Week One Results ( Daytona / Suzuka )

This week, the GTRRL made its return to the racing world with the start of another exciting series as the drivers and teams had the task of racing at the high banked Daytona International Speedway and the then the wet Suzuka Circuit. The GTRRL showed off the Dodge Challenger SRT8 at the high speed Oval for race one and then jumped into the lower powered Nissan Silvia for the complex Suzuka Circuit. Drivers were hoping to get off to a good start on the season by running well at both races, but also the differing track type championships were on their mind as they raced first on the oval, then on a road course. Who survived the chaos that is Daytona, and who kept their car on track when the surface got a little wet at Suzuka? Keep reading to find out!



The first race on season was held on the high banked oval in Daytona for the first championship scoring race, as well as the first of 3 oval races held for the Oval Championship. Drivers knew they were going to have to lay it all on the line if they were going to find themselves in Victory Lane, but they also knew that a bigger trophy could be waiting for them if they just have a good points day in this chaotic race.

The starting lineup for this race was determined from last weeks Preseason Thunder activities and, thus, Jonathon Bolling found himself on pole with Andrew Dera starting on his outside. The series used a NASCAR style rolling start for the first time in a few seasons and from there, the boys were back racing! The first few laps were pretty chaotic as numerous drivers found themselves in the lead. Early on, driver Andrew Barnes found himself in the wall which led to him taking the car to the garage, ending his day.

From about lap 5 to the midway caution, FastDaddy Racing driver Thomas Fredericks found himself a very fast, but unlikely, drafting partner in Andrew Dera who hooked up to race on the high side for lap after lap to pace the field. Then with a few laps to go in the first segment, the racing got very intense and there was a 3 by 3 finish at the line to end the segment.

Ronald Meier found himself coming out first after a series of pit stops and immediately hooked up with his FDR teammate/owner Thomas Fredericks. They would hold on to the bottom for most of the second segment as it became more obvious who were going to be in contention for the win as the race closed in on the finish. With three laps to go, the Best Motorsports guys were able to separate the dominate FDR cars which left Meier a sitting duck with 3 to go.

Coming to the white flag, one of the Best Motorsports cars got pushed below the yellow line and turned into the leader, Meier, triggering the only accident of the race but the most costly. Meier, William Kern, Andrew Dera, Fredericks were all swepted up in the accident leaving Mike Best and Ryan Johnson racing back to the line for the win. Best found himself in the lead coming off turn 4 leaving Johnson to make run. Ryan Johnson made his final move coming to the checkered but it was Mike Best holding him off by 0.011s to take the huge win at Daytona!





As every double header will be this season, the second races starting order was determined by reverse order of the previous races finishing results. Thus, Andrew Kennedy and Andrew Dera found themselves on the front row. The two fastest cars all week during practice, Meier and Best found themselves in the back based on the last race's results so everyone knew that the first couple laps were going to be hairy.

Going into turn one, contact between the two Andrews sent Kennedy wide which caused a bottle neck leading to Fredericks and Best going off in the following couple of esses. Through the mayhem of the first few corners, Jonathon Bolling and Meier found themselves out front and stayed that way through the rest of the race. Andrew Dera and William Kern were also hanging on strong for the first part of the race but an off by Dera and mistakes by Kern would keep them from staying close to the two leaders.

About 4 laps into the race the expected rain clouds rolled in and began to dampen the track. Drivers began to contemplate if and when they would need to change tire compounds and a few drivers took a gamble and switched to intermediates early while others stayed out on their old tires to see what the weather was going to do. Waiting it out proved to be the smart move because at half way, the rain stopped and the drivers still out on the racing mediums were able to come in and just get a new set of mediums. The ones who gambled early then had to come in for mediums again found themselves way out of contention due to the extra stop.

Once the track dried up, it was obvious the race was going to be a two horse race as Ron Meier and Jon Bolling were nose to tail the entire race. Mike Best and Thomas Fredericks recovered from their earlier incidents to make their charge into the top 4. With the laps winding down, Bolling tried to stay on the heals of Meier as Meier began to report that he was at the point of exhaustion trying to hold off the smooth and consistent Bolling. On the last lap, with the track being completely dry, it became a drag race. Both drivers were on the edge of their seats and driving with all they had. Coming into the final chicane, Bolling had his last chance to make a move on the leader and coming out of the final corner, Meier charged down the straightaway and held off Bolling for the win at Suzuka!



Thanks to everyone who showed up to race this week and congrats to the winners! Next week we will be racing at Monoco and Laguna Seca using the Mazda RX7 Roadster TC at 205 HP!

We hope see you all there!