CalSpeedMagMay2018

Pole - Jose da Silva G rande would be the stage for the fifth round in the 2018 CalSpeed Super Series, heading in the standard direction after heading counter-clockwise the month before. A few different names would grab the spotlight to kick things off, with Jose da Silva securing his first career pole position by just .046 seconds over both Henry Morse in 2nd and Adam Nagao in third, the pair actually tying in time to the thousandth of a second. Like qualifying, very little separated the drivers in the heat races, with the victories spread out across six different drivers, shared between usual suspects and a couple new ones. Sean Fite added to his 2018 heat win total by grabbing his fourth on the year, while Jose da Silva made the most of his pole position with his second heat race win of the season. For the other four heat race winners it would be their first of the year, with 2017 Super Series champ Patrick Britain heading the list that also included Bill Kreig, Diego Morales, and Steve Spring. Like we have seen all season though, it is consistency that gets you to the front of the A-Main grid, and it would be Kreig and Morales on the front row, followed by Britain and Fite; the quartet putting up a third to go with their wins. Round #5’s pair of preliminary mains carried on the quota of excitement seen throughout the year, with tough fights in both the C and B-Mains. In the C-Main it was Sportsman class title contender Dmitry Korotkov leading the field away at the green, with Grand Masters title contender Jeff Latimer, and Nathan Hood (making his first start of the year) giving chase. Hood would take over the top spot by lap four, and while Korotkov and Latimer kept the pressure on all race, it was Hood that held on for his first main win, while Jeff nipped Dmitry at the line for second. In the B-Main it was Ariel Rubio lining up first, with another Sportsman standout Scott Milne in second and fellow Sprint Series alumni Don Diego Veloria in third. The pressure would come from these two primarily, with Milne actually taking over the lead on lap four for a one lap stint before Rubio took it right back. Unfortunately for Milne, his time at the front would get cut short by contact by another driver, and it was Veloria that took up the mantle of challenger to the end. Making the move on lap 9, clocking smooth laps out front, Veloria was able to hold on for the win, with Rubio staving off attacks on his runner up position all the way to the checkers. While a bit more hectic than we have seen this year, the double-file rolling start was still a clean one for the A-Main field of drivers, with the outside row once again having a bit of a run at the start. This saw Diego Morales move up from his second starting spot to snag the lead after lap one, with fellow outside row starter Sean Fite taking care of lap two from 4th. Pole sitter A Main Podium B-Main Winner Don Diego Veloria C-Main Winner Nathan Hood Round 5 May 26