Teams and competitors of the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America program returned to the track at NOLA Motorsports Park Sunday for the third and final race of the weekend. With Jon Field and Danny Dyszelski looking to sweep the on-track action in their respective classes, several other competitors were aiming to close the weekend on top and build momentum for the second event weekend later in April.
Race three also featured a mandatory pit stop for all competitors that would bring an element of strategy into play. A timed pit stop caught a few drivers out and ruined the chance at a weekend sweep for Platinum driver Jon Field (ONE Motorsports) and PRO 1500 front-runner Austin Riley (Racing With Autism) as both drivers were forced to serve late race penalties while in the lead.
When the green flag flew, it was another clean start for Radical competitors as Field was able to maintain the lead as he continued to be the class of the Platinum field. Behind him, Al Miller (ONE Motorsports), Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing), and Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) were engaged in an epic battle but five laps in, Schriber spun giving the potential podium positions to Miller and Williams. Williams and Alain Derzie (ONE Motorsports) also had in-race spins that took away potential podium results helping Field to eventually recover to a podium finish. Danny Dyszelski and WISKO Racing were out front in the PRO 1500 class as Austin Riley was able to move into second early on as he looked for his first podium of the new race season. While all the action was going in the faster class up front, Seth Bacon took the lead in the PRO 1340 ranks.
As drivers continued to maintain their speed on track, pit stops began around mid-race distance that shuffled the order. With traffic coming into play as drivers exited the pits, Jon Field extended his lead in the Platinum class while Riley jumped to the point in PRO 1500. Looking good for the wins in their respective classes, both drivers incurred stop-and-go penalties for pit stops being too fast which ruined both of their chances at victory.
When Field ducked to the pits to serve his penalty, “Indy Al” Miller inherited the lead as he and Schriber battled tooth and nail for the win over the final few circuits. Miller managed to keep his long-time rival behind him to take his first win of the season with Schriber coming home second, 0.407s in arrears. Race one and two winner Field was able to recover to stand on the podium in third.
In the PRO 1500 ranks, Dyszelski was able to retake the lead after Riley’s penalty to go on and sweep the weekend. With a pole position and three race wins, Dyszelski leaves NOLA Motorsports Park as the driver to beat in 1500. Behind the WISKO Racing driver, Nick Persing finished second claiming his third podium result of the weekend in the Cameron Racing machine and just ahead of a charging Gregg Gorski who crossed the line third. Female competitor Aurora Straus was able to take advantage of Austin Riley’s penalty to move to fourth as Riley was able to recover to finish fifth.
It was a Bacon one–two finish in PRO 1340 as the father and son duo battled hard all race long. Taking advantage of late-race traffic to put a car between him and his dad, Jace Bacon (Crown with Apex) was able to drive to the win by 3.41s over Seth (Crown with Apex). Kevin Poitras added a solid third-place result to celebrate on the podium once again as he finished just ahead of the fourth-place finisher of Ken Savage.
With the first event weekend now done and in the books, Radical Cup teams and competitors will shift their focus to races four, five, and six at the famed Barber Motorsports Park alongside the NTT IndyCar Series.
Stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the 2023 season.
Blue Marble Radical Cup events are open to all local and regional Radical racers with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Please stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America social media pages for news and updates from the 2023 season.