BURNOUT WINS AGAIN AT LAS VEGASBurnout took his second win in a row and his third of the Turbocharged series after an exciting and action packed night race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in Memory of Dan Wheldon.
Single Car qualifying was an exciting event, with Charter setting a fast 10.129 early in his #29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Delux beat him to take provisional pole in his #18 Combos Toyota with a 10.027, and Lanz could only manage 0.003 seconds more than his time with his #46 AAMCO Chevrolet, with a 10.030. Burnout, the last runner of the session, pulled out a fantastic lap of 9.963 to put his #9 Dewalt Ford on the pole position.
The start went smoothly, with Delux taking the lead from 2nd position, until the end of the first lap, where the field stacked up, resulting in Delux hitting the outside wall and Burnout spinning through the grass trying to avoid him. When Burnout came back onto the track, he hit Charter side on, and holding up Domotec and Lanz. The field continued however, until Lap 3, when the caution came out as Flyguy's #11 FedEx Toyota was stopped in Turn 3 after an attempt to make his first lap (he had connection issues before the start of the race).
Burnout and Domotec took this early opportunity to fill their cars up with fuel and put 4 new tyres on, and the race restarted again on Lap 7. Charter took the lead on the restart after Delux got loose/oversteered through Turns 1/2, and Charter kept this lead until Lap 12, when Lanz took the lead with a bold move on the outside. Burnout was making his way back up through the field after his early poor start from the pole position, and was up to 2nd by Lap 26.
On Lap 43, Lanz made a mistake, allowing Burnout to pass him for the lead. Lanz immediately pitted in reaction, and Burnout pitted 2 laps later, handing the lead to Charter. Charter then pitted on Lap 50, giving back the lead to Burnout until Lap 56, when he crashed into the wall of Turn 4, giving Lanz back the lead and triggering the second deployment of the Safety Car.
All the cars on the lead lap came in for tyres under the caution, and Lanz retained his lead there, and also on the Lap 60 restart, where he powered to the lead first from the outside, then making a crossover on Charter to the inside. He kept this lead until Lap 68, when Burnout made a great pass on the inside of turns 3 and 4 to take the lead once more.
Burnout held on to this lead until Lap 90, when he made a pistop, perhaps because of the amount of lapped traffic around him decreasing his pace. This allowed Lanz to claim the Halfway Bonus point, very useful for the championship, at Lap 104 but at the expense of giving Burnout lots of time on new tyres, and went Lanz finally did pit on Lap 119, he had fallen down to the third position.
A few laps later on Lap 123, the Safety Car was deployed again, this time for a crash between Delux and Domotec coming off of Turn 4. In the subsequent pitstops Burnout made a poor entry to the pits allowing Lanz to lead Lap 124, but he took only half tyres and picked up the lead again for the restart. Charter however took the lead with a strong 3 wide move on the restart. which put Lanz in a bad position and he lost ground. A great battle for the lead ensued between Charter #29, Delux #18, Burnout #9 and Domotec #99, but the battle allowed Lanz to catch back up, and he subsequently swept past them and lead for the whole of the next green flag run, with the exception of Lap 165, which Delux lead as Lanz had pitted.
The next caution was at Lap 174, as Kikiriki crashed on the backstretch, blocking the track, and necessitating another period behind the Safety Car. Charter made an exciting gamble when the cars came in to make pitstops, when he stayed out and took the lead. In the closing stages of the race, it looked like he might be able to pull of the win when he took the lead on the Lap 179 restart. The restart was controversial however, as the outside row got a large jump on the inside row, upsetting Lanz. This was later deemed fair by the SCARTS officials - you have a duty to stay behind the person in front of you, and the person in front of you has a duty to stay side by side with the other row. Charter held off the chasing pack for a few laps before Delux forced his way by to take the lead on Lap 181. Delux kept the lead for a couple of laps before a large crash when Lanz attempted to pass him (he battled his way back through the field) resulted in Burnout sneaking by to take the lead on Lap 185.
The crash bought out the Safety Car for the final time of the day, and in the ensuing pitstops Charter had to pit because he had old tyres after not taking the opportunity the previous caution. Lanz and Delux also came down pitroad, while Burnout and Domotec stayed out to take the front row for the final restart. This split in strategies provided a great battle for the second position over the final laps, but as they battled 3 and almost 4 wide for the position, Burnout was pulling away, before eventually taking a commanding lead which he could control to win at Las Vegas! By the time Lanz had broken free of the battling pack, he was too far behind Burnout and had to settle for second place. Charter finished 3rd, an excellent result from him, and less than half a second behind was Delux with a great 4th. Domotec was the last to finish on the lead lap 7.311 seconds behind, and Kikiriki was 6 laps down by the end of the race in 6th.
RESULTSQualifying Order (Reverse Practice Speed)1. Kikiriki
2. Flyguy
3. Charter
4. Domotec
5. Delux
6. Lanz
7. Burnout
Starting Grid1. Burnout 9.963
2. Delux 10.027
3. Lanz 10.030
4. Charter 10.129
5. Kikiriki 10.591
6. Domotec 11.804
7. Flyguy (no time)
Race Results1. #9 Burnout 208/208 Laps Lead: 7 times for 60 laps
2. #46 Lanz +1.843 Laps Lead: 6 times for 110 laps
3. #29 Charter +4.313 Laps Lead: 5 times for 27 laps
4. #18 Delux +4.722 Laps Lead: 4 times for 11 laps
5. #99 Domotec +7.311 Laps Lead: Did not lead a lap
6. #21 Kikiriki 202/208 Laps Lead: Did not lead a lap
7. #11 Flyguy DNS Laps Lead: Did not lead a lap
Most Laps Lead: Lanz
Halfway Leader: Lanz
Lap Leader Summary1 Burnout (1)
2-6 Delux (5)
7-11 Charter (5)
12-43 Lanz (32)
44-45 Burnout (2)
46-50 Charter (5)
51-55 Burnout (5)
56-68 Lanz (13)
69-90 Burnout (22)
91-119 Lanz (29)
120-123 Burnout (4)
124 Lanz (1)
125 Burnout (1)
126-127 Charter (2)
128-130 Delux (3)
131-140 Charter (10)
141-164 Lanz (24)
165 Delux (1)
166-176 Lanz (11)
177-181 Charter (5)
182-183 Delux (2)
184-208 Burnout (25)
Lead Changes: 21
Caution Summary5 Cautions for 19 laps
1. Laps 3-6 Flyguy, Turn 3 stopped (4 laps)
2. Laps 57-60 Burnout hits Turn 4 Wall, track blocked (4 laps)
3. Laps 123-125 Delux and Domotec Crash Turn 4 (3 laps)
4. Laps 174-178 Kikiriki large crash on backstretch (5 laps)
5. Laps 185-187 Lanz, Delux Crash off Turn 2 (3 laps)
Standings After Race:Photo Story The start of the race
Delux #18 takes the early lead ahead of Burnout #9, Lanz #46, Charter #29, Kikiriki #21 and Domotec #99
Burnout #9 crashes early on Lap 2, collecting Charter #29, Delux #18 and Lanz #46
The Safety Car is deployed moments later as Flyguy's #11 car is stopped on the track
Lanz #46 and Charter #29 battle early in the race
Burnout #9 hits the wall on Lap 57, bringing out the second caution
Burnout #9 and Lanz #46 battle for the lead on the ensuing restart
The field rocket off Turn 2
Burnout #9 pits on Lap 90, giving Lanz #46 the lead
Lanz #46 took it and lead past the halfway point, claiming the bonus point
A crash between Delux #18 and Domotec #99 on Lap 123 brought out the third caution
The field paces behind the Safety Car
Lanz #46 and Burnout #9 race for the lead off pitlane
Charter #29 goes 3 wide with Lanz #46 and Burnout #9 to take the lead
More 3 wide racing later in the lap between Charter #29, Burnout #9 and Domotec #99
Charter #29 does not pit under a caution close to the end of the race, giving him the lead
Charter #29 leads the field with less than 30 laps to go
Close racing for the lead between Delux #18, Burnout #9 and Charter #29
The field goes into Turn 1 two by two
Lanz #46 is about to hit Delux #18 to cause the final caution of the day
Charter #29, Lanz #46 and Delux #18 pit behind the Safety Car
Whereas Burnout #9 and Domotec #99 do not
The Safety Car pulls onto pitroad for the final restart of the day
Lanz #46, Domotec #99, Delux #18 and Charter #29 battle hard for 2nd position while Burnout pulls away late in the race
Lanz #46 eventually managed to pull away and consolidate 2nd place
But he didn't have enough time to stop Burnout #9 claiming another victory and putting on more pressure for the championship!
Burnout #9 Celebrates his win