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RTound 7 - Sept 26
he month of September brings with it the second-to-last event in the 2020 Super Series championship, and for some, the opportunity to wrap up the championship
a round early. And like it has for the last several iterations, Classico CCW is the track of choice for the month. Ran for the second time this year, it also opened up the season, and for many it was the perfect bookend to their quests for hardware...
Qualifying would see the usual suspects at the sharp end once again, all led by the same driver who got it done at this track in January: Paulo Franca. It was two poles in a row on the Classico CCW layout, and he would be joined in the bonus points by fellow qualifying aces Andres Prieto and Michael Hazlewood. When the heat races commenced there be an even spread of heat wins, with no driver going for the double; Franca and Prieto would back up their qualifying prowess with a win in the first set of heats, with Sprint Series standout Donnie Clarke scoring his first career heat win in heat 1C. The second set of heats would see three of the hardware contenders claim the top spot, with Sam Hunt, Sean Fite and point leader Diego Morales bringing home top honors. With his accompanying 3rd in heat one, Morales would start off-pole in the A-Main, but the nod would go to Paulo Franca for pole positon with a win and a 2nd...
The first main of the day would see Dmitry Korotkov lead things off for the C-Main, chased out of the start boxes by young Ethan Chen, newcomer Matt Rojana, and Grandmasters standout Joe Sabella. The driver on the move however would come from just outside the top 5, as Chase Nickells looked to rebound from being light at the scales after his first heat. Nickells wasted no time, snagging a couple of spots on lap one, then slotting into 2nd on lap two. The move for the lead came on the fourth circuit, and he never looked back, pulling out to a 5+ second lead before the checkers. Dmitry would be forced to settle for second after a spirited battle with Sabella, who unfortunately would end up light at the scales, promoting Matt Rojana to third.
Jeremy Aldridge would lead the field away for the B-Main, but would immediately come under fire from Sheng Wu, who dispatched the pole sitter before finishing lap number one. Wu would be the one at the front for the next 7 laps, staving off pressure from Matt Steele, before eventually coming under fire from Evan Lawrence. Having moved up from the seventh starting position, Lawrence methodically picked off his fellow competitors on his way to the top, taking over at the point with about five laps to go. The aforementioned Wu and Steele could not be shook however, and the trio stayed together and pulled away from the rest of the pack, making it a three way fight for the win. When the checkers did fly, it was Evan Lawrence
A Main Podium
B-Main Evan Lawrence
C-Main Chase Nickells