Is it race day yet!?!?…
Round #2 seems like it was forever ago, as the postponement of round #3 created a long nine week break in the action, much to the disdain of the 120+ Super Series drivers in Saturday’s field. Now with perfect weather on the horizon, the Super Series circus will return to CalSpeed this weekend, taking to the Grande Clockwise layout for the first time this season.
In the lull between rounds, the CalSpeed IronMan Series filled the void, hosting some very exciting racing, and a pair of first time winners in Jose da Silva, and most recently, Super Series rookie, Mark Connell. With IronMan races, Sport Kart Clinics, and plenty of coaching happening between rounds 2 and 4 of this series, it will be interesting to see just how the pecking order will be shifted after the Mains conclude on Saturday…
New Contact Rules: What’s Different?
The key difference between the old and the new is how the contact will be called when passes take place. Drivers will be required to ‘hold their lane’ throughout the corner when side by side with another driver, and crossing over into the others lane could be cause for a penalty. This goes not only for the overtaking driver, but also the one being passed, as prior races have seen contact happen from both sides.
The main point is that drivers need to make sure that if there is side to side contact during a pass, it is done while they are in ‘their lane’, whether that be outside or inside. This, coupled with the ‘giving room’ program pushed most recently during the Clinics, and the racing lanes should be more defined, and hopefully, the racing will be a bit ‘cleaner’.
Additionally, drivers that are 100% shoving another driver, even if to the stripe for the finish, could be subject to a penalty. Sustained contact like this, while sometimes brief, is very much intentional, and is against the rules. Drivers will need to make attempts to mitigate this, as the “everyone gets a warning” will not apply.
RD’ Spotlight: Rusty, or Ready?
Given the fact that the majority of the field has been out of the seat for over two months, the practice heading into round #4 has been busier than ever. More practice sessions, clinic entries, and another sold out IronMan lead into this weekend, and it is no secret that several drivers (A-Main types included) have also penned this Friday afternoon as a prime time to come out and get some laps in.
It is not lost on series veterans that being out of the seat for an extended period of time can hurt your game, and that many of the newcomers to the championship have been putting extra time as of late. In fact, nearly the entire top ten, and better than half of the top 25 have made it out for some practice since the last round, with many of the absentees expected to make an appearance during Friday’s impromptu scrimmage.
Heading into the morning warm-ups on Saturday, each driver will have to ask themselves, “Am I Rusty, or am I Ready?”
The Points Championship: 2 down, 10 to go. It’s still just the beginning..
With no change since the last preview, instead of looking at each individual class, I instead chose to expand each individual points standing, giving a little broader picture of the season thus far.
The standings are set by pints after throw out, and even though there are actually two throw outs on the year (and only one deducted), this still gives a little bit better idea of where people sit. Additionally, each drivers total points are shown in the parentheses, so one can see who has been a little hot/cold, and who has been a bit more consistent over the first two rounds.
For instance, Britain has put in two solid rounds, and therefore has a decent sized advantage in the total points department. That said, it would be assumed that this trend will not continue for 12 straight rounds, and he will have at least an equally off round to those just below him in the standings. And by ‘off’, I still mean ‘pretty damn good’. Most of the top 10 have both rounds above the 340+ mark, which is a good point round by any count. Plus, given the depth that we have seen so far, averaging 370+ points over the course of the season is very unlikely this year, something that has been done by a couple of drivers the past two seasons.
Needless to say, we are only two rounds into a twelve round championship, and given the comebacks and swings we have seen in years past, no one is safe, and no one is out of the hunt by any means…
Overall Top 25 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | Patrick Britain | 400 | (800) |
| 2 | Jon Kimbrell | -5 | (739) |
| 3 | Taylor Hays | -10 | (733) |
| 4 | Sergio Bravo | -25 | (730) |
| 5 | Kirk Feldkamp | -25 | (720) |
| 6 | Rene Hourian | -25 | (653) |
| 7 | Darren Mercer | -29 | (734) |
| 8 | Jonathan Vitolo | -35 | (709) |
| 9 | David Kelmenson | -35 | (636) |
| 10 | Alex Herndon | -49 | (351) |
| 11 | Bill Kreig | -50 | (699) |
| 12 | Bruce Allen | -55 | (608) |
| 13 | Ben Blank | -68 | (617) |
| 14 | Jerott King | -69 | (573) |
| 15 | Ian Enz | -71 | (592) |
| 16 | Aaron Scott | -74 | (638) |
| 17 | Justin Tolman | -79 | (510) |
| 18 | Adam Nagao | -81 | (614) |
| 19 | Cameron Rose | -82 | (624) |
| 20 | Jose da Silva | -82 | (593) |
| 21 | Charles Eichlin | -85 | (607) |
| 22 | Brad Packard | -89 | (617) |
| 23 | Andrew Lemons | -92 | (431) |
| 24 | Aaron Downs | -96 | (536) |
| 25 | Chris Huerta | -99 | (602) |
Masters Top 10 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | Sergio Bravo | 375 | (730) |
| 2 | David Kelmenson | -10 | (636) |
| 3 | Ben Blank | -43 | (617) |
| 4 | Jose da Silva | -57 | (593) |
| 5 | Steve Spring | -87 | (534) |
| 6 | Chris Carter | -95 | (535) |
| 7 | Vince Burke | -126 | (459) |
| 8 | Mark Connell | -152 | (429) |
| 9 | Alfredo Anguiano | -176 | (201) |
| 10 | Tom Zevin | -192 | (330) |
Grand Masters Top 10 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | Brian Starr | 291 | (525) |
| 2 | Jeff Latimer | -14 | (546) |
| 3 | Dennis Kimbrell | -43 | (474) |
| 4 | Peter Kusdillion | -65 | (373) |
| 5 | Steve Hansen | -69 | (222) |
| 6 | Joe Sabella | -96 | (306) |
| 7 | Scott Swayzee | -102 | (349) |
| 8 | Hugh Robertson | -103 | (336) |
| 9 | Stephen Greene | -119 | (285) |
| 10 | Steve Frame | -147 | (267) |
Rookie Top 10 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | Wes Dent | 297 | (518) |
| 2 | Roman Alekseenkov | -43 | (501) |
| 3 | Ashley Arnott | -73 | (445) |
| 4 | Mark Connell | -74 | (429) |
| 5 | Jin Bai | -77 | (288) |
| 6 | Danny Downey | -84 | (380) |
| 7 | Jeffrey Merrill | -84 | (359) |
| 8 | Alfredo Anguiano | -96 | (201) |
| 9 | Riley Dugan | -97 | (339) |
| 10 | Joe Sabella | -102 | (306) |
Heavy Class Top 5 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | Steve Jasinski | 162 | (308) |
| 2 | Greg Reinhardt | -44 | (175) |
| 3 | Mike Collins | -46 | (195) |
| 4 | Mike Arnold | -47 | (115) |
| 5 | Max Hilleret | -59 | (195) |
Team Championship Top 5 After Throw Outs (Total Points)
| 1 | T4 Eagle | 921 | (1576) |
| 2 | T4 Onyx | -25 | (1675) |
| 3 | Arkham 3 | -37 | (1660) |
| 4 | Random Manufacturing 1 | -38 | (1552) |
| 5 | T4 Hesketh | -47 | (1604) |
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