2018CalSpeedMagazineNov

Series title, and with just 14 points across the trio, every position, and every lap led could make the difference… Dmitry Korotkov would lead the field into the esses for the first time, himself earning a spot on the grid late in the going when another driver had to back out. And while lap one may have belonged to him, it was Tom Zevin taking over by lap two; although even his time at the front would be short-lived. The rest of the pack was closing in; a hungry group of drivers hoping to get to the front and stay there, each looking to bring home the Silver Flag trophy on the top step. First Anthony Severson took a shot at it; but was immediately dispatched by the #4 guy in the point standings, Chris Huerta; but even he didn’t last long. While Severson and Huerta had come up from sixth and seventh on the grid respectively, the wave from even further back was coming with a lot of momentum, led by Jose Da Silva. Having come up from 11th on the grid, da Silva brought with him each of the title contenders, and while he did lead a few laps when he reached the sharp end, even he was not safe from attack. The overall point leader took over the top spot before the twenty-minute mark, and would be the first driver to maintain a hold over it as well. Leading with da Silva in tow, he would also carry Sean Fite, former leaders Severson and Huerta, as well as fellow title rival Alyssa Yauney in the lead grouping. Pit stops would shake things up, pushing both Severson and Huerta back to 4th and 5th respectively, and after Da Silva was dropped from the lead pack due to serving a penalty for a pit stop infraction, it would be the top three in the standings fighting for the top three spots in the race. With Hays out front -and subsequently secure in the overall championship- the focus began to turn to the Summer Series as the laps clicked off. Yauney would be the first to blink, hitting pit road for the first time shortly after the ten-minute board went up, and actually made her second stop just two laps later. Bother of her rivals elected to go back-to-back in their pit stop strategy, with Hays coming in first, and Fite finishing things off for the lead trio. Hays and Yauney were nearly matched in their stop times, each eclipsing Fite by about three-quarters of a second; the deficit shown as the latter exited the pits for the final time. Starting the final lap, it was Hays-Yauney-Fite; the trio all with one last chance to make something happen. However, as the final lap progressed, and the leaders started up the hill from her Tecnico section, a slight advantage of Hays over Yauney acted as a bit of a safety net, and for Fite, an opening to try one last shot at the second spot. Heading into the bypass corner for the final time, Fite surged in along side, and was able to steal away the second spot, making it Hays-Fite-Yauney at the line. But not only did he steal the second spot, he crucially swung the points by 10, and in his favor. When the points were finally tallied, it would indeed be Taylor Hays winning his second IronMan Series overall championship, with Alyssa Yauney holding on for second and Sean Fite, third. But in the Summer Series it would be Fite and Hays tied for the lead, and Yauney 1-point back; with Fite winning on the tie breaker. That pass for 2nd by Fite, would turn into the pass for the Summer Series Championship…