Wednesday
Club Racing

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.672 · 91.55% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.726 · 90.44% cons

   Twenty-two thousandths of a second: that is how much quicker Mathew Schroeder's best lap in the A was, 14.704 to 14.726, and that makes this win his fourth Wednesday in a row and the first of the four where somebody else had the fastest lap of the main. Nothing else mattered. He TQ'd off the opener, 19 laps in 5:02.970 with the night's quickest lap in it at 14.672, and the A was the only 19-lap run in the race, at a 15.889 average more than a second a lap quicker than anyone behind him. He won by a lap.

2. 2nd
   Mathew Schroeder

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.737 · 91.27% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 14.704 · 83.75% cons

   The quickest lap of the A was his, a 14.704 that beat the winner's best, and he had already beaten Hendrick Westmoreland's second qualifier with 19 laps in 5:07.319. Then he couldn't string the main together: 83.75% consistency and a 17.120 average, four thousandths of a second a lap better than Mark Beach in third. Finishing a lap down with that single-lap speed, and only 5.074 seconds clear of third, is underachieving, and I'm not letting him off.

3. 3rd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 16.020 · 92.73% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.811 · 92.10% cons

   A week after the untidiest main of the night, he ran the steadiest one: 92.10% over 18 laps, on top of the steadiest qualifying run in the class at 92.73%. Some answer. The odd part is the average, 17.124 against Mathew Schroeder's 17.120, as near level as two averages get over 18 laps, and second still went the other way by 5.074 seconds. Third with the tidiest drive in the race is a result I'd frame.

4. 4th
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.493 · 85.43% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.197 · 80.73% cons

   Qualifying went the right way, 15 laps and then 17, and the main produced his best lap of the evening at 16.197. The rest of the main was the problem: 80.73%, the scrappiest of the four, and 16 laps after 17 in the second qualifier. A 19.355 average left him more than two seconds a lap off Mark Beach, and third was two laps up the road. It is still a lap more than his main a fortnight earlier.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.868 · 88.81% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.741 · 91.15% cons

   Three Wednesdays, three wins, and the margin was two laps again. How does a driver lose by two laps while running the steadier main? Dallas Boyd held 91.46% to Hendrick Westmoreland's 91.15%, and the winner's 15.786 average was still three quarters of a second a lap quicker than anyone else in the race. Consistency doesn't close a gap that size. The quickest lap of the night was his as well, a 14.741 in the A, and he TQ'd off the second qualifier. In all three sessions, nobody matched his lap count.

2. 2nd
   Dallas Boyd

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 15.537 · 92.82% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 14.932 · 91.46% cons

   His main a week earlier was a ragged 81.66%. This one was the steadiest in the race at 91.46%, on the back of a 92.82% second qualifier that nobody in the class beat for consistency. Exactly the fix I wanted. His 14.932 in the A made him one of only two drivers under 15 seconds all night, and third was a lap behind him. The trouble is the other driver under 15, who finished two laps up the road.

3. 3rd
   Jack Foster

   A-main P3 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.883 · 82.30% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.881 · 85.54% cons

   His second qualifier stopped after three laps and 55.977, so the 16-lap opener had to do all the seeding and it was only worth fourth. Then came the best run of his night: 17 laps in the main and a 15.881 that beat anything he turned in qualifying by a third of a second. That put him third, ahead of Mark Beach, who had started in front of him. Half his qualifying gone and a podium anyway, which for me is the drive of the night behind the top two.

4. 4th
   Mark Beach

   A-main P4 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.481 · 87.72% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.143 · 83.08% cons

   Both qualifiers ran to 17 laps, and the second carried a 15.481 that only the top two beat all night. The A-main was his worst run of the evening on every count: 16 laps at 83.08%, the scrappiest in the race, and a best of 16.143, slower than his best lap in either qualifier. Jack Foster, who started behind him, finished a lap ahead in third. Fourth from a third-place grid slot is a place he handed back himself.

5. 5th
   Russell Rima

   A-main P5 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 17.537 · 90.67% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 17.060 · 85.20% cons

   Fifteen laps again. In July he ran 15 in both qualifiers and 15 in the main, and here the second qualifier and the A both landed on that number. The progress is in the single lap: 17.060 in the main, nearly half a second quicker than anything he managed in qualifying. It still left him well off the pace and a lap behind Mark Beach. He found a 16.569 in July, so the 16s are in there.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.621 · 85.60% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.692 · 87.05% cons

   By his own standard this was a scruffy night. The A was the slowest of his three 19-lap runs at 5:16.116, and its 87.05% sat six points below his main a week earlier. He won by two laps anyway. The class's best lap of the night was his 14.621 in the second qualifier, which also made him TQ, and in the race he was the only driver under 15 seconds, with a 14.692. When an off night still puts two laps on everybody, the rest of the class has a problem.

2. 2nd
   Dallas Boyd

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 15.691 · 91.28% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.600 · 81.66% cons

   Two 18-lap qualifiers, both above 89%, made him the obvious second-best car here. Then the main came back a lap short at 81.66%, the scrappiest of the top four, and he kept second anyway, 1.928 seconds clear of Mark Beach. I'd call that getting away with one. Either qualifier repeated in the A and he finishes a lap clear of that scrap instead of two seconds.

3. 3rd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 16.010 · 91.44% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.940 · 85.94% cons

   Sixteen laps at 84.17% in the opening qualifier was a poor start, and the second run fixed it properly: 17 laps at 91.44% and third on the grid. He kept that spot with almost nothing to spare, 1.815 seconds clear of C4 on the same lap, and C4 even had the quicker best lap of the two, 15.913 to his 15.940. A week after finishing fifth, a podium held by under two seconds is a good night's work.

4. 4th
   C4

   A-main P4 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 16.164 · 82.26% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.913 · 85.29% cons

   The first qualifier produced no laps, so one run had to do the whole job, and 16 laps at 82.26% was only worth fifth on the grid. C4's main was a proper answer: 17 laps at 85.29% and a 15.913 quicker than anything he did in qualifying, a place up on his grid slot. Charlie Kleinhagen finished 1.815 seconds off the podium on the same lap. For a night that opened with an empty qualifier, I'd sign for that.

5. 5th
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P5 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.081 · 89.02% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 16.769 · 87.64% cons

   Brian Zimmerman ran the steadiest qualifying run in the class at 92.87%, then the steadiest main at 87.64%, and still went backwards a place from fourth on the grid. The average gives it away: 19.788 in the A, about a second a lap slower than either qualifier, and 15 laps where the second run had found 17. I'd swap a few points of that consistency for the missing second a lap without thinking twice.

6. 6th
   Albert Bredernitz

   A-main P6 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 19.593 · 68.05% qual cons · 12 laps · fast 17.138 · 76.17% cons

   Nine laps in the opening qualifier, at an average of 33.571, is a run to forget. From there the night only went one way: 57.56% consistency in that opener, 76.17% in the main, and a 17.138 in the A that beat his best qualifying lap by more than a second. His 12-lap main in July ran at 25.46%. Same lap count here, nearly three times as steady, and that is real progress from the back of the grid.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.869 · 85.29% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.809 · 93.36% cons

   The hot lap of the night was his, a 14.424 in the second qualifier, and it came in a scrappy 83.38% run. Fast and ragged, and the TQ had already come out of the opener. Then the A-main went green and the ragged part vanished: 20 laps in 5:01.139 at 93.36%, with the best average in the race at 15.621. How does a driver beat a car on the same lap by 17.955 seconds? He ran his main eight points steadier than his best qualifier. Vaughn Vance turned 20 laps of his own and was nowhere near him.

2. 2nd
   Vaughn Vance

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.177 · 92.17% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 15.141 · 91.78% cons

   Nobody in the class qualified steadier than his 92.17% second run, and the A-main kept that shape: 20 laps at 91.78%, with Mathew Schroeder, who started ahead of him, a lap behind at the flag. Back in June his main ran to 17 laps. Three more in seven weeks is a serious jump, and the only thing keeping him out of the headline is Hendrick Westmoreland doing the same 20 laps 17.955 seconds sooner.

3. 3rd
   Mathew Schroeder

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.792 · 91.02% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 15.277 · 89.96% cons

   I want to know where the qualifying car went. His 14.792 in the second run was a lap only Hendrick Westmoreland beat all night, and it seeded him second. In the A his best was 15.277, nearly half a second slower, and a 17.047 average left him a full lap behind the top two. Third is a fine Wednesday for most of this field. With his single-lap speed, it is a place too low.

4. 4th
   C4

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 15.691 · 91.60% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.308 · 91.20% cons

   Charlie Kleinhagen ran 18 laps in 5:00.687 here, four seconds quicker than the 18 that made him runner-up in July, and it was worth fourth. That one comparison tells the story of this field. C4 did his part, 91.20% in the main and a 15.308 that beat both of his qualifying bests, with Mark Beach 6.500 seconds behind on the same lap. Three cars simply went further, and two of them went 20 laps.

5. 5th
   Mark Beach

   A-main P5 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 16.095 · 89.53% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.807 · 90.72% cons

   Four weeks ago he won this class on 19 laps. This field moved the bar: his 18 laps at 90.72% would have made the podium on any of the June or July nights, and here they were worth fifth. The bright side is a main a lap longer than either qualifier, with the quickest lap of his evening in it at 15.807. Fifth on the grid and fifth at the flag, and in this company that is par.

6. 6th
   Jagger Vance

   A-main P6 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 16.418 · 90.05% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.831 · 89.64% cons

   Seven weeks ago his best lap in the A was a 17.303. This time it was a 15.831, nearly a second and a half quicker, and none of his three runs dropped below 89.64%. The result is last of six, and I'm not losing sleep over it: his 17 laps were one more than his June main, and every car in front of him ran 18 or more.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 15.436 · 94.32% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 15.676 · 93.90% cons

   Three weeks ago Mark Beach was eighth on the grid after a six-lap second qualifier. Tonight he TQ'd and won by a lap, and he did it without the quickest lap in qualifying or in the main. What he had was consistency nobody else came near: none of his three runs dropped below 93.90%, and no other driver in the class reached that figure once. C4 beat him over a single lap in the race and finished a lap down. That's a magnificent night's work.

2. 2nd
   C4

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 16.034 · 93.02% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.543 · 89.79% cons

   C4 turned the quickest lap of the main, a 15.543, quicker than anything he managed in qualifying. Charlie Kleinhagen went from third seed to second, 6.470 seconds clear of Matt Leibman with the same 18 laps, and the only car ahead of him was a lap up the road. Giving Mark Beach a full lap while holding the quicker best lap stings, and the gap is in the consistency: 89.79% to Beach's 93.90%.

3. 3rd
   Matt Leibman

   A-main P3 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.167 · 89.22% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.981 · 92.21% cons

   Matt Leibman saved his best run for the one that counted. His main went 18 laps to the 17 of each qualifier, and it was his quickest and cleanest of the night as well, a 15.981 best at 92.21%. That's what put the fourth seed on the podium. C4 had 6.470 seconds on him at the flag, and I like this night as much as anybody's behind the winner.

4. 4th
   Russell Rima

   A-main P4 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 17.723 · 90.95% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 16.569 · 88.53% cons

   The 24 June B-main stopped at eight laps for Russell Rima, and this time he ran the full five minutes and came away fourth from the fifth seed. The lap I like is the 16.569 in the main, almost a second quicker than his 17.506 best in qualifying. The count didn't move with it, though: 15 laps in all three runs, which left him four laps down on the winner.

5. 5th
   Albert Bredernitz

   A-main P5 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 17.732 · 86.14% qual cons · 12 laps · fast 18.022 · 25.46% cons

   Something went wrong in Albert Bredernitz's main, and the 25.46% consistency says so. His average sat more than eight seconds off his best lap, and a driver who did 14 laps in both qualifiers finished with 12. He moved up a place on his seed only because William Schroeder was credited with no laps. His B-main back in June ran 15 laps at 88.10%, so I know he has a tidy five minutes in him.

6. 6th
   William Schroeder No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P6 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 15.237 · 86.42% qual cons · 0 laps

   William Schroeder turned the quickest lap in the class all night, a 15.237 in the first qualifier, on an 18-lap run that seeded him second. That was his last run of the night with a lap in it. No laps in the second qualifier, none in the main, sixth of six. And I've seen this before: eighteen days ago he ran a 17-lap first qualifier and then nothing in Q2 or the main. Two nights, the same shape, and both times the speed in that first run was real. I want to see that 15.237 last a whole main.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Shane Alberico

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.897 · 90.87% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.882 · 88.36% cons

   Shane Alberico TQ'd on 19 laps, won on 19 laps and ran the lowest average in the A-main at 16.045. That settles it. He took the quickest lap of the main as well, a 14.882, and the only lap in the class all night quicker than that was the 14.635 Mathew Schroeder turned in qualifying. Schroeder stayed on his lap and finished just under five seconds behind. I'd ask for better than 88.36% from a winner, and I know I'm nitpicking.

2. 2nd
   Mathew Schroeder

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 15.250 · 91.93% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.954 · 89.74% cons

   The class's hot lap of the night is Mathew Schroeder's, a 14.635, and he turned it in his scrappier qualifier: 18 laps at 84.03%, after a first run of 19 laps at 91.93%. The speed was never in question. The main came down to a quarter of a second a lap, his 16.286 average against Shane Alberico's 16.045, and he was the only driver to finish on Alberico's lap, 4.998 seconds back. Good night, and I'd still want the win from the man holding the quickest lap.

3. 3rd
   Vaughn Vance

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.300 · 93.67% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.728 · 85.84% cons

   Nineteen laps at 93.67% in the second qualifier is a run built for a fight at the front, and Vaughn Vance brought 17 laps at 85.84% to the main instead. His average went from 16.510 to 17.980 between the two, and that's two laps gone. Third off the third seed is a fair result, 4.559 seconds clear of Teagan Cummings at the flag, but that qualifier says he had more in him than this.

4. 4th
   Teagan Cummings

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 15.506 · 92.38% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 15.706 · 86.66% cons

   Teagan Cummings ran exactly to his number. His 15.506 was the fourth-quickest best lap in qualifying, he seeded fourth and he finished there, with two 18-lap qualifiers at 92.38% and 90.11% giving way to a main of 17 laps at 86.66%. Giving back a lap from his qualifying count is the one thing I hold against him. Zac Mathews came home 1.479 seconds behind him on 17 laps as well, so there was no slack in fourth either.

5. 5th
   Zac Mathews

   A-main P5 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 16.266 · 92.53% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 16.695 · 89.47% cons

   Seventeen laps in each qualifier and 17 again in the main carried Zac Mathews a place above his sixth seed and onto the same lap count as the third-placed car. His best in the main, 16.695, was slower than either qualifier, so he bought the result with laps instead of speed, and it worked. He was 1.479 seconds off fourth at the flag, and nobody in the A finished closer to the car ahead.

6. 6th
   Brian Zimmermanbumped up

   A-main P6 · qualified P9 · qual best lap 16.713 · 84.82% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.486 · 87.01% cons

   Brian Zimmerman raced twice to get sixth, and I respect every lap of it. Two 16-lap qualifiers left him ninth on the grid and in the B, where he ran his tidiest race of the night, 17 laps at 92.30%, and took the second bump spot. Back out in the A he finished 5.072 seconds ahead of Jagger Vance, a direct qualifier, with the same 16 laps. Three places up from his seed is the biggest climb in the class tonight.

7. 7th
   Jagger Vance

   A-main P7 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 16.566 · 90.09% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 17.303 · 88.67% cons

   A direct ticket to the A as the fifth seed, and Jagger Vance came home seventh, behind Brian Zimmerman, who had already raced the B to get there. How does that happen? His best lap in the main was 17.303, the slowest best lap in the A-main and almost nine-tenths off the 16.411 he turned in qualifying, and his average climbed from 17.759 in his seeding run to 19.367. Mark Beach finished 1.770 seconds behind him, so even seventh needed holding. A main that far off his own qualifying is hard to defend.

8. 8th
   Mark Beachbumped up

   A-main P8 · qualified P8 · qual best lap 16.257 · 85.73% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 15.627 · 90.61% cons

   Mark Beach's second qualifier stopped at six laps and 1:49.081, and with only a 16-lap first run to stand on he seeded eighth and went to the B. He won it by a full lap, 18 laps at 93.62%, the cleanest main run in the class all night and a lap more than anyone outside the top two managed in the A. Then the A-main gave him his best lap of the night, a 15.627 that only Shane Alberico and Mathew Schroeder beat in that race, and a 19.129 average across 16 laps that left him last of eight. I love the B. The A was a mess.

9. 9th
   Henry Ballew

   B-main P3 · qualified P7 · qual best lap 16.196 · 90.15% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 15.783 · 77.41% cons

   Top seed in the B, the fifth-quickest best lap in qualifying, and Henry Ballew missed the bump by a place. The pace was there in the race too: his 15.783 was second only to Mark Beach in the B and more than a second quicker than anything Brian Zimmerman turned in it. Zimmerman finished a lap ahead of him regardless, because Ballew's B ran at 77.41%, the lowest consistency of any main run in the class. He had the speed and not the laps, and a top seed in a lower main has to transfer.

10. 10th
    Sam Bredernitz

    B-main P4 · qualified P10 · qual best lap 17.359 · 86.22% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.649 · 87.18% cons

    The B-main is where Sam Bredernitz found his speed: a 16.649, six-tenths quicker than anything he turned in qualifying. The lap count didn't move with it. He ran 16 in both qualifiers and 16 in the B, finishing 8.747 seconds behind Henry Ballew and right where he seeded. Quicker laps and the same count tell me the next step is stringing more of them together.

11. 11th
    Albert Bredernitz

    B-main P5 · qualified P12 · qual best lap 18.798 · 91.42% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 18.122 · 88.10% cons

    Albert Bredernitz's first qualifier stopped at five laps, and his 14-lap second run was the shortest seeding run in the field, which made him the last seed of twelve. It got better from there: 15 laps in the B with an 18.122, his quickest lap of the night, and a finish one place above his seed. He was still a lap behind Sam Bredernitz, and 18.122 is a long way off Mark Beach's 15.697 in the same race.

12. 12th
    Russell Rima

    B-main P6 · qualified P11 · qual best lap 17.501 · 88.19% qual cons · 8 laps · fast 19.763 · 86.61% cons

    Fifteen laps in his second qualifier showed Russell Rima had five minutes of racing in him. The B-main stopped at eight laps and 3:06.756, which says something went wrong out there, and it dropped him below Albert Bredernitz, the only driver seeded behind him. Even before it ended his best lap was 19.763, more than two seconds off the 17.501 he ran in qualifying.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.534 · 93.37% qual cons · 21 laps · fast 14.342 · 93.24% cons

   Four Wednesdays in this class, three wins, and Hendrick Westmoreland made this one look routine. Nineteen laps, then 20 for the TQ, then 21 in the main, with the best lap anybody turned all night (14.291) arriving as early as the first qualifier. His 15.199 race average was the only one in the A under 16 seconds, and it put him a lap clear of everybody. The one thing I can hold against him is that Mark Beach ran the steadier main, by nine hundredths of a point.

2. 2nd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.330 · 93.72% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 15.034 · 93.33% cons

   After four straight mains of 19 laps, Mark Beach finally made it 20, and he did it at 93.33%, the steadiest main in the class. His 93.72% in the second qualifier was the cleanest run of the whole night, too. What kept him a lap behind Hendrick Westmoreland was speed, because his 15.034 was the slowest best lap among the top four. Second from third on the grid is still his best result in this class since he won in July.

3. 3rd
   C4

   A-main P3 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 15.082 · 90.51% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.769 · 90.90% cons

   Charlie Kleinhagen's second qualifier stopped at 14 laps and 3:45.412 with his best lap of the night (14.511) buried in it, so C4 started fourth off his 18-lap opener. The main was his best run of the evening: 19 laps at 90.90%, and only Hendrick Westmoreland and Jake Hoffman turned a quicker lap in the A. He'd been second on each of his three previous nights in this class, so third will grate, but he gained a place on his seed to get it.

4. 4th
   Jake Hoffman

   A-main P4 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 14.390 · 85.32% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 14.311 · 86.21% cons

   Nobody in the A went quicker than Jake Hoffman's 14.311, so how does that car finish three laps down? His average was 17.428, more than three seconds off his own best lap, against Hendrick Westmoreland's 15.199. That's a car with the speed that couldn't string the laps together. A week after a main that gave him no laps at all, though, 18 laps with a lap like that in it is a proper recovery, and the 14.311 was only 0.020 off the best anybody turned all night.

5. 5th
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P5 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 16.869 · 85.16% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 15.902 · 85.32% cons

   Brian Zimmerman added a lap on every run and finished with 16 laps in the main, and the 15.902 he turned in the A was nearly a second quicker than anything qualifying gave him. That's the good half of the night. The 20.468 average is the other half, more than five seconds a lap off the winner's, and it's where his time is hiding. He started last and finished fifth, ahead of a front-row car whose main ended at four laps.

6. 6th
   Dallas Boyd

   A-main P6 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.764 · 73.92% qual cons · 4 laps · fast 16.804 · 83.68% cons

   Front row on the grid, then four laps. Dallas Boyd's 19-lap opener seeded him second, behind only Hendrick Westmoreland's 20, and his main was over at 1:07.018. Something went wrong early, and it's the second Wednesday running: last week's A stopped after three laps. I feel for him, because a 14.764 in qualifying put him in the company of the front-runners, and twice now his main has ended before he could prove it.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.535 · 94.99% qual cons · 21 laps · fast 14.369 · 92.69% cons

   Noah Hicklin put two laps on him last week, and Hendrick Westmoreland answered by winning this one going away. His 20-lap second qualifier was the only heat run in the class to reach 20, and the main went one further, 21 laps at 92.69%. The detail I love is the average: 15.396 in the race, 0.001 off the 15.397 he averaged in qualifying. That's a car doing exactly what he asks of it, and it left C4 a lap behind.

2. 2nd
   C4

   A-main P2 · qualified P7 · qual best lap 15.191 · 54.20% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.651 · 91.87% cons

   Seventh and last on the grid, and C4 came from the back to take second. Qualifying was a shambles: 54.20% in the opener, then seven laps in five minutes at a 44.979 average. The main looked like it belonged to somebody else, 20 laps at 91.87%, a full lap clear of Anthony Woodruff and ahead of five drivers who'd all qualified in front of him. Only Hendrick Westmoreland's 21 laps were beyond Charlie Kleinhagen, and from that grid slot this is the drive of the night.

3. 3rd
   Anthony Woodruff

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.886 · 84.73% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.790 · 87.03% cons

   Anthony Woodruff's 19-lap second qualifier put him on the front row, and he matched that lap count in the main with the best lap he turned all night, a 14.790. He finished more than seven seconds clear of Mark Beach on the same lap. The place he lost went to C4, who started last and found a lap more. No disgrace in that, but 87.03% was never holding off a car running 91.87%.

4. 4th
   Mark Beach

   A-main P4 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.539 · 93.41% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 15.471 · 90.54% cons

   Nineteen laps in the main again, the fourth main in a row Mark Beach has ended on exactly that number. That reliability counts for something, and 90.54% says he drove a clean race. It just wasn't quick enough: his 15.471 was the slowest best lap among the top four, and Anthony Woodruff finished seven seconds up the road on the same lap. He lost one place on his seed, and it went to the man from the back of the grid.

5. 5th
   Ryan Johnson

   A-main P5 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 15.924 · 90.73% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.585 · 89.39% cons

   Ryan Johnson has turned into a metronome, and I mean that kindly: 18 laps in the main for the third Wednesday running, and all three of his runs on the night landed between 89.39% and 90.73%. The 15.585 in the A was his best lap of the evening. What's missing is pace, because those 18 laps left him three laps down on the winner and a lap behind Mark Beach.

6. 6th
   Dallas Boyd

   A-main P6 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 15.521 · 80.92% qual cons · 3 laps · fast 15.572

   Dallas Boyd's night kept getting shorter. A full 17-lap opener set his grid slot, the second qualifier stopped at 12 laps and 3:30.385, and the main lasted three laps and 2:20.419, too little running to judge anything by. The bright spot was a 15.102 in that short second qualifier, quicker than anything Mark Beach or Ryan Johnson turned all night. There's speed in that car, and he deserved more than three laps to use it.

7. 7th
   Jake Hoffman No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P7 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 14.212 · 86.07% qual cons · 0 laps

   The quickest lap of the night was Jake Hoffman's, a 14.212 in his second qualifier, and his 14.484 in the first was the only other qualifying lap under 14.5. Then the main credited him with no laps at all, and the man with the hot lap went down as seventh of seven. That's a cruel way to spend a Wednesday. A car that turns a 14.212 had far more to say than a blank in the main, and I'm sorry we didn't get to hear it.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Noah Hicklin

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.276 · 95.73% qual cons · 22 laps · fast 13.793 · 94.89% cons

   One qualifying run, the TQ, and a main nobody could live with. Noah Hicklin's 21 laps at 95.73% in Q2 were dialed, and the A was better again: 22 laps, the hot lap of the night at 13.793 and a 14.549 average. That average was quicker than the best single lap of three of the four drivers behind him. He finished two laps up the road from Hendrick Westmoreland, who'd won this class a week earlier on 22 laps, and Noah Hicklin's 22 came 3.816 seconds quicker than that winning run. Magnificent is the word.

2. 2nd
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.402 · 80.91% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.015 · 89.34% cons

   Seven days after winning this class on 22 laps, Hendrick Westmoreland ran 20 and finished two laps behind, and I'm not putting much of that on him. Besides the winner he was the only driver under 15 seconds, with a 14.015 in the main, and his 89.34% there was a big step up on the 80.91% qualifier that seeded him second. He simply met a car averaging 14.549.

3. 3rd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P4 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 16.321 · 91.87% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 15.297 · 91.66% cons

   Two 17-lap qualifiers and then 19 in the main: nobody in the class found more between qualifying and the race than Mark Beach's two laps. The 15.297 in the A was his best of the night, and 91.66% kept it tidy. Same 19 laps and same third place as last week, and with the two cars ahead on 22 laps and 20, that's about where his pace puts him right now.

4. 4th
   Ryan Johnson

   A-main P5 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.087 · 92.05% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.975 · 89.96% cons

   Ryan Johnson improved with every run, from 16 laps in the first qualifier to 18 in the main, and the 15.975 he found in the A was his first lap of the night under 16 seconds. I like the direction. The 18.119 average, more than two seconds off that best lap, is what kept him a lap behind Mark Beach in exactly the spot he seeded.

5. 5th
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P6 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 16.605 · 91.58% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.307 · 86.97% cons

   Sixteen laps is the most Brian Zimmerman has run in a main in this class on club nights this summer, up from 12 in June and 15 in July, so give him that. The rest of the night slid. Two qualifiers at 91.58% and 91.48% became 86.97% in the A, and a 20.438 average left him six laps behind Noah Hicklin. Odd detail of the week: those two qualifiers finished 0.010 of a second apart, 5:13.694 and 5:13.704, on different lap counts.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Hendrick Westmoreland

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.228 · 93.56% qual cons · 22 laps · fast 14.058 · 95.63% cons

   Twenty-two laps. Nobody had run more than 20 in a main in this class on any night since June, and Hendrick Westmoreland did it at 95.63%, which is dialed by any definition. The heater of the night was his, a 14.058, and the only other lap under 14.1 was his as well, from his first qualifier. A pair of 21-lap qualifiers had already made the TQ a formality, and in the main he checked out by two laps on C4. Preposterous pace.

2. 2nd
   C4

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.933 · 93.63% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.800 · 91.52% cons

   The first qualifier went nowhere for C4, 14 laps at a 22.020 average, and he answered it with the steadiest qualifying run in the class: 19 laps at 93.63%, a shade tidier than Hendrick Westmoreland's 93.56%. Charlie Kleinhagen kept that up in the main, 20 laps at 91.52% and a lap clear of Mark Beach. He lost the 15 July night by 0.599 of a second, and this one was never that close, two laps short of the winner.

3. 3rd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P3 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 15.690 · 89.63% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 15.269 · 90.40% cons

   Three runs, all between 89.63% and 90.40%, and only the main reached 19 laps, which gained Mark Beach a place on his seed. Pace is the issue. His 15.269 in the A was 1.211 seconds off the winner's 14.058. The 19 laps that won him the 15 July night bought third here, three laps adrift, and that tells me how much quicker the front of this class got.

4. 4th
   Ryan Johnson

   A-main P4 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 15.713 · 90.52% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.846 · 89.69% cons

   Last on the grid after a 16-lap first qualifier, and Ryan Johnson still finished fourth. Things turned in Q2, 17 laps at 90.52% with a 15.713 that took more than 1.3 seconds off his opening best, and the main was his longest run of the night at 18 laps. Vaughn Vance had qualified two places ahead of him and finished 13.787 seconds behind on the same lap count. That's a night built from the bottom up, and it paid.

5. 5th
   Vaughn Vance

   A-main P5 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.006 · 90.98% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.062 · 55.34% cons

   How does the third seed finish last? A 55.34% main, that's how. Vaughn Vance averaged 18.190 around a 15.062 best lap, and Ryan Johnson, who started two places behind him, finished 13.787 seconds ahead on the same 18 laps. That wastes real speed: his 14.621 in the first qualifier was the quickest lap anybody other than Hendrick Westmoreland turned all night, and a 19-lap Q2 at 90.98% had him third on the grid. From a driver who took second in June on 19 laps, this main was unacceptable.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.809 · 92.49% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.947 · 91.51% cons

   Mark Beach won by 0.599 on the same lap as C4, and he needed every bit of it. Two 19-lap qualifiers above 92% made him TQ, and the main was 19 more. C4 had the quicker best lap and the steadier run in that main, 14.680 and 93.89% against Beach's 14.947 and 91.51%, and Beach got to the line first anyway. Three weeks after finishing fourth from the third seed, a win from the front by six-tenths will do nicely.

2. 2nd
   C4

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.635 · 88.77% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.680 · 93.89% cons

   This is the one that will sting. C4 turned the quickest lap of the main, a 14.680, put together the steadiest run in the field at 93.89%, and still crossed the line 0.599 behind Mark Beach on the same 19 laps. Even his average was better, 15.830 to 15.918. Only one lap all night beat Charlie Kleinhagen's 14.635 in Q2, and it was William Schroeder's. Every column of that main favours him except the finishing order, and I'd be livid.

3. 3rd
   Ryan Johnson

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.462 · 89.39% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 15.622 · 87.85% cons

   Not much went right for Ryan Johnson apart from the result. Q2 stopped at 8 laps, the main stopped at 15 laps and 4:34.938, and the 87.85% inside it was well short of the 92.47% from his 24 June main. With one of the four cars credited with no laps, third came to him on a night when Q1 was his only full-length run. Same place as three weeks ago, by a much rougher road.

4. 4th
   William Schroeder No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 14.894 · 84.51% qual cons · 0 laps

   William Schroeder owns the quickest lap in the class on the night, a 14.618 in Q2, and that run averaged 15.223 at 96.68%, quicker per lap than Mark Beach or C4 managed in the main. It lasted 8 laps. Q1 had stopped at 11 laps, and the main credits him with no laps at all. That's a rough Wednesday for the man with the hot lap, and the speed in those 8 laps was real enough that I'd have loved to see 19 of them.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Shane Alberico

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.216 · 92.53% qual cons · 20 laps · fast 14.153 · 92.07% cons

   Checked out, and by a full lap. Shane Alberico TQ'd on 20 laps in 5:03.873, 14 seconds quicker than Vaughn Vance's 20, then ran the only 20-lap main of the night with the hot lap inside it, a 14.153. The 15.341 average is the number I keep coming back to: more than a second a lap better than anyone else in that main. On a night when three cars didn't run the distance, he made 20 laps look routine.

2. 2nd
   Vaughn Vance

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 14.640 · 91.07% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 14.724 · 90.63% cons

   On pace, Vaughn Vance was the second-best car in the class and finished exactly there. His 14.640 in Q2 was the quickest qualifying lap by anyone not named Alberico, his 14.724 did the same in the main, and 19 laps left him a lap clear of third. He was also a lap down on the winner with an average more than a second a lap slower, so second was the ceiling, and he hit it.

3. 3rd
   Ryan Johnson

   A-main P3 · qualified P6 · qual best lap 15.827 · 84.00% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.673 · 92.47% cons

   Ryan Johnson qualified sixth of seven off two 17-lap runs at 83.27% and 84.00%, then ran the tidiest main in the class: 18 laps at 92.47%, more than eight points up on either qualifier. Two cars seeded ahead of him didn't make the distance, fair enough. Mark Beach did, and Johnson still beat him to the line by 1.776 on the same lap with a best lap 0.247 slower. That podium was built on clean laps, and from sixth on the grid there's no better way to build one.

4. 4th
   Mark Beach

   A-main P4 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 15.664 · 95.31% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 15.426 · 91.40% cons

   The two tidiest qualifying runs of the night were both Mark Beach's, 93.43% and then 19 laps at 95.31%, and that should have been a podium. The main came in at a 17.303 average, nearly eight-tenths a lap slower than that Q2, and Ryan Johnson came from three seeds back to beat him by 1.776 on the same lap. He was seeded third and finished fourth, and the run that would have kept him on the podium was one he'd already driven in qualifying.

5. 5th
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P5 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 15.619 · 91.22% qual cons · 12 laps · fast 16.279 · 88.09% cons

   Something went wrong for Brian Zimmerman, because his main stopped at 12 laps and 3:48.529. Shame, since Q1 had been decent: 18 laps at 91.22% and a 15.619 quicker than anything Mark Beach or Ryan Johnson turned in qualifying. Q2 recorded nothing, which leaves one full-length run in his whole night, and it was the first thing he did.

6. 6th
   Chris Gross

   A-main P6 · qualified P7 · qual best lap 15.778 · 83.08% qual cons · 1 laps

   One lap, a 19.166, and that was Chris Gross's main. Qualifying had gone fine without being quick, 17 laps in Q2 with a 15.778 best, which was good for the last seed of seven. He's classified ahead of a car credited with no laps at all, and that is the thinnest of silver linings on a miserable Wednesday.

7. 7th
   Dennis Keith No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P7 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 14.899 · 88.54% qual cons · 0 laps

   Only Alberico and Vance went quicker in qualifying than Dennis Keith's 14.899, turned on the way to 18 laps in Q2 and the fourth seed. Then the main credits him with no laps at all. That's a hard end to a night with real pace in it, because that 14.899 was quicker than any lap Ryan Johnson, who finished third, turned all evening.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mathew Schroeder

   A-main P1 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 17.152 · 86.15% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.159 · 94.63% cons

   How does the fifth seed of five win the A? With a 17.759 average, 1.374 a lap quicker than his own best qualifier, and a 16.159 that was the best lap anybody turned all night. Mathew Schroeder's qualifying gave no warning of it, 76.89% in Q1 and 86.15% in Q2. The main came in at 94.63%, level to the hundredth with Brian Zimmerman for the steadiest A of the night, and he beat the TQ, Mark Beach, by 2.117 on the same 18 laps. Magnificent, and nobody has won a club night in this class from further back all summer.

2. 2nd
   Mark Beach

   A-main P2 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 16.186 · 95.52% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.363 · 91.08% cons

   Mark Beach's Q2 was the run of the night: 18 laps at 95.52%, steadier than anything else anybody ran, with a 16.186 that was the best lap of qualifying. The A came in at a 17.926 average and 91.08%, nearly 0.9 a lap slower than that qualifier and his slowest club-night main average of the summer, and Mathew Schroeder beat him by 2.117 from the back of the grid. It ended a run of four club-night wins in this class. All the speed he needed was in Q2, and he didn't bring it to the main.

3. 3rd
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 16.434 · 91.91% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 17.087 · 94.63% cons

   85.78%, 87.25%, 92.23% and now 94.63%: Brian Zimmerman's mains have got tidier every club night he's raced this summer, and nobody in this A was steadier. The speed went the other way, from a 16.434 best lap in Q2 to 17.087 in the main. He finished a lap down on the top two and 1.390 clear of Chuck Burns on the same 17 laps. I like where the consistency is going, and I want the Q2 pace back on top of it.

4. 4th
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 17.471 · 88.67% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 17.045 · 91.24% cons

   Chuck Burns had a scrappy Q2 at 80.38% and seeded fourth off the opener, then ran an 18.530 average in the main, his best in any club-night A. That beat Jake Hoffman, seeded a place ahead of him, by 6.345, and left him 1.390 short of Brian Zimmerman on the same 17 laps. Two of the last three Wednesdays have brought a new best main average, and I'm enjoying the trend.

5. 5th
   Jake Hoffman

   A-main P5 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 16.363 · 92.36% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 16.698 · 88.59% cons

   Jake Hoffman had the speed for a podium and couldn't string the laps together. His 16.363 in Q2 was the second-best lap of qualifying, behind only Mark Beach, and his 16.698 in the main was quicker than anything Brian Zimmerman or Chuck Burns turned in there. Both of them beat him. An 18.973 average at 88.59%, the softest A of the night and more than a second a lap off his own Q2, took the third seed to fifth. That much speed finishing last is unacceptable.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 16.586 · 95.65% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 16.010 · 92.24% cons

   Two laps clear. Mark Beach won this one 19 laps to Chuck Burns's 17, and the 16.010 he turned in the main was the night's best lap. The TQ was never in question either: two 18-lap qualifiers, the first at 95.65%, steadier than anything anybody else ran. The only soft spot was the main itself, 17.211 at 92.24%, a step down from the 16.982 and 95.66% of a week earlier. A step down that still wins by two laps is a problem for everybody else.

2. 2nd
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 17.590 · 88.15% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 17.082 · 88.02% cons

   From the back of a three-car grid, Chuck Burns finished two laps clear of Ryan Westmoreland. Two 15-lap qualifiers had left him third on the seed, and the main was the best run of his night by a distance: a 19.503 average that took 0.571 a lap off his best qualifier, with a 17.082 best lap. He was slower than his 18.731 of a week ago and still gained a place, because Westmoreland's main went the wrong way.

3. 3rd
   Ryan Westmoreland

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 17.869 · 90.64% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 18.791 · 87.15% cons

   Ryan Westmoreland's qualifying was steadier than anything anybody but Mark Beach ran, 91.96% in Q1 and 90.64% in a 16-lap Q2, and it made him the second seed. The main is where it went wrong: an 18.791 best lap and a 21.186 average, both slower than either qualifier, at 87.15%, his softest run of the night. Chuck Burns finished two laps clear of him. I'd have backed the Q2 version of Westmoreland to hold second, and the A never produced him.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 16.415 · 93.33% qual cons · 19 laps · fast 16.020 · 95.66% cons

   This is the best Mark Beach has looked on a club night all summer. His 16.982 main average was the only one under 17 seconds in the class all night, run at 95.66%, steadier than any other run on the night, with a 16.020 on top that was 0.597 quicker than anybody else managed. Both his earlier club-night wins came in slower and scrappier, 17.406 at 94.32% in June and 17.434 at 91.01% a week ago. The TQ came off an 18-lap Q2 at 93.33%, and by the main he was dialed.

2. 2nd
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 16.620 · 92.31% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.617 · 92.23% cons

   Finally, a main that looks like Brian Zimmerman's qualifying. His Q2 was 92.31% with a 16.620 best, and the A came back at 92.23% with a 16.617 and an average 0.467 a lap quicker. Next to his 85.78% and 87.25% mains in June and July, this was the tidiest club-night A he's run all summer. A lap down on Mark Beach and a lap up on Chuck Burns, and this is the version of him I've been asking for.

3. 3rd
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 17.473 · 90.30% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 16.788 · 91.49% cons

   Each run Chuck Burns made was quicker than the last. His best lap fell from 18.981 in Q1 to 16.788 in the A, and his average from 21.138 to 18.731. That 16.788 beats every lap he'd turned on the earlier club nights, and the 18.731 is his best main average of them so far. A lap behind Brian Zimmerman, and still the best club Wednesday he's had.

4. 4th
   Steve Smook

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 21.561 · 90.33% qual cons · 12 laps · fast 21.811 · 84.95% cons

   Ten laps at 77.72% in Q1, then 12 at 90.33% in Q2: Steve Smook's big step came between the qualifiers, and that Q2 was the run of his night. The main slipped back to 84.95% with a 27.719 average, slower than the 26.784 he ran in Q2. His 21.811 best lap sat between his two qualifying bests, so the speed held up. It's the Q2 steadiness he needs to carry into an A.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 16.477 · 94.10% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.023 · 91.01% cons

   Mark Beach took the TQ on the first run of the night, 18 laps in 5:13.683 at 94.10%, and nobody in the class was steadier in any session. The A was a lap clear of Dustin Vance, with a 16.023 that nobody else came within a second of. The average barely moved from his 24 June win, though, 17.434 here against 17.406 then, even with a best lap 0.432 quicker than June's. Winning by a lap is fine, and I still want that extra speed to show up over five minutes.

2. 2nd
   Dustin Vance

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 17.445 · 90.23% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 17.105 · 86.42% cons

   Exactly one second. That's how much quicker Dustin Vance's best lap was than in his June runner-up drive, 17.105 against 18.105, and it came at a price. His consistency fell from 94.05% that night to 86.42% here, the softest in the race, and the average slipped from 18.956 to 19.393. Second again, a lap down on Mark Beach, with the speed he lacked in June and without the steadiness he had. He needs both on the same night.

3. 3rd
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 17.667 · 89.90% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 17.490 · 89.02% cons

   Nobody repeated himself all night like Chuck Burns: 89.90% in Q1, 89.97% in Q2, 89.02% in the A. The pace never came with it. His 20.410 main average was slower than both his qualifiers and 1.375 a lap off his 27 June main, even if the 17.490 in there was his best lap of the night. He was steadier than Dustin Vance in the A, 89.02% to 86.42%, and still a lap behind him, so the gap is pace.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Mark Beach

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 16.556 · 92.36% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.455 · 94.32% cons

   Two laps. That's what Mark Beach put on the rest of this field, 18 against four 16s, and a five-car A-main doesn't get more one-sided than that. He TQ'd off the 18-lap second qualifier, then ran the main at 94.32% with the quickest lap of the night, a 16.455. The 17.406 average is what did the damage, because nobody else in the A got within a second and a half of it. He checked out, and I can't find a soft spot in any of his three runs.

2. 2nd
   Dustin Vance

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 17.309 · 93.38% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 18.105 · 94.05% cons

   The slowest best lap in the A-main was Dustin Vance's 18.105, and he finished second with it. How? He ran 94.05% and averaged 18.956, second only to Mark Beach, while the three cars behind him all had quicker laps and scrappier runs. Brian Zimmerman's best was more than a second quicker and he still crossed the line 1.282 seconds back on the same 16 laps. Vance qualified third off two runs just 0.074 apart, so the steadiness was nothing new, and I trust that kind of driving more than any single lap.

3. 3rd
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 16.466 · 93.06% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 17.031 · 85.78% cons

   Brian Zimmerman turned a 16.466 in the first qualifier, 0.011 off the quickest lap in the class all night, and that 17-lap run at 93.06% put him second on the grid. The main looked like his second qualifier instead: 16 laps and 85.78%, the lowest consistency in the A. He had the speed and not the laps, and losing second by 1.282 seconds to a car whose best lap was 1.074 slower is the part that should sting.

4. 4th
   Chris Gross

   A-main P4 · qualified P4 · qual best lap 16.692 · 84.80% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 16.644 · 88.41% cons

   Second-quickest lap of the main, a 16.644, and a 19.408 average nearly three seconds off it. That gap is Chris Gross's whole night. He ran 16 laps in all three sessions and the main at 88.41% was steadier than either qualifier, but he still finished 6.007 seconds behind Brian Zimmerman. I'd give up a little of that peak speed for a few more laps that look like it.

5. 5th
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P5 · qualified P5 · qual best lap 16.805 · 88.45% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 17.059 · 88.41% cons

   Chuck Burns came in as the fifth seed off a 15-lap first qualifier and a 16-lap second, and the main held onto the better of the two: 16 laps at 88.41% with a 17.059 best. That consistency figure matched Chris Gross's to the hundredth, a funny thing to share with the car one place ahead. Staying on the same lap as the three cars in front of him is the part of the night worth keeping.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P3 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 17.060 · 92.98% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 17.144 · 90.30% cons

   After his 19 August main ended at 12 laps, Brian Zimmerman needed a finish, and he got one. Fifteen laps in 5:02.964 won it, with Chuck Burns recording no laps in the A. The best of his night came earlier, a second qualifier of 16 laps at 92.98% with the 17.060 hot lap in it, after a first run that stopped at seven laps, and that made him TQ. I can't get excited about the main itself, though. A 21.287 average is more than two seconds a lap off what he qualified on.

2. 2nd
   Chuck Burns No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P4 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 18.622 · 85.95% qual cons · 0 laps

   Chuck Burns got one proper run in, 13 laps in 5:02.214 in the first qualifier, and after that the night ran dry. The second qualifier lasted a single lap of 27.739 and the main has no laps for him at all, so he's classified second of two. That's four Wednesdays running where his main has stopped short or recorded nothing, and nobody in this class is owed a clean five minutes more than he is.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Anthony Woodruff

   A-main P2 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 15.762 · 90.53% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.279 · 92.73% cons

   Every time Anthony Woodruff went out he was quicker than the time before, his average falling from 19.011 to 17.801 to a 17.492 in the main. Nobody else was in the same postcode. The 15.762 he threw down was the hot lap of the night, and it came in the 17-lap second qualifier that made him TQ. The A was a lap-up win over Russell Rima at 92.73%, the tidiest of his three runs. No truck main at Fastlane since 24 June, club night or series, has been run at a quicker average, and I'm calling it the drive of the summer so far.

2. 2nd
   Russell Rima

   A-main P3 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 17.660 · 81.22% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 17.540 · 85.31% cons

   Russell Rima found nearly two seconds a lap between qualifying and the main, a 22.123 average in his better qualifier against 20.161 in the race, and that's a serious jump. It got him second, a lap behind Anthony Woodruff, with a 17.540 that was his quickest lap of the night. The consistency is what I'd work on: 81.22% in the second qualifier and 85.31% in the main, against the 90% runs he'd put together in June and July.

3. 3rd
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P4 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 17.984 · 89.10% qual cons · 1 laps

   One lap and 5.718 seconds is the whole of Chuck Burns's main, and it closed out a rough night. His first qualifier stopped after three laps and his second after nine, at 3:19.074, though that one held a 17.984 that was his quickest lap of the evening. Not one of his three runs reached five minutes, and that's three Wednesdays in a row his main has come up short.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Albert Bredernitz

   A-main P1 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 18.290 · 92.04% qual cons · 16 laps · fast 18.575 · 93.67% cons

   Somebody had to be there at the end, and Albert Bredernitz made sure it was him. His main ran at 93.67%, the steadiest run anybody in the class put together all night, and 16 laps in 5:19.117 took the win after Brian Zimmerman's race ended at 12 laps. It's his second truck win, after the 15 July main. He was more than a second a lap slower than Zimmerman on average (20.859 to 19.508) and finished four laps ahead of him, and I don't see a thing wrong with that.

2. 2nd
   Brian Zimmerman

   A-main P2 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 17.767 · 91.57% qual cons · 12 laps · fast 17.213 · 89.32% cons

   The quickest truck in the class stopped at 12 laps. Up to 3:43.335, Brian Zimmerman had the hot lap of the night (17.213) and the best race average (19.508), and then his main was over, more than a minute and a half short of the winner's 5:19.117. Second of three is a poor return on that kind of speed. The rest of his night was just as sharp: one completed qualifier, 15 laps in 5:00.154, and he TQ'd by nearly 20 seconds over anyone else's 15 laps.

3. 3rd
   Chuck Burns No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 18.722 · 86.60% qual cons · 0 laps

   Chuck Burns did the qualifying work, 14 laps and then 15, with the second run's 21.773 average the better of the two, and lined up third. The main has no laps recorded for him at all, a week after his last one stopped at 13 laps, and he's classified third. Two weeks running the A has given him less than qualifying did, and I'd love to see him run a main to the flag.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Dallas Boyd

   A-main P1 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 15.766 · 92.75% qual cons · 18 laps · fast 16.164 · 91.44% cons

   Nobody in this class laid a glove on Dallas Boyd. Eighteen laps in both qualifiers made him TQ, with a 15.477 hot lap in the first that was nearly a second and a half clear of any other truck's best, and the main went his way by a full lap over Dustin Vance. If I'm picking at anything, it's the race average: 18.112 against the 17.189 he qualified on, the better part of a second a lap given back. He could afford it, because nobody else in the race averaged under 18.8.

2. 2nd
   Dustin Vance

   A-main P2 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 17.337 · 90.13% qual cons · 17 laps · fast 16.963 · 91.48% cons

   Dustin Vance got quicker every time he went out, his average falling from 20.166 to 19.778 across the two qualifiers and then to 18.880 in the main. His 91.48% in the A was a shade steadier than the winner's 91.44%, which is a nice line to have and no use at all against a lap. The gap is in the fast laps: his best was a 16.963, and Dallas Boyd went under 16 in both qualifiers.

3. 3rd
   Chuck Burns

   A-main P3 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 18.507 · 91.12% qual cons · 13 laps · fast 17.814 · 92.83% cons

   Chuck Burns ran the steadiest main of the three, 92.83%, at a 19.598 average that was more than a second and a half a lap quicker than either of his qualifiers. Then it stopped at 13 laps and 4:00.289, a minute short of everybody else. His first qualifier had stopped early too, at nine laps. Set that main against the 78.92% he ran in June, though, and this is real progress, cut short.

Seeded position

Qualifiers

Main results

1. 1st
   Albert Bredernitz

   A-main P1 · qualified P2 · qual best lap 18.383 · 91.16% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 18.086 · 89.35% cons

   Back in June, Albert Bredernitz's best lap in the main was a 19.883 and he finished sixth. Here he turned an 18.086, the quickest lap in this A, and won by 0.418 of a second. Russell Rima had the better average (20.349 to 20.451) and the steadier run, so the race was there for either of them, and Bredernitz is the one who came out on top. His qualifying had been eerily even, 15 laps twice with 0.354 of a second between the runs. That's a driver who has found a rhythm, and I'm buying it.

2. 2nd
   Russell Rima

   A-main P2 · qualified P3 · qual best lap 18.380 · 88.49% qual cons · 15 laps · fast 18.124 · 90.10% cons

   Russell Rima qualified on five laps, a first run that stopped at 1:53.913 and a second that recorded nothing, and that put him at the back of the grid. Then he beat the winner's race average in the main, 20.349 to 20.451, with the steadier run too (90.10% to 89.35%), and still lost by 0.418 of a second. That one would keep me up at night. After a main that stopped at 13 laps back in June, though, 15 clean laps is the better news.

3. 3rd
   Noah Hicklin No laps — still takes the position

   A-main P3 · qualified P1 · qual best lap 14.781 · 89.08% qual cons · 0 laps

   Nineteen laps in the first qualifier when nobody else in the class got past 15, behind a 14.781 that was more than three seconds quicker than anybody else's best lap all night. Noah Hicklin TQ'd by four laps. His second run ended at 4:39.823, short of the five minutes, and then the main recorded no laps for him at all, so the quickest truck in the class is classified third of three. Brutal. Those 19 laps are what I'll remember from this night, and they deserved a race.

Seeded position