Cangialosi Runs Away in Congested Race One

 Braselton, GA

April 20, 2019

At the drop of the green flag and into turn one it was Keith Grant with the lead while polesitter Dario Cangialosi fell to second. Meanwhile the #35 of Spencer Brockman had found himself in third and Flinn Lazier was down to fourth. However, it was not long until Dario Cangialosi found his way back to the front. In fact, it was still the first lap when he regained his lead, he wasted no time and started opening a gap on second. Cangialosi’s ability to quickly open the gap was aided by the battle behind.

Still on the first lap, second position changed hands again, Keith Grant on the wrong side of the pass, Flinn Lazier had taken over the second spot. Spencer Brockman now holding forth had momentarily pressured Grant, but as Grant was able to up his pace it wasn’t long until Grant was well out of reach for Brockman.

For the master's race, Rich Zober comfortably held the lead while Kirk Kindsfater and Dudley Fleck ran second and third in master’s respectively. As traffic became ever present the field at large became more spread out and as a result Zober’s hold on the master’s division at the half way mark grew steadily.

Meanwhile, Keith Grant and Flinn Lazier had once again found each other on track. Grant attempted a move into 10a and while he was close Flinn refused to budge and held the position. Based on the lap time, now with seven laps remaining, the two were running a near dead heat.

Mother nature of course was not afraid to play her hand and light droplets began to fall. The gap from Lazier to Grant now just three tenths of a second. Both drivers running their fastest laps of the race and lapping faster than race reader Dario Cangialosi who held a substantial twelve second lead. Traffic almost certainly would be a factor as there were at least six cars in a dense formation just ahead. Lazier and Grant got through them but it had to be a frustrating task, Grant perhaps got dealt the hardest path through. This cost Grant and he fell nearly three seconds behind Lazier, with only three laps remaining, the race for second seemed to be settled.

As the rain trickled in, some surprises were yet to come. Grant spun between turns 10a and 10b handing third to the ever lurking Spencer Brockman. Meanwhile, Rich Zober seemingly was struggling to deal with traffic. In Zober's shadow lurked Dudley Fleck. He was on the hunt and appeared to have encountered the traffic in a more productive manner than Zober. Fleck’s persistence paid off and he managed to overtake Zober, thus securing the Master’s victory.