Shootout Finale Preview (Mon, March 31st)
Round seven marked the end of the regular season, and the final chance for drivers outside the top 5 to make it into the Shootout Finale, but also was a final chance to solidify there spot in the standings. Many drivers gained on there rivals, while most of the class leaders either held on to thier point leads or extended them further. Because of that we have two titles that have already been decided, and the other four class leaders enjoy sizeable leads. While mathematically still open, some incredible things will have to happen for a big shake up at the top of the standings.
The rest of the top five in each class is relatively open, and it is anyone's guess how things will eventually end up. This of course won't keep me from pumping things up with hype and speculation, in my attempt to pile on as much pressure as possible, and keep the drivers up at night thinking about what might happen. Fun stuff this Race Director thing...
Pro Light
With a ten point lead, Steve Pepka has a bit of breathing room to make it his second consecutive SIRS Pro Light championship, but there is still one driver with a chance. Former SIRS Winter Season titlist Adam Kellerman sits second, and judging by his second half performance this season, has what it takes to challenge for the top spot. That said, Adam will still need a win, and solid runs from the rest of the top five to help gap himself from the reigning champ. Basically we would have to see Pepka off the podium, and Kellerman out front with fastest lap to see this thing change hands.
Six points off of Adam is the 5-time SIRS champ Lon S. Bromley, who is fighting out of a hole this season, having missed round #4. Scoring a win in the first round has been the high point thus far for the vet, and he will be keen to match the result in the Finale. Alos, Lon is a good bet to land himself a podium in the final race, as he never finish off the podium all season long, showing the consistency need to finish at the top. Another 6 points back is fellow veteran Chris Jeppesen, who also found himself at the top step of the podium, his coming in the 3rd round. Week-in and week-out Chris is towards the front of the pack, and certainly will be charging hard to try and grab another podium points finish this season.
Seven points back from Chris is his teammate Rob Marssdorf, who is coming off a solid second place finiah in the regular season finale one week ago. While a mathematical shot at 3rd is still there, Rob will have to win with at least second fast lap, and Lon will have to finish 5th, and no fast lap to earn the spot. Anything can happen in the Finale, and with so many spots still up for grabs, look to see a lot of action in this class.
Pro Heavy
Reigning Pro Heavy champ Tony Hana currently enjoys a 10 point lead in his bid to make it two in a row, but he is keeping some dangerous company with him on th podium. With 3 wins a piece both 2-time champ Adam Griffith (2nd -10pts), and rising star Milan Diebel (3rd -12pts) are a definite threat at the top spot, but possibly more to each other. With only two points between them, there focus could be more on what to do to keep/take second versus actually steal the championship away. Either way it will be a fantastic battle to watch.
It will only be a three driver fight for the podium this season, but someone who could certainly mix things up in that fight is current 4th place driver Scott Santiani. Sitting 17 points back from the podium fight, Scott will be looking to earn his second win of the season, and to keep the 4th spot from Tim McKinney who is only 1 point back. This will be a fight in itself as Tim has been very stong all season, and if it weren't for missing two rounds he'd be in the thick of the podium fight.
GT Light
Congratulations Adam Kellerman! Adam has clinched the GT Light championship withough even needing to start the Shootout Finale, having amassed a 28 point lead thus far. With only a total of 23 points available to someone in the Finale, it marks Adam's second title, and second one earned in the Winter Season (his first was the Pro Light title in winter '06).
The battle for second is far from over however, with 3 drivers battling for the final two awarded spots, all seperated by only 6 points. Cale Lennard now holds the second spot via tie breaker over rookie Brian Cronk, who missed last week's round #7, while Fall Season GT Light Champ Joseph Criscione sits 4th six points back. Cale has shown great speed this season, making a big improvement from last season where he finish 3rd in the championship. Cronk has a bit better consistency however, and it will be interesting to see who will be able to pull the trigger first in the Finale. Criscione has shown excellent pace all season as well, but will need to stay mistake free in the Finale, and most likely grab a win to steal the second spot away. This will be another great battle to watch, and will definitely come down top the final lap.
Sophomore season driver Brent Palmer is the "Best of the Rest", having moved from GT Senior at the beginning of the season. In fact, the move was just to allow other people run, showing an excellent mark of sportsmanship. Running with a lot more weight than the rest of the top 5 makes finding the top 3 here difficult, but look for Brent to pounce on any misfortunes by the leaders.
GT Senior
An eleven point lead bodes well for his econd title in a row, but he will still need to say mistake free and seal the deal in this final race. In second is Lon S. Bromley, someone who certainly has what it takes to bring the fight to the reigning champ, but he will need some help from the rest of the field. Lon will need Eric off the podium to even have a shot at him, but the rest of the top five have shown the pace it takes to have a shot in helping that happen.
Leading the rest of the finalists is last season second highest rookie, and GT Senior second place driver Vladimir Fedotov, who now has all but locked up the third spot. With too large a gap to second, look for Vlady to go "win or bust" this week using his quick pace to find a way to the front. In fourth is current second place in the rookie standings Derrick Roeske, who has been looking less and less like a rookie in recent weeks. Derrick has found the podium twice this season already, and I seem him as a strong threat to do so again this week. Last but not least is veteran Fernando Gaete, who just made it into the show this season. Also with a big gap to the drivers in front of him, it will be about closing out the season on a high note, whilst putting together a strong finish.
GT Sport
Congratulations Tony Hana! Like Adam in the Gt Light class, Tony has shown the way here in GT Sport by winning the first 6 races with the fastest lap to boot. A recent pinched nerve in his back made him drop out of the 7th round after only 11 laps, reliquishing the lead, and the streak, but the championship is still his. If he felt like it, he could sit the Finale out, but it sounds like the pinched nerve is on the mend, and that he'll be going for the Shootout win.
After an interesting 7th round, Joe Filipanko now has a nearly insurmountable gap on 3rd Place Milan Diebel, after Milan missed making a designated pits top. This gap in points nearly sets the field, although mathematically it is still a bit open in the top 5. Milan is 14 points back from Joe, 4th place Jerry Hudson III is 11 back from Milan, and Richard Brindos is 1 point back from Jerry. While mathematically open, these drivers consistent results this season lean towards seeing the top 5 hold station.
Rookie Richard Brindos sits in 5th, and has a mathematical shot at the top 3, but will most likely be looking to improve pace this week instead of moving up in the points. Making steady improvement over the course of the season, Richard has steadily closed the gap to the front 4, and now with only the five of them out on track, he'll be able to concentrate a bit more on learning. Look to see more steady improvement form Richard during this 50 lap event.
GT Heavy
Scott Santiani picked up his third win of the season this past week in the 7th round, lengthening his point lead to 8 over his only threat for the title, Bob Segui. Bob has also won 3 races this season, but unfortunately missed the 6th round do to illness, which did hinder his shot at the top spot a bit. What has hindered it even more is the strong showings out of rookie Dylan Hooker, who won in the 6th round, then was able to steal second away from Bob last week. Bob will need to have a strong Finale, but he will also need to have Dylan between himself and Scott to grab his first career championship. Dylan himself has a mathematical shot at second place, but he will need to grab another win, and have Bob have a very dismal night to do so.
Behind this trio is a great battle between rookies Zach Koping and Cameron Kinder, both of whom have found eachother on track numerous times. With only two points between them it will come down to the final few laps, with every position being important to the end outcome. Zach does have the upper hand going in, not only having the two point lead, but also the advantage of the tie breaker as well.
Team Championship
Defending Team Champions Ballistic Smooth Hardcore (B.S.H.) are once again atop the leader board heading into the final race, and with thier nearly 70 point lead over season-long rivals Crazy Flying Monkeys (CFM), it looks to be in their favor. B.S.H.'s drivers Steve Pepka and Tony Hana have amassed 14 wins thus far, the most of any team this winter. CFM's Eric Oyague has performed beautifully this season, scoring 5 out of the team's 6 wins, helping solidify their role in the top 3 battle. Plus with both Rob Marssdorf and Chris Jeppesen making it into the Shootout finale, CFM's chances at the top spot are far from extinguished yet. Third in the hunt is one of CFM's sister teams, CFM-Old Skool with Adam Kellerman, Kevin Fletcher, and Fernando Gaete as it's drivers. They are the second winningest team (10 wins), but are currently just over 33 points back from thier teammates, but worse yet is the miniscule gap to 4th: only 13.6 points. In the 4th spot is team BSH-"All-In", drivers Lon S. Bromley and Jerry Hudson III making a resurgence in recent rounds, scoring solid finishes while eating the gap up to the podium. Rounding out the top 5 is last season's second place finishing team BSH-Winslow, although now with a bit different lineup. Oyague is out, and Joe Filipanko is in, trying to fill the big shoes he left after helping the team to a second place last Fall. Still with the team is Scott Santiani, and both drivers have excelled this season, staying in the top 5 hunt straight from the get go.
Masters
Signed, sealed, and delivered, Eric Oyague has clinched the Masters Title one week early, making it two in a row for the veteran. To earn his second title, Eric won 5 races in the GT Senior class, one of the larger classes in the SIRS, and is well on his way to another class championship as well. Congratulations Eric!
Rookies
Although he missed round #7, Brian still holds on to the top spot in the rookie hunt, and looks to be able to retain it all the way to the end. Nine points is asking a lot, but if one cat can get it done, it's fellow rookie Derrick Roeske. Derrick really needs a win to have a shot at the rookie title, but lookig at the speed he has shown of late, I wouldn't count him out.
Juniors
With Brian Cronk missing the final regular season race, it gave Cale lennard a chance to close the gap, and put him in position for his first Junior Title. Currently tied for first, Cale holds the top spot over the rookie via tie breaker, and it is going to come down to the Fianle to decide this one. With the standings tied, it will probably be decided by who finishes in front of the other, although there is a third driver who has a shot at his second Junior Title in as many tries. Four points back in the third spot is Fall GT Light Champion Joseph Criscione, who still has a shot at the top spot here, but will need some help to get it done.