2019CalSpeedMagazineJuly

R ound 7 of the Sprint Series would be the second in a row of special courses. This time, the battle was set against Nuotivo, a variation of Nuovo minus Carousel but with the addition of the Monaco hairpin. Combined with the 3-digit temperatures for the weekend, the upcoming race was going to be a blistering one. The results for this race would make an interesting change in the Summer Subchampionship standings… Over the course of qualifying, track temperatures began to soar. Group 3, of course, saw the best times, with all top drivers in the points getting into the 1:02 mark. The guy to make it to the top this time around was Max DeMoss with his first pole position at a 1:02.352. At the beginning of heat 1B, it would be three Michaels sitting in the top 3, Mike Gonzales, Michael Hazlewood, and Michael Floerchinger. This would change quickly as Gonzales would be under fire from Hazlewood through the first couple of laps. Ayrton DeMoss also took to an attack, making way to steal 3rd from Floerchinger by the halfway mark. With this new 3-pack together, they would cross the checkered finish with Hazlewood scoring the top points followed by Gonzales and DeMoss. As we proceed through the second half of the season, the who’s who in Sprint have made themselves known. This time around, the A-Main began with Michael Hazlewood taking to an excellent start at the green flag and it was Chase Nickells (second overall) and Tyler Redman (first overall) on the attack just behind him. Nickells and Redman exchanged positions early on and would keep to a tight pack but wouldn’t get away from the buzzing field behind. This would leave Hazlewood with an increasing lead with each passing lap. Having crept up from midpack, Ayrton DeMoss had made an impressive charge for the frontrunners. Nickells had passed Redman to retake P2– and DeMoss too would make his way through Redman for third. Meanwhile, Hazlewood would walk away easily but DeMoss’ actions towards the end left no room on exit for Redman, thus resulting in Hazlewood, Nickells, and Redman wrapping up the podium for Sprint Series Round 7 after penalties delivered. A Main Podium B-Main Winner Evan Lawrence C-Main Winner Moises Lizama Round 7 - July 13