2020CalSpeedMagazineFebruary

R ound #2 in the CalSpeed Super Series took to the Grande CCW course this past weekend, and drivers were treated to perfect conditions, and with it, a track record pace. In the end, the track record set at this event last year by Paulo Franca would hold up, but along with the fast times came some great racing and plenty of contenders for the race win… Qualifying for the second round would see a pair of South American wheelmen at the sharp end, with Colombian ace Andres Prieto scoring the overall pole position, while Brazilian Paulo Franca backed up his top time from round one with a P2 in qualy. Up and coming Masters driver Max DeMoss Sr scored the final bonus point with a third overall, and would roll out first for his heat race as well. While all three of the top qualifiers would score heat race wins, it was Prieto backing it with a second place in his second heat race. Making it a Colombian lock-out of the A-Main front row, round #1 winner Diego Morales matched Prieto with a win and a second, while DeMoss would line up 3rd, joined by reigning champ Sean Fite to make up row two. Joining the four aforementioned heat wins would be Chris Huerta, and a break out win by Jacob Reis; that duo would make up row three in the A-Main. As usual, the C-Main would kick off the final three races of the day, and as we often see, a driver atypical of the C-Main would take command. Grand Masters standout Jeff Latimer would line up P1 to start the 12 lap feature, with Jacob Sainz and Sheng Wu following him to finish lap one. By lap three, however, it was Wu out front of the other two, and he never looked back. While Sheng Wu would go on to a dominant win and transfer to the B-Main, the driver on the move was Max Demoss Jr, working up from the 8th spot in an effort to bounce back from an incident in his heat races. He would eventually catch and dispatch the aforementioned Latimer and Sainz, with the latter finding his way around the Grand Masters to complete the top 3. The B-Main is often a place where we see drivers looking to sneak into the A-Main after an incident in the heats, and this round was no different. Grand Masters point leader Tony Wika would lead the field into Short Beach for the first time, but would immediately come under pressure from Ariel Rubio, hoping to rebound after an incident at the start of his second heat. Rubio would get to the lead, but just after halfway would be attacked himself, as first Wika and then Evan Lawrence made moves for the front. Lawrence would eventually take over and fight to Round 2 - Feb 8 A Main Podium B-Main Winner Evan Lawrence C-Main Winner Sheng Wu