Page 9 - CalSpeedAugust2020

RRound 6 - Aug 30
ound #6 for the 2020 IronMan Series would see all of the championship contenders right at the sharp end at one point or another, and in the end it was one of the hardware standouts
that would claim win #2 on the season.
Leading the field away for the start on the Grande layout would be Max DeMoss, who himself was looking for a rebound event after poor luck one round prior. The lead he started with and the lead he would fight for, holding onto it for the opening trio of circuits before Celso Pierre took his turn on lap four. Lap 5 saw DeMoss looking to retake the top spot, but contact in turn #2 between the former leaders saw reigning IronMan champ Paulo Franca claim the top spot. From there it was the Paulo Franca show at the front, holding on to the top spot with fellow South American Andres Prieto in tow, the pair coming up from P8 and P11 respectively at the start.
While the negotiations for the lead took place in the opening laps, other drivers elected to head into the pits to stay out of the fray, with two proving to have the right strategy. Ducking down pit lane from 12th on lap 3, round #1 winner Chris Huerta would be joined one lap later by T4 stablemate Michael Hazlewood, and the duo would stay linked up for almost 50 minutes. This was even more important given the race was on Grande, the longest track on the calendar, and one where the draft can mean a lot in lap time. Still, with the early pit, they would run under the radar for much of the race, not emerging as the ones to beat until the very end.
Back out front, there was differing pit strategies amongst the leaders, and a lot of that could be because of lapped traffic. While Franca and Prieto made good time at the front, the duo would get busted up by an overzealous lapped driver, and in turn it would be Prieto switching to pit lane to try and find a new partner on lap 21. Franca would stay out however, and the duo wouldn’t see each other again, with the advantage going to Prieto for 3rd.
Instead the real strategy winners would be the aforementioned Huerta and Hazlewood, the pair each emerging as the ones to beat -and with a healthy margin- when all stops were done, and the white flag waived. Well clear of third, it was a mano-e-mano duel for the win, and when Huerta went defensive and stayed there, it was the perfect opportunity for Hazlewood to kick out wide, and score the over-under pass in Long Beach for his second win of the season.
With a solid 6th place finish and once again able to lead one lap, Sean Fite holds onto the championship lead by just 3 points, with Michael Hazlewood moving up into 2nd via his second win on the season.