CalSpeedJune2018

Pole - Chris Huerta T he 2018 CalSpeed Super Series would begin the second half of it’s season on the same track it started on back in January, as the drivers would be hosted by the ‘Super Speedway’ itself, Nuovo. While warm temps had been the norm of late, everyone would be welcomed to a perfect day of racing with a good breeze while not going above 80 degrees all day. With all save two drivers in the top twenty in attendance, it was sure to be a big day in the points, even though anything and everything has happened before on the fastest of the CalSpeed layouts… 2018 has seen a single driver really step out as the driver to beat in qualifying, regularly clocking top times, averaging a 7.3 starting position so far this season. That driver is Chris Huerta, and he amazingly put up his third pole of the year this past Saturday, topping the charts by .017 over Alyssa Yauney. It was Yauney’s second time scoring qualifying bonus points in 2018, and the top two were joined by Sportsman standout Sam Hunt in the top three for the first time. Perhaps it is just something about Nuovo, but for just the second time this season a driver was able to sweep their heat races, this time the honor going to Adam Nagao. The rest of the wins would be spread out amongst four drivers that are showing an affinity for heat race wins, including TJ Blackledge, Alyssa Yauney, Alexander Bermudez, and the series leader in heat race wins, Sean Fite with his fifth. The front row nod for the A-Main would go to the #2 qualifier -Yauney- however, coupling her win with a second in the first heat, while the reigning Super Series champ Patrick Britain and the aforementioned Sean Fite rounded out row two. The first main of the day would start out as a battle royal, but eventually wind down to a mano-e-mano fight at the end that would come down right to the final corner, and then some. Frank Hsu would lead the field away, but it would be Sicheng Li coming across the line first at the end of lap one. Unfortunately for Li, his time at the front would be short via a drive-through penalty, with Ayrton Demoss inheriting the top spot in the process. He would have Hsu and Edison Noboa in tow at the time, but the two more experienced drivers would make their way by with three to go and create a gap to make it a one-on- one fight at the end. Hsu would cross the line first, but would go back behind Noboa because of too much contact in the Long Beach corner. Like the C-Main before it, the B-Main would also see a two driver fight for the win, but this time well out in front of the battling main pack behind them. Relegated to the 2nd Main after contact in his second heat race, Jose da Silva was determined to get back into the A-Main to salvage as many points as possible, but he would have to fend off advances from IronMan front runners from that morning, Ariel Rubio and Mark Sternberg. Unfortunately for Rubio, a mechanical issue would take him out of the running, but Sternberg would keep the pressure on all the way to the end. Again, experience would play the advantage A Main Podium B-Main Winner Jose da Silva C-Main Winner Edison Noboa Round 6 June 16