Pot Luck 17 - R10-11 Sonoma

Darrel Hamilton's pick of Sears Point, er...Infineon...uh, Sonoma, picked back up the 2-race road course standard.  The field was light more humans this week but it was still good racing all around.

Race 1:

Because of dismal finishes at Pocono's second round, everyone was free to qualify and Hamilton, Tnadz and Buster took the front spots.

Darrel was holding fast in third until he hopped the curb at 4a and lost pace to the field.

Which only furthered his misery as he was a sitting duck for the field.

Gurton Buster was leading Tnadz by a car length for a few laps when he ran wide at 8a, yielding 1st.

Hamilton was on the war path and not letting any Tuka Rocha get in his way.

But his aggressive tactics got away from him as he got into Salas at 7a.

In the same spot a lap later, Buster got a run up the inside of Tnadz after he hit the curb hard on entry and took back the lead.

Coming around turn one, Smith got loose coming up to Darrel's spin, and went around himself.

This put him in a pinch as GB was coming through 4a and the two nearly clipped.

But just ahead in the esses, Darrel had gone out in the dirt and came back on right in front of the leaders.

A split second decision to pull hard right caused Buster to spin to the wall but he didn't suffer any damage to the car or tires.

Wanting to resume their heated exchange, Tnadz, slowed a bit and the two continued to battle as they caught lap traffic.

At the hairpin, Tnadz blocked to the inside on entry but pushed out early.  Both Valerio and Buster drove up the inside.

This caused Valerio to push even further out into Tnadz who spun and lost the lead.

Gurton, returning the favor, slowed his pace and the two returned to the top fight.  Right after Tnadz returned the favor to Valerio.

After more very close racing and only two laps to go, Foresti spun Tnadz into 10.

There wasn't any coming back from this one.

But vengeance would come to Foresti on the last lap as he harpooned into the end of pit road, much like in Tony Stewart fashion.

Leaving Gurton Buster to take the first 20 lapper.

Race 2:

Backsliding in the first round allowed Hamilton to shake his success ballast and qualify on the second row.

Which allowed him to avoid a lot of the devastation that was happening behind him as too many cars tried to squeeze through one.

Slab was one of the progenitors as he tried to get through the kink 4-wide.

While it started well, the first lap was not kind to him as he lost the back end in turn 10.

No real damage was done but it did catch the breath of Buster and Tnadz as they came up on the scene.

Within a few laps, Hamilton had eased his way to first and began a dominating run.

Part way through, Gut Slab was starting to get his momentum back again and was rammed by Jimenez.

GB and Tnadz were charging to the front although the 8 was starting to form a gap.

Around half way, he pulled the VW ahead of Hamilton.

Tnadz made the pass as well but it was much trickier with competition all around.  Hamilton ended up going wide around the 1s.

Which left him in terrible position for 2 and he got tangled with the 21.

He and Thiago were fine but they both lost several spots.

The Bear also found himself off track in front of the leaders but managed to avoid damage.

Slab was making a good run back to the top when the infamous, Tuka Rocha, railed him from behind at the hairpin.

They both speared into the end of pit road where their races would end.

Diego Nunes was also rear ending humans as Hamilton continued to be abused.  By this point he had lost both 3rd and 4th gear.  Too many more and he'll have to run backwards like a demolition derby.

Of course it wasn't just AI, Gurton Buster gave him a love tap at 11 saying, "Let's Go!".

With Tnadz pouring on the performance, things got even more exciting as he was shuffled by Monteiro.

He straight-lined it and carried on but lost some speed.

Now the two rivals were neck and neck.

As fate would have it at two to go, Tnadz was struck down by another lapper in the way.

Even without 4th gear, Buster was able to get too far ahead for Tnadz to catch back up.

And after he passed Hamilton again, there was a very close moment when they crossed up their lines.

Buster took two in a row for the week.

Gut Slab has picked our next track which again continues the tradition of 2-race road courses:  Watkins Glen - Pre-1992 sans Inner Loop configuration.  But he wants no pits for race 1, pits for race 2.  No cautions.

Race 1

Track: Sonoma Raceway 2013

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:10.101
2	13	T Nadz	1:10.356
3	61	D Hamilton	1:12.558
4	21	T Camilo	1:13.496
5	80	M Gomes	1:13.671
6	30	C Ramos	1:13.867
7	65	M Wilson	1:13.874
8	111	R Barrichello	1:13.940
9	88	F Fraga	1:13.951
10	51	A Abreu	1:13.977
11	46	V Genz	1:14.004
12	29	D Serra	1:14.006
13	90	R Mauricio	1:14.012
14	4	J Campos	1:14.023
15	10	R Zonta	1:14.067
16	25	T Rocha	1:14.069
17	18	A Khodair	1:14.121
18	77	V Brito	1:14.135
19	0	C Bueno	1:14.165
20	1	A Pizzonia	1:14.268
21	83	G Casagrande	1:14.307
22	31	M Campos	1:14.321
23	5	D Navarro	1:14.337
24	110	F Lapenna	1:14.400
25	28	G Osman	1:14.476
26	73	S Jimenez	1:14.508
27	117	G Salas	1:14.541
28	70	D Nunes	1:14.557
29	9	G Lima	1:14.647
30	12	L Foresti	1:14.665
31	188	B Monteiro	1:14.666
32	8	R Suzuki	1:14.809
33	3	B Figueiredo	1:14.930
34	44	A Valerio	1:15.285
35	121	T Bear	1:23.946

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Southeast 2 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	008	J Zolecki	98.990	20	10*	185	Running
2	2	13	T Nadz	-25.69	20	10*	180	Running
3	4	21	T Camilo	-1:04.14	20	0	165	Running
4	7	65	M Wilson	-1:04.57	20	0	160	Running
5	5	80	M Gomes	-1:05.21	20	0	155	Running
6	9	88	F Fraga	-1:05.61	20	0	150	Running
7	6	30	C Ramos	-1:14.23	20	0	146	Running
8	13	90	R Mauricio	-1:14.53	20	0	142	Running
9	12	29	D Serra	-1:14.90	20	0	138	Running
10	11	46	V Genz	-1L	19	0	134	Running
11	8	111	R Barrichello	-1L	19	0	130	Running
12	10	51	A Abreu	-1L	19	0	127	Running
13	15	10	R Zonta	-1L	19	0	124	Running
14	14	4	J Campos	-1L	19	0	121	Running
15	19	0	C Bueno	-1L	19	0	118	Running
16	21	83	G Casagrande	-1L	19	0	115	Running
17	23	5	D Navarro	-1L	19	0	112	Running
18	17	18	A Khodair	-1L	19	0	109	Running
19	25	28	G Osman	-1L	19	0	106	Running
20	20	1	A Pizzonia	-1L	19	0	103	Running
21	24	110	F Lapenna	-1L	19	0	100	Running
22	22	31	M Campos	-1L	19	0	97	Running
23	29	9	G Lima	-1L	19	0	94	Running
24	28	70	D Nunes	-1L	19	0	91	Running
25	26	73	S Jimenez	-1L	19	0	88	Running
26	32	8	R Suzuki	-1L	19	0	85	Running
27	3	61	D Hamilton	-1L	19	0	82	Running
28	33	3	B Figueiredo	-1L	19	0	79	Running
29	31	188	B Monteiro	-1L	19	0	76	Running
30	34	44	A Valerio	-1L	19	0	73	Running
31	18	77	V Brito	-1L	19	0	70	Running
32	35	121	T Bear	-1L	19	0	67	Running
33	16	25	T Rocha	-2L	18	0	64	Running
34	30	12	L Foresti	-3L	17	0	61	Accident
35	27	117	G Salas	-8L	12	0	58	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 4 (2 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Southeast 2 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 93%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
8	61	Cutting the course	Held for 15 seconds

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	88	F Fraga	1:13.441
2	80	M Gomes	1:13.575
3	61	D Hamilton	1:13.619
4	65	M Wilson	1:13.630
5	21	T Camilo	1:13.675
6	90	R Mauricio	1:13.931
7	111	R Barrichello	1:14.004
8	4	J Campos	1:14.004
9	29	D Serra	1:14.016
10	46	V Genz	1:14.026
11	77	V Brito	1:14.103
12	117	G Salas	1:14.122
13	0	C Bueno	1:14.176
14	51	A Abreu	1:14.184
15	70	D Nunes	1:14.216
16	10	R Zonta	1:14.218
17	9	G Lima	1:14.221
18	31	M Campos	1:14.323
19	8	R Suzuki	1:14.392
20	12	L Foresti	1:14.417
21	110	F Lapenna	1:14.441
22	18	A Khodair	1:14.462
23	73	S Jimenez	1:14.547
24	1	A Pizzonia	1:14.554
25	55	g slab	1:14.598
26	83	G Casagrande	1:14.633
27	44	A Valerio	1:14.634
28	25	T Rocha	1:14.643
29	3	B Figueiredo	1:14.659
30	30	C Ramos	1:14.673
31	28	G Osman	1:14.748
32	188	B Monteiro	1:14.901
33	5	D Navarro	1:15.040
34	121	T Bear	1:16.597
35	008	J Zolecki	--
36	13	T Nadz	--

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Southeast 2 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	13	T Nadz	1:14.544
2	55	g slab	1:19.234
3	83	G Casagrande	1:21.784
4	5	D Navarro	1:21.893
5	8	R Suzuki	1:22.436
6	30	C Ramos	1:23.104
7	117	G Salas	1:23.373
8	3	B Figueiredo	1:28.665
9	12	L Foresti	1:29.453
10	51	A Abreu	1:33.307

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Southeast 2 mph

Session: Race

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	35	008	J Zolecki	99.496	20	14*	185	Running
2	36	13	T Nadz	-16.76	20	0	170	Running
3	7	111	R Barrichello	-55.63	20	0	165	Running
4	9	29	D Serra	-1L	19	0	160	Running
5	14	51	A Abreu	-1L	19	0	155	Running
6	1	88	F Fraga	-1L	19	0	150	Running
7	4	65	M Wilson	-1L	19	0	146	Running
8	11	77	V Brito	-1L	19	0	142	Running
9	22	18	A Khodair	-1L	19	0	138	Running
10	5	21	T Camilo	-1L	19	0	134	Running
11	19	8	R Suzuki	-1L	19	0	130	Running
12	13	0	C Bueno	-1L	19	0	127	Running
13	31	28	G Osman	-1L	19	0	124	Running
14	24	1	A Pizzonia	-1L	19	0	121	Running
15	12	117	G Salas	-1L	19	0	118	Running
16	33	5	D Navarro	-1L	19	0	115	Running
17	32	188	B Monteiro	-1L	19	0	112	Running
18	16	10	R Zonta	-1L	19	0	109	Running
19	8	4	J Campos	-1L	19	0	106	Running
20	15	70	D Nunes	-1L	19	0	103	Running
21	21	110	F Lapenna	-1L	19	0	100	Running
22	2	80	M Gomes	-1L	19	0	97	Running
23	23	73	S Jimenez	-1L	19	0	94	Running
24	26	83	G Casagrande	-1L	19	0	91	Running
25	27	44	A Valerio	-1L	19	0	88	Running
26	30	30	C Ramos	-1L	19	0	85	Running
27	10	46	V Genz	-1L	19	0	82	Running
28	20	12	L Foresti	-1L	19	0	79	Running
29	3	61	D Hamilton	-1L	19	6	81	Running
30	6	90	R Mauricio	-1L	19	0	73	Running
31	18	31	M Campos	-1L	19	0	70	Running
32	34	121	T Bear	-1L	19	0	67	Running
33	28	25	T Rocha	-10L	10	0	64	Accident
34	25	55	g slab	-10L	10	0	61	Accident
35	17	9	G Lima	-12L	8	0	58	Accident
36	29	3	B Figueiredo	-12L	8	0	55	Retired

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 1 (2 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Southeast 2 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 93%