Page 5 - 2021CalSpeedMagazineMay

TRound 5 - May 8
he CalSpeed Sprint Series would take on one of the most challenging layouts on the calendar for round #5, as Tecnico would play host to not only the halfway
point match, but also the deciding event for the Winter Sub- Championship. 90 drivers entered the day with thoughts of the top step of the podium, while Five drivers entered with a mathematical shot at the first title of the year. By the end, a new face would grab a maiden win, and a new champion would be crowned...
The 8 minute group qualifying session would again see several of the usual suspects putting in fast times, but it would be a pair of the Winter Series protagonists showing the way with John Rice and Michael Martin pacing the field. Linked up, Martin would stay in Rice’s considerable draft, and nip his title rival with a first career pole position, with Rice settling for second. Scoring a solid third in the session and a pole for the third heat would be Carl Zhu, the only one of the three not in the hunt for the Winter championship...
The first Heat race would be a stacked one, with three title contenders all vying for the top with Evan Lawrence leading over Tommy hake and Michael Martin on the final lap. Martin would settle for third after qualifying on pole, and while Lawrence would cross the line first, he would be docked 1 spot behind Haake after a block in the final complex. This made it incredible 5 for 5 for Haake in heat wins so far.
A Main Podium
Heat 1B would see runner-up in qualifying John Rice try and
seal the deal on his second heat race win in a row, but he
would have to stave of a challenge from Nate Smal and Leo
Ovtcharov. . In the end it would be Rice scoring the win, while B-Main Winner Lucas Weisenberg Leo would get bumped back from second to third behind
Nate post-race for a 4-off in fraction and gain coming to the checkered.
The final heat race of the day would see a train of 7 karts all challenging for the top spot, which was controlled largely by Carl Zhu from pole. Carl would lose the lead for just a single lap but would strike back and score his first career heat race win.
After an incident in the heat race, up and coming Sprint
Series talent Matthew Justmann found himself in the C-Main
but would prove in the end why he is a driver on the rise.
Starting outside of the top five, Matthew made solid moves
ion the early laps to work his way up to the front, applying
pressure on SE talent Evan Talley for the lead just before
the halfway point. As the laps waned into the second half
however, it was Justmann coming out on top with Talley in tow,
the pair putting a solid gap on the rest of the field. For his part,
Matthew made the most of his B-Main transfer, capitalizing on C-Main Winner Matthew Justmann other’s mistakes, and just making strong moves to work all the
way up to a P11 finishing position in the B-Main...