It is time for the first race of the third round of TC America in 2022 here at Virginia International Raceway. Four races into the season and here we are in Alton, Virginia, at Virginia International Raceway roaring to life around this 3.27 mile, 17 turn track. This is the fifth race of the season for the TC class. 32 cars. 10 cars for TCX, 11 cars each in TC and TCA. This track is old school, demanding, with big consequences for mistakes, but is a ride. Colin Garrett, starting on the pole in TCX, at his home track. He scored pole for this race and has won already this year. Colin Garrett comes over from NASCAR but grew up 15 minutes away from this great track.
Garrett says he has no rivalry with Jacob Ruud. Garrett was a track champion at South Boston Speedway, not far away from here. Three different classes here in the touring car division. Carter Fartuch is the championship leader in TCA who went off the road in qualifying. Kevin Boehm is the other pole sitter in TC. He had a massive lap in qualifying. Boehm engineers all of the Skip Barber Racing School entries in this division. Three distinct starts, beginning with TCX. Colin Garrett and Stephen Cugliari, Jacob Ruud, and Lucas Cattania, the first two rows. They form up, two by two. Green flag. We're off and running! Colin Garrett gets the jump and Jacob Ruud passes Steven Cugliari. Olivia Askew also with a good start.
Nicholas Barbato gets bogged down and here comes both Clay Williams and Jeff Ricca. Mini vs. Hyundai. Three wide and Ricca drops out of it as Mat Pombo is moving up from sixth to third through the argy bargy mess. Through The Snake for the first time. The TCA field is going for it and Gresham Wagner leads while Carter Fartuch is also going for it. Gresham Wagner goes wide and Devin Anderson in the sister Subaru is wide as well, look. In the lead of the motor race, we can see Colin Garrett doing all he can to hold top spot over Jacob Ruud.
Stephen Cugliari won three of four races he ran in 2021. He is a full-time driver now. Ruud dominated this series last year. Ruud has won but has not dominated and he slides througn turn nine headed for Oak Tree! Deary me! That was close! He's off in the dust, like a vacuum cleaner. He's got grass in the radiator and clag on the tires. He has recovered. A change for the TCA lead as Carter Fartuch now takes the lead in TCA. Gresham Wagner is pushing, pushing, pushing. Fartuch is the test pilot t shake down the new Honda Civic customer race car that truly debuts next year as Kevin Boehm is being harried by Clay Williams in the Mini.
Louis Pericarpi, team boss at LAP Motorsports, he said they have a new clutch. This TC spec car has 300 horsepower compared to 200 for the production car and an aftermarket clutch will assist with reliability. Unlike GT3 and GT4, the touring cars are not homologated so they can be updated throughout the season. Jeff Ricca, Mat Pombo, and Nico Barbato are all scrapping for position. Williams wants by Boehm into the braking zone. Boehm has won a national championship in the SCCA Runoffs that raced here in 2019. Williams is very strong and surely going for it with only eight minutes elapsed.
Devin Anderson is moving up on Carter Fartuch. VIR is home soil for Techsport. Boehm has to defend against Williams. Williams tries to slide through the open door and he looks like he is going to make the pass througn the Horseshoe, then into the kink, and into NASCAR Bend. In the TCX class, we can see Steven Cugliari has been passed by Lucas Catania. Ten minutes done and 29 to go. No pit stops. No driver changes. Flat out racing. Side by side into The Snake, and Boehm is vulnerable into the braking zone. Williams wants it. He is pressing hard, but figuring out the puzzle. Good, clean driving, but right on the limit.
Anderson has passed Wagner and so, Carter Fartuch gains a slight advantage. Two Tech Sport cars and a Skip Barber Racing School car. Both teams are based here at VIR as Anderson is off the road another time. Both these teams are based right here at VIR. Call each other up and say, "hey, do you want to race?" Back to the TC class. Williams and Boehm. Boehm has been playing defense for a long time. Boehm knows how to scrub off speed or how to maintain it even with a shallow attack angle going into the corner. The Mini might just have more pace available than does the Honda Civic.
Traffic ahead, look, for the TC leaders, the TCX leaders actually scrapping with the TCA cars and Ruud is going to take advantage of a slight fluff by Colin Garrett. Garrett has run in the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Truck Series, but Garrett is new to multiclass racing but won't be intimidated as Sally McNulty has damage to her Honda and P.J. Groenke in the Mini is another one in the fight. McNulty and Groenke scrapping for position. Jacob Ruud has the fire in his belly and there was a red flag in qualifying this morning. Jacob Ruud to the pit lane! Oh dear! Olivia Askew has also found trouble someplace.
Colin Garrett, no pressure. Down through The Rollercoaster at the end of Madison Avenue, Williams can see Boehm and meanwhile, Jeff Ricca is quicker and he is reeling in Clay Williams hand over fist. Boehm knew his competition had more time in the bag during qualifying. Rica is in fourth in points and was a runner up in race two at NOLA Motorsports Park last time out. TCA lead change and Anderson passes Fartuch. Carter Fartuch comes back to the inside and can't do it. Carter Farutch sliding, and Colin Gareett makes it three wide! Phew! That was mad! Unreal!
Colin Garrett credits his sports psychologist, simplifying his thought process. Williams finally makes the move on Boehm in turn one for the TC lead, and this scrum had been brewing for ten minutes, solidly. Boehm tries it into the snake, but no dice. Williams is starting to motor away. The Mini is pointy while the Honda is flowing through the turns. Nothing was wrong with the car. Watch out for oil. Ruud though the team said box for oil. Good gravy. Ruud is now seventh in TCX and out of the running. What a horrible break. That is so bizarre.
Cattania will cut into Ruud's lead. Change in the lead and second place in TC. Boehm to the lead, Ricca to second, Williams down to third place. The Pirelli P Zero tires are beginning to beg for mercy. Williams is losing pace to both Boehm and Ricca. I wonder if he has mechanical woes. Olivia Askew went to the pit lane and the oil cooler on her car is broken. They are team mates, she, and Jacob Ruud. Maybe there were crossed signals there. Fortunately, the team will be able to regroup in tomorrow's race. In TCA, things have not really changed.
The two Subaru's are leading but here comes Fartuch for the Rollercoaster. Dartuuch to the inside of Anderson and the Subaru, and they sort it out into The Rollercoaster, screaming towards Hog Pen and the end of the lap. 15 minutes to go drag racing down the pit straight. Anderson, will he open the door? Just a wee bit. Has Fartuch cooled his tires off? This is a customer car that will be available next year, the Civic Si FE1 race car. Touring car racing, you can buy cars from the manufacturer, and that is exactly what we see in GT3 and GT4 as well. Kevin Boehm is now back in the lead and has had the measure of Jeff Ricca.
Ricca's car is more balanaced than it was. Williams in the Mini is falling behind. Clay Williams cannot get the power. He needs more power. He is being caught by Nicholas Barbato who has just passed Williams and Mat Pombo will try to do the same. Kevin Boehm is looking for his fourth win in five races. He is improving as a driver and maximizing his points potentioal just like he is supposed to. He was third in race two last time out at NOLA Motorsports Park, going for his fourth victory in five starts. Oak Tree is a key passing zone for Jeff Ricca if he wants to make the move. Top speeds for the top contenders between 136-138 miles an hour.
Jacob Ruud is still carving his way back through the field but has made little progress. 28 seconds between Ruud, and the next bloke in line, Brett Scroggin in the #51 Homewrecker Racing LLC BMW M2 CS Racing which all the cars are in TCX. Gresham Wagner in TCA, he won the Mazda MX-5 Cup championship in 2021. Devin Anderson is coming, fast. Sliding all over the road. Jeff Ricca seems to be dropping behind a wee bit. Boehm has had the measure of him for the past few laps. Ricca could very well have an issue on his Hyundai Veloster.
Kevin Boehm, leader of the race, former TCA champion. He finished second to Eric Powell in TC last year. Colin Garrett, leading TCX and in the overall. Colin Garrett is not sure about sharing a car with another driver when he climbs the sports car racing ladder. Gresham Wagner still leads Devin Anderson in the Subaru camp. Devin Anderson might just have the heat put on him. Spencer Bucknum is running very well in the L.A. Honda World Civic. Spencer Bucknum's dad, Jeff Bucknum, and grandfather, Ronnie Bucknum, who was a Formula 1 driver and his dad Jeff also raced sports cars.
Christian Perocarpi meanwhile has debris flapping in front of the windshield on the Mini. No pressure on Boehm though. The overall leader, Colin Garrett, he will be taking the white flag. He works at VIR and of course is from South Boston, Virginia, 20 minutes away. Garrett will slice into Jacob Ruud's points lead. He has been on form very well and had a win and a second at NOLA Motorsports Park last time out. Ruud will start on pole tomorrow for having the fastest lap in race one. Four cars are all within two to three tenths on a single lap.
Colin Garrett, though, he is your winner, for the second time in 2022, winning race one at VIR. In TCA, Gresham Wagner leads team mate Devin Anderson by two and a half seconds and Carter Fartuch is going for it. Clay Williams is splitting the battle in TCA for second and third. Ricca is far closer to Boehm somehow or other. Boehm is just managing things with half a lap left. The gap is closing into The Rollercoaster. Ricca is charging. Is Boehm off the pace? Down through Hog Pen. This is the drag race to the end. Ricca closing, but Kevin Boehm holds on for the TC win. Gresham Wagner wins TCA.
Overall/TCX: #44 Colin Garrett Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS Racing
TC: #9 Kevin Boehm Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R TC
TCA: #21 Gresham Wagner TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ TCA
Race one for the touring cats is done and dusted, and so, we'll see you tomorrow for race two. GT World Challenge America, the big boys and the big toys, with the GT3 cars, coming up next.
No comments:
Post a Comment