2020CalSpeedMagazineFebruary

D rivers took to the Grande CCW configuration for the first time this year for Round 2 of the 2020 Sprint Series season. Many drivers, including some under the spotlight last year, were making their first start for the season, having missed out on Round 1. Things would be quite interesting… Coming up the ranks this round, we’d see a number of drivers making their first showing in the top 5 of qualifying. On top of that mountain, however, would be driver favorite Donnie Clarke with the pole position. Unlike the other heats, heat 1C saw changes in the front pack right from the start. Dark Horse teammates James Lieser and Evan Lawrence took to attacking leader Tony Wika early on. Lieser would eventually steal it away while Lawrence sat at the ready in P3. Once Lawrence jumped to P2, Ivan Martinez would too follow suit and take over 3rd on the last lap to round out the final heat results. There was already a lot of excitement going into the A-Main as speculation developed over the dominant players for the 2020 season. As the race unfolded, the top group would end up changing dramatically. Both Evan Lawrence and Diego Alvarado kept the pressure on each other as well as leaders Orlov in P1 and Swaim P2. With halfway to go, Lawrence managed to gain the upper hand to take the lead but quite a bit of pushing and shoving led to some penalties getting handed out on course just behind him. The fight for P2 became an even rougher one, and Alvarado would soon begin picking off driver after driver. John Rice too kept his teeth sunk into Alvarado’s bumper, and the two would finally break into P2 and P3. Lawrence had a great lead by this point, and his win would be a solid one for this second installment of the 2020 Sprint Series. A Main Podium B-Main Winner Max DeMoss IV C-Main Winner Vincent Reynaud Round 2 - Jan 25