Category: Season 17

Newcomer Carl Kube led the field to the green flag with Breuning alongside him. Kube took the lead and right off the bat Breuning was charging. On lap 5 he got alongside far enough on the back stretch to make it stick and snatched the lead. Kube touched the rear end of Breuning, causing Smithem who was following closely in 3rd, to run into him. Smithem had to get his car fixed and started working on an impressive comeback, only to lose 2nd on the last lap when he brushed the wall. Meanwhile, Breuning pitted early to get his rear wing fixed, but managed to run consistent enough to regain the lead after everyone else pitted. Kubes day went from bad to worse and unfortunately, he ended his race prematurely. Rafel Rodrigues benefited from Smithem’s last lap mistake and grabbed 2nd, Smithem held on to 3rd. Larry Eaglen was 4th and Ian Wilson rounded out the top 5.

Driver	Finish	Start	Fastest	Incidents	Points
Marcellus Breuning	1	2	1:20.917	4	21
Rafael Rodrigues5	2	8	1:21.397	0	16
Bill Smithem	3	3	1:21.261	8	14
Larry Eaglen	4	5	1:21.567	0	12
Ian Wilson2	5	6	1:22.146	0	10
Donald Warren2	6	4	1:21.875	14	8
Matt Ortscheid	7	9	1:23.795	4	6
Phil Peterson	8	7	1:21.606	14	5
Carl Kube	9	1	1:21.302	12	5
Andrew Forrester2	10	10	1:24.945	7	3
Jeremy Binion	11	11	1439:59.1000	0	0

It was Marc Breuning that took the field to the green flag and he battle up front until Jack Wilson lost his machine on turn one and collected him; Wilson’s damages were less extensive and he remained on the lead lap after pitting, but Breuning needed a tow and went 2 laps down. Several others fell victim to the tight turn 1-2 on this ‘paperclip’ track; Rodrigues, found a strong and surprising oponent in Matt Ortscheid and had his hands full in the last few green laps, but a late yellow prevented the fight from going all the way to the checkered. Rafael took the cup followed by Ortscheid, Ian Wilson, Jack Wilson and Marc Breuning who still was 5th but 2 laps down.

Driver	Finish	Start	Fastest	Incidents	Points
Rafael Rodrigues5	1	5	0:27.899	4	21
Matt Ortscheid	2	3	0:27.857	0	16
Ian Wilson2	3	4	0:27.875	8	14
Jack Wilson21	4	11	0:27.575	12	12
Marcellus Breuning	5	1	0:27.866	4	11
Larry Eaglen	6	7	0:27.774	11	8
Andrew Forrester2	7	9	0:27.720	2	6
Phil Peterson	8	8	0:27.948	16	5
Bill Smithem	9	10	0:27.982	7	4
Chris C Brown	10	6	0:28.88	8	3
Donald Warren2	11	2	0:28.214	0	2

It was pole sitter Bill Smithem leading the field to the green, with Don Warren alongside and Breuning 3rd on the grid. The race saw some feisty close racing with Jack Wilson, Ian Wilson and Matt Ortscheid, while the top three starters mixed in occasionally. The first pitstop was done under the only caution of the race, which happened when Peterson and Jack Wilson touched. Wilson got the worst of that but was able to continue and fought his way back forward.

The green flag stops stretched the field a little more and, in the end, Breuning lost touch due to an off sequence pitstop. It was Smithem and Warrne for the win, Warren grabbing it at the line by 0.037 of a second.

Driver	Finish	Start	Fastest	Incidents	Points
George Sandman	1	1	1:12.615	0	22
Bill Smithem	2	2	1:13.438	4	16
Marcellus Breuning	3	3	1:13.227	2	14
Jeremy Binion	4	5	1:13.298	0	12
Larry Eaglen	5	4	1:13.840	8	10
Donald Warren2	6	6	1:13.901	2	8
Matt Ortscheid	7	8	1:14.955	2	6
Andrew Forrester2	8	7	1:16.50	16	5

George Sandman dominated at the streets of Long Beach, leading the event from flag to flag in a blistering pace. Smithem, who started from the front row alongside, was lucky to escape a misjudged pass by Breuning on lap one at the end of the backstretch. Smithem kept in 2nd place, while many others behind had all sorts of trouble, allowing Breuning to come back to the final podium position at the end. Jeremy Binion was 4th and Larry Eaglen rounded out the top 5.

Driver	Finish	Start	Fastest	Incidents	Points
George Sandman	1	1	1:12.615	0	22
Bill Smithem	2	2	1:13.438	4	16
Marcellus Breuning	3	3	1:13.227	2	14
Jeremy Binion	4	5	1:13.298	0	12
Larry Eaglen	5	4	1:13.840	8	10
Donald Warren2	6	6	1:13.901	2	8
Matt Ortscheid	7	8	1:14.955	2	6
Andrew Forrester2	8	7	1:16.50	16	5

It was Chris Brown that started his home race from the pole position, but Breuning, Warren and Smithem soon worked their way forward. Breuning and Warren scuffled a little in the first half of the race and the battle intensified the closer they came to the end. An unfortunate Net-Code event sent Warren into the wall, leaving the way open for Breuning, with Smithem right on his tail as well as Forrester and Ortscheid. On the final lap, Smithem and Forrester touched slightly, sending the former into the wall. Breuning held on to the lead, followed by Forrester and Ortscheid while Eaglen and Wilson rounded out the top 5.

Driver	Finish	Start	Fastest	Incidents	Points
Marcellus Breuning	1	3	0:23.237	5	21
Andrew Forrester2	2	7	0:23.180	4	16
Matt Ortscheid	3	8	0:23.116	0	14
Larry Eaglen	4	6	0:23.96	4	12
Jack Wilson21	5	5	0:23.169	10	10
Bill Smithem	6	2	0:23.158	8	8
Donald Warren2	7	4	0:23.144	4	6
Phil Peterson	8	9	0:23.116	22	5
Chris C Brown	9	1	0:23.312	8	5