The Winter Subchampionship set the tone for Sprint Series R5 with several hopefuls looking to take home the title. With beautiful Socal weather on the drivers’ sides, the race would prove to be a boon for one driver in particular, as he scored not only his first podium, but would also make that appearance on the highest step…
Practice/Quali
Tecnico earns its name as one of the most technical configurations here at CalSpeed, thus providing a playing ground for drivers to have to figure things out fast. The man who would make it happen in qualifying was none other than overall points leader Tyler Redman.
Quali Results
| 1) | Tyler Redman | 1:02.322 |
| 2) | Evan Lawrence | 1:02.658 |
| 3) | Seth Willits | 1:02.658 |
| 4) | Adrian Jones | 1:02.700 |
| 5) | Sheng Wu | 1:02.755 |
Heat 1A
Redman pretty clearly asserted dominance at the green flag for the first heat of the day, leaving kart lengths between himself and the rest of the field. All would remain quiet for the top 4 for most of the race until Ayrton Demoss decided to shake things up with a couple laps to go. Meanwhile Vladimir Orlov still had plans to pull off a final attack at the white flag, ultimately knabbing third for the finish behind Demoss second and Redman first.
Heat 1A Results
| 1) | Tyler Redman |
| 2) | Ayrton Demoss |
| 3) | Vladimir Orlov |
| 4) | Adrian Jones |
| 5) | Mike Gonzales |
Heat 1B
Heat 1B leader Evan Lawrence met challenges from the likes of Sheng Wu and Max Demoss within the first few laps, the three of them jostling for position in lap 2. Wu had earned the lead for a moment but Lawrence wasn’t having it– he’d steal it right back after a lap and successfully close the door from any further attacks. Demoss would also make his way through, scoring second behind Lawrence for heat 1B.
Heat 1B Results
| 1) | Evan Lawrence |
| 2) | Max Demoss |
| 3) | Sheng Wu |
| 4) | Ivan Martinez |
| 5) | Michael Floerchinger |
Heat 1C
The start of heat 1C saw Chase Nickells immediately taking possession of the top seat but he would have Seth Willits to contend with. Both teamed up and kept in line for the whole of the race as the battle behind raged on. Nickells and Willits would cross the checkered in respective order and Tony Wika would score third post-race after penalties were delved out to other drivers.
Heat 1C Results
| 1) | Chase Nickells |
| 2) | Seth Willits |
| 3) | Tony Wika |
| 4) | Donnie Clarke |
| 5) | Devins Baker |
C-Main
The C-Main did not begin its usual trend with one getaway driver on pole but instead saw tussling between leader John Barry and P2 starter Mike Carlson. With the latter in the lead, Barry then became subject to attack from driver Ferdie Ang in P3. As Carlson scored the win, post-race weight penalties relegated the #26 P2 finisher to last, allowing Ang and Barry to jump into 2nd and 3rd respectively.
C-Main Results
| 1) | Mike Carlson |
| 2) | Ferdie Ang |
| 3) | John Barry |
| 4) | Pedro de la Hoya |
| 5) | Scott Head |
B-Main
Driver order immediately shook up during the first few laps of the B-Main with the front row getting swallowed by James Lieser and Jacob Abrams. As the top two took to dueling for the win, one of the most successful charges all day came from the likes of Randy McKee who had originally started smack-dab in the middle of the 30-driver field. By the checkered, Abrams would score the transfer to the win, Lieser 2nd, and McKee having moved up all the way to 3rd place.
B-Main Results
| 1) | Jacob Abrams |
| 2) | James Lieser |
| 3) | Randy McKee |
| 4) | Zachary Francavilla |
| 5) | Juan Ricart |
A-Main
The A-Main proved to be a fun one to watch. Eyes were on Redman, overall points leader and nearly-in-the-bag Winter Subchamp, and there was podium hopeful Nickells just a hair’s length behind. After only a lap, both Nickells and Willits had inched ever closer to Redman’s bumper, the group of three separating from the pack. After another lap, Nickells now had the lead– Redman was right behind though, leaving absolutely zero breathing room for his rival. Each lap had to be perfect and with the pressure on high, the top two began moving away from Willits who was comfortably in third. At the white flag, it would seem there was no chance for Redman– the checkered finally came and it would be Nickells with his first career win in the Sprint Series.
Officially, the first half of the Sprint Series is now behind us, and with that, Tyler Redman crowned winner of the Sprint Series Winter Subchampionship. Despite being points leader, he still has yet to actually get the big W but has stood on the second step for 3 consecutive races up until this point. Nickells, having now risen up the rankings to be 2nd overall, is scheduled to miss exactly 2 rounds in the last half of the season, so perfection weighs heavily on his mind. He has only 10 points over Ronnie Swaim Jr in 3rd and that’s a gap that can be easily closed. We begin anew with the Summer Subchampionship in June and we’re left with a big question mark on what will become of the Overall championship…
A-Main Top 10 Results
| 1) | Chase Nickells |
| 2) | Tyler Redman |
| 3) | Seth Willits |
| 4) | Evan Lawrence |
| 5) | Ayrton Demoss |
| 6) | Max Demoss |
| 7) | Sheng Wu |
| 8) | Adrian Jones |
| 9) | Tony Wika |
| 10) | Diego Alvarado |
Sprint 2019 Winter Subchamp Final Standings
| 1) | Tyler Redman | 1138 | (195) |
| 2) | Chase Nickells | 1117 | (249) |
| 3) | Seth Willits | 1085 | (242) |
| 4) | Ronnie Swaim Jr | 1085 | (189) |
| 5) | Pietro Moro | 1038 | (194) |
Sprint 2019 Overall Current Standings (With Best Drop)
| 1) | Tyler Redman | 885 | (253) |
| 2) | Chase Nickells | 865 | (252) |
| 3) | Ronnie Swaim Jr | 855 | (230) |
| 4) | Seth Willits | 835 | (250) |
| 5) | Pietro Moro | 833 | (205) |
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