CalSpeedSept2018

the top 10 would see a glimpse of possibly obtaining pole position but ultimately, Sam Hunt would earn the honors with a 53.787, 2/10ths ahead of Nathaniel Small who had achieved one of his best quali times to date. Heat 1B saw a lot of action in the first lap as the hairpin looked like Grand Central station on a Monday morning commute. Diego Alvarado took advantage of the busy drivers and came out to the lead early on from his P4 start. Sicheng Li, meanwhile relegated a few spots back, went for a clean inside pass for P2 at the Bypass, successfully getting by. The pair gapped the field, leaving behind a messy battle for third. Having put on a solid run earlier in the day during Round 3, James Suggs was set to make huge inroads once again and this time, his success came in the form of a jump from starting 9th to wrapping up the race in 3rd behind Alvarado and Li. This time around, we were perhaps beginning to see the quiet brewing behind the helmets for the final race of the day. After the green flag was raised, drivers Hunt, Mark Sternberg, and Alvarado set off making clean laps around the joint while figuring out the timing to execute their plans. It was near silent for the first half the race… a couple gasps here and there but the top 3 would be unchanged. That is, until only a few laps remained and Alvarado opted for an inside move at the Bypass, putting him in excellent position down the straightaway and on through the Esses to pass both Sternberg and Hunt to capture the lead. With this advantage now in hand, he approached the white flag with even more mettle. With the final corners approaching, it just so happened that Hunt’s momentum through turn 4 looked near-perfect to possibly take back the lead from Alvarado, but it wasn’t meant to be. As the dust settled, Alvarado would take the top step over Hunt and Sternberg for Sprint Series Round 7. With Sprint Series Round 9 and the Double-Header behind us, we now enter the final race of the season. Such a special type of day begs anticipating that the points would receive a bit of an upset—that said, after a solid performance during both rounds, the Summer Sub-championship now belongs to Sam Hunt with the door effectively closed even before the final round. Winning both of his heats on Saturday, the main in Round 3, and scoring P2 in Round 7– all of these are very winning results. And what does this mean now for Overall Championship and rival Spencer Russell, who previous to race-day was leader in points? Quite a lot. He now sits behind Hunt by a slim 25 points. Meanwhile, the fight for that final piece of hardware now rests on the shoulders of Evan Karp, Randy McKee, and Mark Sternberg. Karp’s podium in Round 7 no doubt allowed him to move from 4th to now 3rd in points for the season. Add to that, the three of them are only separated by a range of 34 points. Round 10 will all be about cutting teeth… A Main Podium B-Main Winner Ivan Martinez C-Main Winner Tommy Haake