | 1:11.664 |
| 3) | Jacob Reis | 1:11.675 |
| 4) | Chris Millar | 1:11.763 |
| 5) | Vladimir Orlov | 1:11.901 |
Heat 1A
The aforementioned Clarke started on pole for heat 1A and would be immediately be met with a challenge from Ronnie Swaim Jr. and John Rice. Clarke kept the lead for half the race, but would then be dispatched by the pair and subjected to further attack by Diego Alvarado. The entire front pack would continue shuffling until the white flag with Rice in the lead. During the final lap, Swaim went in for a move and would be able to grab the win ahead of Rice and Alvarado.
Heat 1A Results
| 1) | Ronnie Swaim Jr |
| 2) | John Rice |
| 3) | Diego Alvarado |
| 4) | Donnie Clarke |
| 5) | Chris Millar |
Heat 1B
We mentioned Vladimir Orlov in the event preview and he certainly did not disappoint. He started heat 1B on pole and staved off attacks constantly from a whole slew of drivers behind. The fight for P2 was between Tommy Haake, Matt Steele, and Kiron Chakraborty. The checkered saw a solid win from Orlov and he would be followed by Chakraborty and Haake to round out the top 3.
Heat 1B Results
| 1) | Vladimir Olrov |
| 2) | Kiron Chakraborty |
| 3) | Tommy Haake |
| 4) | Matt Steele |
| 5) | Chris Fox |
Heat 1C
Unlike the other heats, heat 1C saw changes in the front pack right from the start. Dark Horse teammates James Lieser and Evan Lawrence took to attacking leader Tony Wika early on. Lieser would eventually steal it away while Lawrence sat at the ready in P3. Once Lawrence jumped to P2, Ivan Martinez would too follow suit and take over 3rd on the last lap to round out the final heat results.
Heat 1C Results
| 1) | James Lieser |
| 2) | Evan Lawrence |
| 3) | Ivan Martinez |
| 4) | Tony Wika |
| 5) | Michael Martin |
C-Main
In the C-Main, a mix of green drivers and a few with experience saw a tight front pack for the whole race. Although Abel Diaz was able to hold on to the lead for the majority of the race, the last lap was a dicey one. Contact under passing meant that the driver crossing the checkered first did not score the win, so after the dust settled, it would be Vincent Reynaud with the official win ahead of Steven Xu and Diaz.
C-Main Results
| 1) | Vincent Reynaud |
| 2) | Steven Xu |
| 3) | Abel Diaz |
| 4) | Jack Bakken |
| 5) | Trevor Volin |
B-Main
The dominant player in the B-Main didn’t show himself until about halfway through when Max DeMoss IV started making up spots from about a 4th place start. He fought for the lead with Chris Lovell with only a few laps to go and would have to go to the white flag for a dramatic pass for the win. It would be a black and checkered finish– DeMoss IV had the win in front of Steven Gould and Stephen Greene.
B-Main Results
| 1) | Max DeMoss IV |
| 2) | Steven Gould |
| 3) | Stephen Greene |
| 4) | Carl Zhu |
| 5) | Denis Shakhovskii |
A-Main
There was already a lot of excitement going into the A-Main as speculation developed over the dominant players for the 2020 season. As the race unfolded, the top group would end up changing dramatically. Both Evan Lawrence and Diego Alvarado kept the pressure on each other as well as leaders Orlov in P1 and Swaim P2. With halfway to go, Lawrence managed to gain the upper hand to take the lead but quite a bit of pushing and shoving led to some penalties getting handed out on course just behind him. The fight for P2 became an even rougher one, and Alvarado would soon begin picking off driver after driver. John Rice too kept his teeth sunk into Alvarado’s bumper, and the two would finally break into P2 and P3. Lawrence had a great lead by this point, and his win would be a solid one for this second installment of the 2020 Sprint Series.
A-Main Results
| 1) | Evan Lawrence |
| 2) | Diego Alvarado |
| 3) | John Rice |
| 4) | Kyle Odermatt |
| 5) | Tommy Haake |
| 6) | Chris Millar |
| 7) | Ivan Martinez |
| 8) | Matt Steele |
| 9) | Frank Hsu |
| 10) | Kiron Chakraborty |
Sprint Series 2020 Current Points Standings
| 1) | Ayrton DeMoss [2R] | 300 |
| 2) | Evan Lawrence | 295 |
| 3) | Diego Alvarado | 290 |
| 4) | Tommy Haake | 285 |
| 5) | John Rice | 285 |
| 6) | Vladimir Orlov | 285 |
| 7) | Matt Steele | 267 |
| 8) | Devins Baker | 265 |
| 9) | Ivan Martinez | 262 |
| 10) | Kiron Chakraborty | 261 |
CalSpeed is permanently closed
See the latest images and videos from CalSpeed Karting events