CalSpeedMagFeb2018

Pole - Charles Eichlin A s he did in this event last year, Charles Eichlin would bring home the pole position on Tecnico, his second on the layout and third of his career. Making his first start of the season, three-time Super Series champ Jon Kimbrell kicked off what should be a full 2018 campaign with a second overall -missing pole by just .077, while TJ Blackledge put in a very strong qualy performance to snag third. The first set of heat races would be a bit more ‘rough and tumble’ than usual in the mid pack, while the back of the pack seemed to struggle a bit with the Tecnico hairpin. At the front it was a mix of series who’s who sprinkled with some fresh faces, with Taylor Hays, Jon Kimbrell and up and coming driver Jetson Lieser scoring the heat one wins. As we saw in round one, the ten driver invert has really shaken things up, and on the twisty confines of Tecnico, things were even more challenging for drivers to work their way up. In fact, Sam Hunt would actually go unchallenged in heat 2a, the infighting behind him maintaining the cushion all race long; while Alexander Bermudez Battled from fourth to win heat 2b, with Henry Morse doing the same in heat 2c. The C-Main would see Michael Collins follow in the footsteps of Bermudez and Morse, working up from the 4th starting position to earn the lead, and pull out to a convincing win. Collins looked to be putting in some of his best driving ever, and it continued with his transfer to the B-Main, working up to 18th before the checkers fell. Unlike the C-Main, the battle for the B-Main win was a stout one, with Ben Morse trying to hold off Mark Sternberg for the final A-Main transfer. Morse had taken over the lead from Michael Floerchinger early on, but was hounded by Sternberg every lap after, passing and repassing with Mark taking over the top spot for good with a couple laps to go. Jeremy Aldridge made things interesting in the end as well, working up from 8th to cross the line 3rd, the trio separating by .677 at the line. The affect the 10 driver invert makes on the A-Main starting grid really showed in round #2, as TJ Blackledge would earn the first spot on the grid with a pair of second’s in his heat races, a place typically reserved for heat race winners. Drivers that did get a heat win would start 2-4, with Ariel Rubio lining up 5th on the grid via a 3rd and a 4th in his heats. Regardless of where anyone starts on Tecnico, getting through the first few corners of the Esses A Main Podium B-Main Winner Mark Sternberg C-Main Winner Michael Collins Round 2 FEB. 10