Fraser McConnell was the victor as the Nitrocross season kicked off in Oklahoma.
The Dreyer & Reinbold JC driver started the final from pole position and resisted a charge from Kris Meeke to secure his second victory in Nitrocross’ premier Group E class.
The final was reduced in length from six laps to three as a result of track conditions caused by the extreme heat. However, with the course at MidAmerica Outdoors being the longest in series history, the overall length of the final race itself was no shorter than ther series’ previous mains.
Racing into the first banked turn, McConnell forced Robin Larsson wide, negating the challenge from the reigning series champion, but opening the door for the rest of the field to sneak through. Meeke capitalized on that, rocketing from fourth on the grid and sneaking through a gap in the first corner melee to snatch second.
McConnell took the joker on lap one to gap the field further with Larsson following him into the shortcut. Meeke took that route a lap later, but not before pitching his car onto two wheels after the start/finish straight as he pushed to overhaul McConnell and the chasing Larsson.
Meeke emerged from the joker on-par with Larsson and quickly disposed of the Swede, and he set about getting by McConnell next, but a door-to-door collision broke his car’s suspension, ending what stood to be an immense battle for the win.
McConnell brought his car home virtually unchallenged after the final lap, ahead of Larsson and Kevin Eriksson who inherited the final podium spot after Meeke’s issue, plus a last-lap joker.
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Conner Martell finished fourth, ahead of Vermont SportsCar teammate Travis Pastrana, who hit a wall while trying to avoid Andreas Bakkerud, himself trying to navigate round the slow Meeke. Meeke took sixth, with Bakkerud collecting seventh and Conor Daly eighth in his first appearance in a rallycross-like event
Ahead of the final, Martell, Pastrana and Larsson shared the Preliminary round wins, while in the heats, Bakkerud and McConnell backed up their Battle bracket performance to win again, while Robin Larsson took the third ahead of Kevin Eriksson.
Bakkerud’s win came in a slimmed down two-car grid with Benito Guerra sitting out the day due to injury. A spin for Oliver Eriksson on the first lap further helped Bakkerud’s cause in what became a routine victory.
The last heat featured a thrilling start with Robin Larsson beating Kevin Eriksson at his own game by flying round the outside of the opening banked turn. The elder Eriksson brother continued applying the pressure though, while resisting a charge from Martell. An attempt to sneak up the inside for Pastrana at the start didn’t pay off, leaving him at the back of the pack.
Victories at the heat stage locked Bakkerud, McConnell, and Larsson into the final with the rest contesting a brace of Last Chance Qualifiers.
Martell won the first LCQ from Daly and Bennett, while the second came to an abrupt end after first lap contact between Pastrana and Kevin Eriksson pitched Pastrana into a roll and ripped the left rear wheel off Kevin Eriksson’s car. Bennett missed out on a final berth, however, with the tiebreaker coming down to qualifying performance rather than round performance.
Oliver Erikkson, who was also set to feature in the second LCQ, failed to make the start after succumbing to a motor issue, compounding a tricky day for him that began with gearbox problems. As a result, Meeke was the obvious winner of LCQ 2.