Dangerous Cargo Cup to be Awarded at WGI
The inaugural Championship battle for the F1600 Formula F Championship Series is down to the last doubleheader, coming up Oct. 14-16 at Watkins Glen. The final rounds of the year will award the Dangerous Cargo Cup to the 2011 Champion. Bill Valet leads the standings over Tim Kautz by 10 points, with 110 up for grabs at Watkins Glen. However, with drops calculated Kautz jumps to the top of the F1600 standings by 13 points.
The rulebook states that the lowest two finishes are dropped in the final tally, making math a bit complicated and also giving birth to various scenarios that could play out during the weekend.
Valet is coming off a solid race-winning weekend at Lime Rock Park in his Swift/Ford, while Kautz may want to forget Lime Rock after two DNFs.
Who has the edge at the Glen? That is a tough question to answer. Both Kautz and Valet took home first place trophies when the Series visited the 3.4-mile 11-turn road course in June. Valet walked to a race one victory while Kautz charged through the field in the second race after Valet ran into trouble following a qualifying crash.
The grapevine suggests Kautz brings a strong engine into Watkins Glen, after going through multiple motors at the National Championship Runoffs.
Jim Goughary and Art Foster sit third and fourth in “points drops calculated” standings, and are mathematically in the fight, but it would take a miracle for either driver to take home the Dangerous Cargo Up. John Robinson and Colin Thompson also fall into this category, and are both looking for their first wins of the 2011 season.
Points drops hurt Canadian racer Caitlin Johnston, who has been the model of consistency over the 2011 season. Johnston, in a Van Diemen/Honda, sits third in points without drops, but with math in play, she falls down the order as her lowest two finishes still account for 34 points.
With a bumper grid expected for the season finale, the F1600 Championship is expected to go down to the last race. Stay tuned to F1600Series.com for regular updates.