RICHMOND, Va. — Richard Childress smiled and celebrated Saturday night. It was a contrast from recent weeks when the Hall of Fame owner has railed against his team’s cars and NASCAR’s decision makers.

There were no controversies this time. In what has been a challenging year for Richard Childress Racing, Austin Dillon’s victory at Richmond showed that the team’s retooling has moved it in the proper direction. But work remains.

At the center of this project is Childress, who will turn 80 next month. While he could let others run his team and recede into a ceremonial role, Childress remains a key figure.

“You look at our organization,” Dillon said after his sixth career Cup victory. “There’s one rock in the middle of it. That’s my grandfather. He’s always been there. He’s always the guy on top of the truck and trailer giving his all. You don’t see that from every owner out there.”

Molded by his early days in the rough-and-tumble atmosphere at Bowman Gray Stadium, Childress carried a fighter’s stubbornness and mettle into a racing career as an independent driver. His pairing with Dale Earnhardt created one of NASCAR’s most successful driver/car owner combinations and made RCR a team for the everyman.

That remains at Childress’ core.

The Richard Childress Racing driver locked into the playoffs with his second consecutive victory on the 0.75-mile oval.

Last month at Indianapolis, he defended Xfinity driver Austin Hill after NASCAR penalized Hill five laps for wrecking Aric Almirola. When asked if NASCAR should suspend Hill a race — the sanctioning body later did — Childress erupted with a “hell no” and said he didn’t feel his team was viewed as others were.

“It’s who you are,” Childress said. “We’re a blue-collar team. They (NASCAR) give us trouble all the time.”

Saturday night’s win was the organization’s first Cup victory since Dillon’s controversial victory last year at Richmond that saw him wreck Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap. NASCAR allowed the victory to stand but stripped Dillon and the team of the playoff eligibility that went with it — a decision that cost RCR millions of dollars in lost chartered revenue.

Tyler Reddick finished 34th after his car was damaged in an incident at Richmond.

While joyous with his grandson’s win Saturday, Childress displayed an edge about NASCAR’s decision from a year ago.

“I’ll never forget last year,” he said. “But today winning the race, I want to focus and concentrate on it.”

Success has been fleeting in recent years for Richard Childress Racing, which won the last of its six Cup titles in 1994 and hasn’t had a driver place in the top 10 in points since Ryan Newman was second in 2014.

The organization has won two races since last year but none by Kyle Busch, whose career-long winless streak stretched to 82 races after he placed 16th.

Until Saturday — when Dillon led 107 laps — the organization had led only 70 laps this year. The team still has fewer top-five finishes this season than at this point a year ago when it had four.

Childress has been outspoken about his team’s performance in recent years. Last summer, he said he was “more involved” as the team sought a turnaround.

A focus has been engineering. The organization brought in Richard Boswell, who had been at Stewart-Haas Racing until it shut down, to be Dillon’s crew chief this season. The hires also included John Klausmeier, a former crew chief and technical director at SHR who joined RCR last November as technical director.

It often takes time to see the results of change. Childress expressed his frustration with the pace of progress last month after the Dover race, which saw both team cars place outside the top 10.

“We’ve got to get some damn race cars,” Childress said on the radio of Dillon’s team. “I’ve seen enough out of our drivers and teams. We’ve got to work on this (expletive). Period.”

Childress delivered a similar message on Busch’s radio channel after that race, saying: “We’ve got to get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.”

What changes to make hasn’t always been easy. Dillon plays a key role in the organization’s direction — a role that will grow when his driving career ends — and he admits that discussions with his grandfather gets heated at times.

“We get into arguments to the point of frustration,” Dillon said. “It’s very hard when he’s your grandfather to have an argument with him because you don’t want to argue about it. There’s certain directions we have to go to move this boat forward, right?

“I’m constantly pushing him. My brother (Ty) has stepped in now and trying to help as well. Between the two of us, we want to try to take some of the load off of him as we go.Yeah, but he’s very loyal to a fault almost. He really takes great care of those that are around him. We just push him to try and make change at some point in time.

“He usually has a way about it where you tell him one thing and he’s going to get upset about it. Then two weeks later (he’ll) turn around (and say), ‘What do you think about this?’ That’s a great idea, man. I love that.”

Saturday, after the team’s 118th Cup victory, Childress was as happy as after many other wins.

“You never take winning for granted,” he said.

Maine NASCAR veteran Ricky Craven buys Speedway 95 in Hermon

Craven plans to “evolve” the track

Updated: 8:58 PM EDT Aug 17, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Maine native and former NASCAR driver Ricky Craven has purchased Speedway 95 in Hermon, taking over from longtime owner Delano Merritt, who has been the sole owner of the track since 2010, according to a press release.The sale was finalized on Sunday after a year of phone calls and in person meetings between Craven and Merritt. Craven, a Newburgh native and the only Mainer to win at NASCAR’s top level, plans extensive renovations to modernize the facility.“Today is a monumental day for me and my family,” Craven said.Merritt, who began working at Speedway 95 in 1968, will stay on through the end of the 2025 season and assist with the transition into 2026. Read Craven’s full statement below:“Today is a monumental day for me and my family. I have been friends with Del for decades and admired the dedication he has given for his track, team, and all associated with Speedway 95. I am dedicating the rest of my life to a track that has been part of my DNA for many years. Both my Mom and Dad won races at Speedway 95 in the 70’s. I have the honor of receiving the checkered flag and a black flag from Del during my racing at Speedway 95 in a strange way, I benefitted from both. Now Del and I can say we are forever connected through Speedway 95. We will in the near future share with all the people with equity in this track our intentions to do some aggressive vision of how this facility will continue to evolve. It includes several phases that I can not wait to get started. I want to thank Del, his family, Kim, Shawn, and the entire team at Speedway 95, and of course all of the people that have competed or been associated with the track since 1966. The details of our plans will be announced at a later date. Del and I will work closely together to finish out the 2025 Speedway 95 race season which will run through October 12th.”

In his playoff-clinching victory at Richmond Raceway, Austin Dillon shared some NASCAR history on the venerable short track with the most famous driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet.

Dale Earnhardt, the late seven-time Cup Series champion who amassed 76 victories in a Hall of Fame career, was the last Richard Childress Racing driver to win consecutive Cup races at the 0.75-mile oval in Richmond, Virginia, until Dillon did so Saturday night.

The comparisons to Earnhardt and whispers of nepotism have dogged Dillon since the grandson of team owner Richard Childress was tabbed 11 years ago to drive the car number synonymous with a NASCAR icon.

“I could win 50 races, and they’ll say my grandpa gave me the ride,” Dillon said with a smile. “They’re not wrong. He did. He did a great job putting me in it. Hopefully, I’m paying off on his investment at some point.”

Richmond was only his sixth victory in 433 Cup starts, but Dillon said snapping a 37-race winless streak was “one of the best because it was pretty much a butt kicking.” He led 107 of 400 laps, including the final 49, and cruised to a 2.471-second victory over Alex Bowman.

Dillon never led for more than 35 laps in any of his previous Cup wins. He won the 2018 Daytona 500 by leading only the last lap after knocking Aric Almirola aside two turns from the checkered flag.

Last year’s win at Richmond was his most controversial as Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap, and NASCAR consequently revoked his playoff eligibility.

There was no such drama Saturday night, when Dillon cleanly outdueled 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney just before his final pit stop.

“Anybody that says Austin doesn’t deserve to be at this level, look at the 30 or 40 laps he raced side by side with Ryan Blaney,” said Richard Boswell, Dillon’s crew chief. “He raced door to door with a Cup champion. He beat him. Yeah, we need to run better. We need to be more consistent. But anybody that says he just can’t do it is not looking at the facts.”

The statistics are less convincing about Dillon’s championship chances.

Richmond was the first top-five finish in 25 races this year for Dillon, who is ranked 25th in the points standings and in the Cup playoffs for the sixth time in 12 seasons. He has won championships in the Truck and Xfinity series, with 22 victories across NASCAR’s top three national circuits.

“Austin has earned his way,” Childress said. “He won races in everything he’s ever driven. They’re going to give you criticism because he is my grandson. But we take it. It’s just the way life is. You can’t be burdened down by what people say. Do what you do and move forward. He’s won his share.”

Dillon, 35, said he cried last year during RCR’s unsuccessful appeal of the NASCAR penalty that took him out of the playoffs, noting he legitimately had passed Hamlin and Logano before a late caution erased a comfortable lead. The Richmond repeat validated Dillon’s belief that he belongs in NASCAR’s premier series.

“I think I get the credit I deserve,” he said. “I have some loyal fans. We’re kind of like a fighter. We don’t go away. I think a lot of people think that guy is going to go away at some point. I like that underdog mentality a little bit.”

He also likes his new pairing with Boswell, who joined Richard Childress Racing after taking Chase Briscoe to the 2024 playoffs. Boswell made a pivotal call to pit with 59 laps remaining just after Dillon took the lead from Blaney.

“I have a great team right now, probably one of the strongest we’ve built,” Dillon said. “We want to make this organization as strong as some of the top teams. We scrap and claw and figure out ways to win. I think we have fun when we do that.”

Playoff outlook

Dillon became the 14th winner to lock into the 16-driver playoff field heading into the Aug. 23 regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. There will be at least one winless driver to qualify for the playoffs, and Tyler Reddick and Bowman occupy the final two provisional spots in the points standings.

Reddick was on track to clinch a playoff spot at Richmond after leading 41 laps, but he finished 34th after being caught in a crash that started when Daniel Suarez bumped Ty Gibbs.

“It’s pretty much worst-case scenario for us,” Reddick said. “We can thank Daniel Suarez for that. Went from a car that was one of the fastest on the track to one of the slowest.”

Bubba Wallace, who is teamed with Reddick at the 23XI Racing squad co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan, led a race-high 123 laps in his No. 23 Toyota but finished two laps down in 28th after losing a tire during a pit stop.

Regular-season champion

With a 12th-place finish, William Byron clinched the regular-season title as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished last. Byron will be awarded 15 playoff points that will provide a good cushion to make the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway for the third consecutive season.

“It’s huge,” Byron said. “No one’s running away with this thing, which is going to create a really crazy playoffs. I feel like we’re in rhythm.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Nate Ryan, The Associated Press

On a sun-soaked Sunday at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, Marc Marquez (pictured) finally conquered his personal jinx, clinching his sixth straight MotoGP victory in the 2025 BWIN Grand Prix of Austria.

The runaway championship leader dominated the historic 1000th MotoGP race, fending off a late charge from rookie sensation Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and a tenacious Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), who led early but settled for third.

The Start: Bezzecchi Holds Firm, Marquez and Bagnaia Clash

Polesitter Bezzecchi nailed the start, holding off a hard-charging Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who briefly threatened to steal the holeshot. Marquez, starting third, wasted no time, diving inside Bagnaia at Turn 3 on the opening lap.

Bagnaia fought back, keeping P2 into Turn 4, but Marquez made it stick on Lap 2, muscling past his teammate to chase Bezzecchi.

Behind them, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) surged from the third row, pressuring Alex Marquez, while Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) briefly grabbed P5 before running wide at Turn 1. Alex Marquez, hit with a Long Lap penalty, dropped to P11 after serving it on Lap 3.

Marquez Closes In

By Lap 4, Bezzecchi set the fastest lap, holding a 0.6-second gap over Marquez, with Bagnaia 1.1 seconds back in third, fending off Acosta. Marquez steadily chipped away, shrinking the lead to 0.2 seconds by Lap 8.

A brief lull saw the gap widen to 0.9 seconds, sparking whispers: was Marquez managing his front tire, or was Bezzecchi’s Aprilia simply faster? The question lingered as Bezzecchi’s teammate Jorge Martin crashed out at Turn 7 on Lap 14, ending his race.

Marquez Strikes, Aldeguer Surges

On Lap 18, Marquez pounced, diving inside Bezzecchi at Turn 3 to take the lead into Turn 4. Bezzecchi fired back at Turn 6, reclaiming P1, but Marquez wasn’t done. On Lap 20, he parked his Ducati inside Bezzecchi at Turn 1, seizing control for good. Meanwhile, Acosta and Aldeguer shook up the podium fight, with Acosta’s bold move on Bagnaia at the penultimate corner on Lap 18 allowing Aldeguer to slip through, dropping Bagnaia to fifth.

Aldeguer, the rookie star, was on fire. By Lap 22, he blasted past Acosta at Turn 2B, setting a scorching 1:30.120—over half a second quicker than the leaders. By Lap 24, he overtook Bezzecchi at Turn 3, closing to within 1.1 seconds of Marquez. With four laps left, the gap was 0.9 seconds; by the next lap, it was 0.7. Aldeguer was the fastest man on track, but time was running out.

Marquez Seals the Deal

Marquez, cool under pressure, steadied his pace. With two laps to go, he stretched his lead back to 0.9 seconds, snuffing out Aldeguer’s charge. No mistakes came on the final lap, and Marquez crossed the line to claim his first Red Bull Ring win, banking 25 points and cementing his grip on the 2025 title chase.

Aldeguer’s stunning second marked his first MotoGP podium, while Bezzecchi’s third gave him back-to-back rostrums for the first time since 2023.

The Rest of the Field

Acosta led KTM’s home effort in fourth, followed by teammate Bastianini in fifth, a solid day for the Austrian brand. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) battled to sixth, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) seventh after intense duels.

Bagnaia, disappointed, faded to eighth. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) edged Alex Marquez for ninth, while Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) rounded out the points, with Yamaha enduring a tough weekend.

Marquez’s March to History

Marquez’s Austrian triumph, his sixth in a row, stretched his championship lead to a commanding 142 points as he heads to Hungary. The Red Bull Ring, once his nemesis, now bears his mark. For Ducati, it was another dominant day; for Aldeguer and Bezzecchi, a sign of battles to come. In MotoGP’s 1000th race, Marquez proved why he’s chasing a seventh world title.

Austrian GP Race Results: 28 Laps

* Rookie

On a blistering hot day at Indianapolis Colts training camp last month, Austin Dillon sought one of the few available slivers of shade as he watched players go through their practice routine.

Encountering shade is something Dillon is plenty familiar with — he’s gotten it from NASCAR fans during his entire racing career, labeled as the undeserving “silver spoon” driver who only keeps his job because his grandfather, Richard Childress, owns the race team.

But for a guy who has heard it all, he’s remarkably unfazed by the criticism. Frankly, it’s because he doesn’t agree with it; in his heart, Dillon knows he would step out of the seat if it was the best thing for Richard Childress Racing.

Dillon has a scout’s mindset for athletes. He demonstrated that by pointing out various players on the Colts’ field and breaking down their attributes (Dillon would be a formidable opponent in your fantasy football league) and discussing his roster choices for the Carolina Cowboys (a Professional Bull Riders team for which he is the general manager).

And genuinely, Dillon is clear-eyed about his own abilities as well. At age 35, Dillon knows he is not Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano, which is why last year he cried during the appeals process for his infamous Richmond victory — emotional that until a late caution, he was going to beat the two future Hall of Famers straight up.

Earlier this year, Dillon told The Athletic he would transition to a full-time management role “when I have exhausted all efforts and the success hasn’t come with it and the right person is there to pick up the weight and I can successfully help the company in a better way at RCR.”

“When that time comes, I’ll be ready for it, and I’ll try and make us as competitive as I can, always,” he added.

But for now, Dillon believes he’s still good enough to get it done, to be an asset to RCR while in the driver’s seat of the No. 3 car. Nights like Saturday seem to back that up. Back at Richmond one year later, he led more than 100 laps in the most complete race of his career and earned a win that vaulted him into the playoffs.

Burned it down and left no doubt.@austindillon3 takes @RCRracing back to Victory Lane. pic.twitter.com/ZlmfPhdUTt

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 17, 2025

He has back-to-back seasons with a win for the first time since 2017-18 — and during a time in which RCR has struggled. If you want a measurement of how the team is doing overall, just look at Dillon’s teammate, the great Kyle Busch — who has not won at all in the last two and a half seasons.

And Dillon is doing all of this with more responsibilities than a typical driver, because he’s involved with RCR management decisions.

“If the outside people knew how much he did on top of this — he’ll be at the shop on Monday at a meeting with Richard, talking about the health of the company,” crew chief Richard Boswell said. “He’s got a lot on his plate, which makes it harder for him to work at this level as a Cup driver as well. But he stays at it all week long.”

On that steamy day at Colts training camp, Dillon and Busch hung around until practice was over to meet cornerback Kenny Moore II. Moore, who described himself as a big race fan, was enthusiastic about meeting both drivers — and not just Busch, the future Hall of Famer.

“I’ve been seeing y’all names for a long time now,” Moore told them.

Indeed, Dillon has quietly put together a 12-year Cup Series career in which he has six Cup wins — including two crown jewels — and two lower-series championships. But for anyone tired of seeing his name, there’s bad news: You’re going to be hearing about Dillon for a long time to come, because he’s being groomed to take the reins of RCR when Childress, now 79, eventually steps away.

Dillon said the two men already have “knock-down, drag-out” fights about the direction of the company at times because Childress is “loyal to a fault” with personnel whereas Dillon sees the need for change. But Dillon feels he’s making an impact, even if it’s not immediate.

“He usually has a way about it where you tell him one thing and he’s going to get upset about it,” Dillon said. “Then two weeks later (he) turns around (and says), ‘What do you think about this?’ ‘That’s a great idea, man. I love that.’”

Reddick at risk?

Dillon was 28th in the point standings prior to Saturday night, so his playoff berth was certainly unexpected with two races remaining. And combined with a bad night for Tyler Reddick — after Reddick was spun in a chain-reaction incident triggered by Daniel Suárez — there’s suddenly a dramatic shift in the potential playoff field.

That’s because Reddick, who is currently seventh in the standings and has shown plenty of speed at times this season despite not winning, is now in jeopardy of missing the cut. That’s shocking, considering the more likely scenario heading into Richmond was Reddick would clinch a berth if there was no new winner.

But now Reddick is only 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman, who currently has the final position on points, and if there is another new winner at Daytona to take a guaranteed berth, just one driver will make the field based on points. Should Reddick crash at Daytona (entirely possible given the frequency of the Big One) and Bowman end up with a good night, Reddick could be out.

Suddenly, Tyler Reddick will have to sweat it out at Daytona. A bad day there, plus a new winner and a good day for Alex Bowman could doom his playoff hopes. (Samuel Corum / Getty Images)

Did anyone see this coming? Surely not as recently as last week, when Reddick left Watkins Glen with a 117-point lead over the cutoff spot. Even if there were two new winners, he was still 57 points — almost an entire race — ahead of Bowman.

But Dillon’s win, along with the ill-fated Suárez wreck and Bowman’s excellent Richmond race (a second-place finish) suddenly combined to bring doubt into play. Now, a driver who made a Championship 4 appearance last year and is ahead of eight of this season’s playoff drivers in the point standings, has to sweat it out for one more race.

If you were Reddick’s team, what strategy would you use at Daytona? You would have to assume there will be a new winner in your scenario-planning, so that leaves a points race with Bowman. One idea would be to hang back and try to force Bowman into running hard; after all, Bowman would have to be on offense for stage points and his overall result. While that could appear conservative, it also provides some level of protection from the Big One and letting others take themselves out (thus filling the bottom of the running order with DNFs and gambling Bowman cannot gain 30 points that way).

Greatyear

While it’s unfortunate tire supplier Goodyear has been given the onus of fixing what ails NASCAR’s Next Gen car on short tracks, the company certainly provided more than just a glimmer of hope on Saturday night.

The race was entertaining and interesting almost entirely because of the tire wear. The various strategies allowed for a wide discrepancy in speed, which created passing opportunities — which is what many have been pleading for, particularly on short tracks.

Does it mean Goodyear can replicate this everywhere by bringing a soft tire? No, not necessarily. Multi-groove Richmond, last repaved in 2004, is one of NASCAR’s oldest surfaces and naturally wears tires. Some of the newer repaves would require Goodyear to go even softer with its tire compounds, which is a stretch given the company’s current tools.

So while Richmond showed what is possible with the car, it also should be enjoyed on its own merits instead of viewed as the new standard going forward for other short tracks. At this time, that doesn’t seem realistic.

Lord, Byron!

William Byron won his first regular-season championship on Saturday night after a 12th-place finish — combined with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott’s first DNF of the year — was enough to clinch the prize of 15 bonus points with one race remaining before the playoffs begin.

Even though Byron hit a slump with a stretch of poor results this summer (he finished outside the top 15 in six of eight races before winning earlier this month at Iowa Speedway), he believed his No. 24 team showed enough speed all along. That helped alleviate some of the typical concerns that have come when the team gets off to a hot start and then slips in the midseason stretch.

“We’re in rhythm, in sync,” he said. “The years we’ve been on the other side, it’s a lot of questions, a lot of doubt that things are going to work out.

“Now we’ve been kind of through the wringer of a lot of different things this year. Every race has kind of been different in terms of what we fight. … It feels nice to go into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders, just operating well. I don’t feel like we’ve ever really slowed down.”

What’s particularly notable about Saturday night’s achievement is Byron had coughed up a triple-digit lead in the standings when Elliott roared back to take the top spot by 16 points at Dover (less than a month ago). Then, in just four races, Byron reclaimed the lead and did enough to wrap up the title before even taking the green flag for the regular-season finale.

(Photo of Austin Dillon celebrating Saturday’s win: Samuel Corum / Getty Images)

JMF Motorsports’ Michai Stephens was able to take the lead from DXDT Racing’s Blake McDonald during the mid-race pit stop sequence Sunday (Aug. 17). From there, Stephens pulled away from the field, then held on in a one-lap shootout to win GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Race No. 2 at Road America with Mikael Grenier. It is Grenier and Stephens’ second overall win and third Pro class win of the season.

“I have to make sure [John Farrow, team owner] is ok. I think he and I both had a mild heart attack [after that one-lap shootout],” Stephens said after the race.

The margin of victory was 1.328 seconds over Random Vandals Racing’s Connor de Phillippi and Kenton Koch. Rennsport One’s Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick were third, then Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey in the second Random Vandals BMW. DXDT Racing’s McDonald and Matt Bell were fifth.

Bell started from pole in his Corvette. He ended up spending the entire first half of the race battling with Grenier for the overall lead. He was able to open a small lead over Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley in the Pro-Am class.

In the Pro class, Grenier started from pole in second overall. With the Pro drivers in the Pro-Am class starting the race, he ended up with a decent lead over Heylen in the Rennsport One Porsche. Heylen, in turn, opened a five-second lead over Auberlen.

At the start of the mid-race stops, Bell was less than a second ahead of Grenier and had two seconds over Foley in Pro-Am.

Grenier stopped on lap 20 along with Sedgwick for full service. The total pit lane deltas were relatively similar, but Grenier was starting to open up the gap prior to the stops. Afterwards, there was a seven-second gap between the top Pro cars.

Bell stopped with a little over 41 minutes to go to put McDonald in the car along with the majority of the other Pro-Am teams. McDonald was able to get out of the pits with the overall lead, but was on cold tires. That allowed Stephens to run him down and take the lead in turn 5.

In the pit window, Stephens turned in a series of quick laps to run away from Sedgwick. By the time the window closed, his advantage over the Porsche in class had doubled from seven to 14 seconds.

McDonald ended up with a substantial lead in the Pro-Am class over Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg. He was able to run his own pace during his stint. That pace paled in comparison to the Pro class teams around him, but was more than enough to maintain his Pro-Am.

With seven minutes to go, CRP Racing’s Jason Daskalos suffered a rear suspension failure that shot his car off the track at turn 8. He managed to keep the car off of the wall, but he stalled in the runoff to bring out the caution. The caution wiped out a 22-second lead for Stephens overall and a nine-second lead for McDonald in Pro-Am.

Given the length of a lap at Road America, this seemed like it would take was more than enough for the race to end under caution. However, the safety crew was able to quickly remove Daskalos’ Mercedes so that the race could end with a one-lap shootout.

On the restart, Sedgwick attempted to make a move for the lead on Stephens. However, he went too hot into turn 1, which allowed de Phillippi to take second. From there, Stephens was able to hold on to take the win.

In Pro-Am, McDonald was able to lead on the restart, but Rothberg seemed to have more left on his tires. As a result, the BMW was right on McDonald’s tail.

Further back, Archangel Motorsports’ Todd Coleman went very wide in turn 1 and didn’t rejoin in a safe fashion. That rejoin resulted in Chouest Povoledo Racing’s Ross Chouest being forced into the grass and spinning out.

Rothberg made an aggressive move for the Pro-Am lead at turn 8 on the final lap, but McDonald was able to hold him off. From there, McDonald held on for the class win.

Bell and McDonald’s margin of victory was .439 seconds over Foley and Rothberg. The Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell and Darren Turner were third, then Regulator Racing’s Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis. GMG Racing’s Tom Sargent and Kyle Washington were fifth.

Ellis recovered from a stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane to finish third on the road, thanks to the caution. However, he was judged to have gone off the track to overtake Newell on the final lap, so he was docked a position.

The big crash that Scott Dollahite had in the Kink during Race No. 1 Saturday resulted in Dollahite being unable to race. Teammate Eric Powell was forced to borrow Turner Motorsport’s backup car to make a couple laps to get points.

Regulator Racing Wins Shortened Road America Race No. 1

As a result, AF Corse’s Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Jay Schreibman took the Am victory by default.

Next up is Barber Motorsports Park for the sixth race weekend of the season. Race No. 1 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 6. The race will air live on both RACER Network and the GT World YouTube channel.

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He’s the manager of the site’s FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site’s Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.