Radical Cup North America arrives at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend with a new points leader. Sim racer turned Radical rookie Suellio Almeida leads the Pro 1340 points battle after taking three wins at Road America. Meanwhile, in Pro 1500, fellow Graham Rahal Performance driver Nick d’Orlando has closed to be within just three points of teammate Jordan Missig, Jack Yang has taken over top honors in the Gold class, and Clint Field heads the Platinum points to start the second half of the season. This weekend marks the fourth straight event of a 30-plus strong field, as the series joins the NTT IndyCar series for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey.
“With half the season gone, the championship battles are raging in all three classes,” said Radical’s Tom Drewer. “This year has seen a big influx in participation and an even bigger step up in competition due to the caliber of young guns and veteran drivers coming into the Radical Cup.”
Nine cars this weekend will come from the Pro 1340 class, five of which will come from the Crown Concepts with Apex Motor Club stable. Chris McMurry will be attempting to take back the points lead, while the father and son duo of Blake and Keith McGovern again search for podium results as they did at Road America just one week ago. Mike Ellis and Evan Wolf will also throw their hats into the mix to aid the Crown team, which currently leads the Pro 1340 Team Championship. New points leader Brazilian Suellio Almeida will be hoping to extend his four-race winning streak with his No.3 Graham Rahal Performance-prepared machine, and will be joined by teammate Kenny Naill. Currently sitting third in points, Benjamin Blander will this weekend be joined by fellow RYNO Racing with Team Stradale driver Mike Anzaldi, who returns to Pro 1340 after a heavy crash sidelined his SR3 1500 car.
Pro 1500 has been dominated by Graham Rahal Performance drivers so far in 2024, but the fight between Missig and d’Orlando has tightened after d’Orlando took two more wins at Road America, while Missig suffered an unusual spate of mishaps and bad luck. Looking to knock them off the pedestal will be the likes of One Motorsports pilot Matt Romer, Racing With Autism’s Austin Riley, and the Cameron Racing’s full season trio of Arul Venkatesh, Spencer Schmidt, and Corey Neveau. Fresh off a win at Road America, Group-A Racing’s Jack Yang will be one to watch at Laguna Seca, as will EVR’s Evan Slater who appears to be on the cusp of a win after finishing runner-up twice at Road America.
Steve Jenks returns to the series with Group-A this weekend, although not in the high-horsepowered SR10 machinery that he’s been used to in recent seasons, while Australian Richard McDougall and Brian Antle will join the series for the first time this year.
The fastest class on the weekend will be the Platinum ranks as 10 drivers will fight for glory. Sitting first and second in points, ONE Motorsports drivers Clint and Jon Field have been the stars of the class so far this season battling week in and week out for the top step of the podium, but they have been pushed hard by EVR Motorsports’ Louis Schriber each and every weekend. Chip Romer, in his ONE Motorsports machine, has been a threat as has EVR’s Jim Booth and Gregg Gorski. Cameron Racing will see Californian Jeff Ramsey also join the fray this weekend.
It will be a quick three-day weekend in California as Radical Cup competitors will hit the track on Friday for practice with three wheel-to-wheel races over the weekend. Be sure to tune into qualifying and all the racing action this weekend on the Radical Motorsport YouTube page HERE and follow the Radical Cup North America social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the event weekend.
Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.