All season long, teams and competitors in the Radical Cup North America program have been working hard to get to this weekend. With the championship finale now here, and a test day in the books, the 2024 title chase will end in less than 48 hours. Taking on Sonoma Raceway, on track action heated up as Pro 1500 championship hopeful Jordan Missig had a drama-filled day, one that could affect a year’s worth of hard work.
Platinum
In two test sessions leading into the first official practice of the weekend, Michai Stephens (RYNO Racing with Team Stradale) and Chip Romer (ONE Motorsports) led the way. Louis Schriber (EVR Motorsports) and Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) also appeared in the top-three, but it was Stephens who topped the charts at the end of the day. The RYNO Racing with Team Stradale driver scored a quick time of 1m35.981s to lead Steve Jenks (Group-A Racing) and Jon Field (One Motorsports) at the top of the charts. It was another ONE Motorsports driver in the fourth position as Chip Romer looks like he has what it takes to challenge for a podium result in the season’s final weekend. Williams and Schriber beat Gregg Gorski in the final session of the day to finish fifth through seventh on the results sheet.
Pro 1500
Matt Romer (ONE Motorsports) and Bobby Thompson (Group-A Racing) led the way in the two unofficial test sessions but when official practice got underway, it was Evan Slater who found his way to the top of the charts. Graham Rahal Performance’s Jordan Missig had a hot afternoon as a large fire at the back of his machine brought the session to a halt and put his championship chase on hold. An engine failure led to an oil fire, and extensive damage was done. With no backup car, the team would work hard to see what they could do to get back on track as other teams offered parts and support to keep Missig’s championship hopes alive.
Outfitted in an all-white machine, Missig and GRP team had borrowed a car to get back on track and would take the session to get up to speed. Evan Slater (EVR Motorsports) found his way to the top of the charts and lay claim to the fastest Pro 1500 lap of the session with GRP’s Nick d’Orlando and another championship hopeful P2 in the day’s final session.
As the story continued, Missig slowly got up to speed in his new ride, and early on in the session, he was seconds off the fastest Pro 1500 lap. Fast-forward to when the checkered flag flew, Missig had clocked the third-fastest time, only 1.5s behind the fastest driver in his class in a car he was unfamiliar with, a massive accomplishment for him and the team. Matt Romer and Cameron Racing Radical Northwest’s Spencer Schmidt rounded out the top-five and will look to fight for a podium result on Friday.
Pro 1340
Announced Thursday morning and making his first Radical Cup North America start, Anders Fjordbach and his Crown Racing with Apex entry topped both Pro 1340 test sessions. Matt and Chris McMurry saw the Crown contingent seep all three top spots in both test sessions as they keep their eye on both the team and driver championship.
Matt Murry prevailed in the official practice session, keeping Crown Racing with Apex at the top of the charts in Pro 1340 with Fjordbach falling to second. A new driver and team appeared in the top-three as Suellio Almedia was able to edge out Chis McMurry for the third position the elder McMurry kept ahead of the fifth-place finisher of Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing with Team Stradale).
With another practice session scheduled for Friday morning, qualifying will follow with the first wheel-to-wheel race later in the day. Saturday will feature races two and three on the weekend with champions crowned on Saturday afternoon. Follow along all weekend long via the Radical Motorsport YouTube page and live stream HERE.
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.