Saturday Results Recap
Pitt Race has settled on this beautiful Saturday evening, the two (yes, two!) and four wheeled motor vehicles have cooled, and the venue's competitors are relaxing to a successful day of racing. Pitt Race not only managed the SCCA’s last-of-2016 Match Tour smoothly, but also hosted a weekend of motorcycle road racing! It definitely made for an interesting ambient amidst the usual cone-smacking, tire-screeching autocross event.
The 2016 Heavy Metal Showdown started Friday afternoon with a few class changes. After an initial driver change in A-Street, Classic American Muscle Sport suddenly found itself with five drivers in class and an upcoming weekend of intense competition among CAM-S (read: AS) cars. John Laughlin went into the afternoon runs with a target on his back, he was sitting in first with a three-tenths lead over Larry Casey. The afternoon runs flip the story as Casey crossed the finish on his final run with a 48.4, seven tenths faster than Laughlin, and enough to make up his morning difference and seal the win in CAM-S.
In STX, the morning runs displayed a battle between Matt Jones and Kyle Herbst, two drivers very familiar with each-others cars and driving abilities. Jones laid down an early lead over Herbst, only for the standings to switch after the second runs. On Herbst’s third run, he extended his lead to six tenths with a 49-flat. Afternoon runs in STX had a similar outcome, he further extended his lead and took the win, making the rest of us want to know what he put in his coffee this morning.
C Street Prepared showed another tight battle for trophy spots. The morning runs shuffled positions throughout with too many drivers nicking cones with their front splitters. Joseph Brennan nabbed an early lead and held it for his second run at a 47.3 but Danny Kao cleaned up his drive up on his final run and grabbed a 47.1 in his '99 NB named Oscar. During the afternoon runs, Kao was able to retain his morning lead, ultimately claiming the win. His co-driver, Mike Kline took the second trophy and Brennan's co-driver snuck through and landed with the third place trophy in CSP by thirty-one thousandths. Brennan finished fourth, an excellent fight by all drivers.
Lastly, in Super Street R, the battle for first and the battle for third took stage. Sam Strano took a morning lead over Matthew Braun, who only crossed the finish clean on his third run, this was after knocking seven cones across his first two runs. He sat about a tenth back from Strano after that savior third run. As the afternoon rolled around, the battle continued. Strano held onto his lead with a 46.5 on his second run, right up until the last shot at the course, where Braun finished with a 46.2, enough to make up loss time from the morning runs and take the victory in SSR. The battle for third was close as well, Michael Figlioli lead Dan Ireland going into the afternoon session. Ireland took third away from Figlioli after the first afternoon run, but Figlioli regained his lead on his second run, and sealed the bronze finish on his third. Ireland had the faster run in the afternoon, but did not make up the difference from the morning's bout and will take home the fourth trophy.
The fun was had by all throughout the event and many smiles were shared among drivers and spectators. Pitt Race's hospitality nearly made the journey to Wampum worth it alone, with well-kept facilities right on sight next to paddock, and an air-conditioned awards dinner in their event center. We are looking forward to Sunday’s qualifying runs and challenge brackets between drivers, so stay tuned for the Sunday recap of the 2016 Tire Rack Heavy Metal Showdown Match Tour!
