They’ve stayed clear of carnage on superspeedways and perfected their pit strategy on mile-and-a-half tracks. On October 24th, Scott Eckrich and Ryan Zima proved they’re pretty good at turning right, too, winning the Wrong Time Watch-sponsored doubleheader at Watkins Glen International.
RACE 1 RECAP:
Scott Eckrich started Race 1 from pole position, twice navigating seven turns around the upstate New York road course at an average 69.178 seconds (nice). When the green flag dropped, Eckrich began to drive away, with Matt Taylor and Colton Salek battling for second. Eckrich’s #70 Winternode Service Plus machine came down pit road on lap 10, his team opting to split the race in half. Taylor cycled to the front and ran long, keeping his #91 on the point before stopping on lap 16. The overcut did not work. Taylor and Salek both lost a position to Jeff Ward, who finished runner-up, as Scott Eckrich gapped the field by 7.2 seconds.
RACE 2 RECAP:
Zack Olsen inherited his first Mahan Speed Laboratories Pole Position. Thomas George, who lined up on his outside, took the early lead. A big one struck in the Carousel on lap 2, collecting many of the drivers who were front-runners in Race 1. Ryan Zima took over the top spot on lap 7, before pitting on lap 11. Colton Salek attempted an undercut and briefly cycled to the lead, but his older tires were ultimately no match for Zima. The #4 team scored its third win of the year, with Salek and Scott Eckrich rounding out the podium.
POINTS IMPLICATIONS:
Michael Chrobok missed the calamity in the Carousel and extended his points lead on the strength of two strong finishes with zero incident points. The #72 team now sits 236 points ahead of the #55 of Brian Yaczik.
AROUND THE TURN:
PGRL heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the Try Not to Go HardintheWall Dega Duel on November 7th. Catch all the action from the pack racing capital of Alabama on the Virtual Grip Network LIVE at 8:50pm Eastern.
FULL RACE REPLAY: