That none of the American Iron cars were taken out in the front straight melee that ensued at the start of the group C race was as much a miracle as it was a testament to the driving talent in that class.
ST1 Driver David Greenman got an offset bump from behind at the green flag, which spun him into the inside wall and sent his car skittering and scattering across the front straight. Every American Iron driver had to take evasive action to miss Greenman’s C5 Corvette, which settled laterally on the front straight.
Because of the wreck, the field to circled the track under caution for nearly 20 minutes while crews cleaned it up. Then, about 12 minutes after going green, the track went to full-course caution again for all but one lap, which was a green, white checkers.
AI driver Steve Nichols had pole position and put it to good use, leading the field for most of the race. Eric Fuehrer got in front of Nichols briefly, but couldn’t hold onto the position. Corey Weber also was looking to mix it up with the front pair. Nichols finished first, but was DQ’d after the race, which put Fuehrer into first place and the American Iron Championship.
“Well, it was pretty hectic with all the crashes in the beginning of the race and through the race,” Fuehrer said. “I dogged Steve for quite a number of laps and took lead once for a couple of seconds and he took it right back. Corey Weber was in my mirror the whole time and the cautions just ate up the rest of the race, so other than that, it’s my first time here and I’m pretty excited for it.”
Weber finished second and Great Lakes series Jason Lakomiak got to take his place on the podium in third.
