The Forzday Rundown - 4/04/13 at Mazda Laguna Seca

 The FRL arrives at its final destination on the S2 2013 circuit, Mazda Laguna Seca. With a championship already determined, it was time to have some fun in the California sun and crown the champion.

 We began with action in the MX-5 class. Brandon Adkins was unable to make it out of the garage for the first heat which essentially secured the 4^th position in points for Tony Tyree. Paul Maestri set a blistering pace for the field and collected a heat win. Brandon arrived at the line for heat two and the race was on. Everyone in this heat had trouble running clean laps, which worked to Tony’s  advantage again, giving him the top lap position in this heat. The third and final heat for the Mazda’s found series points champion Andrew Steppat at the front of the field and leading most of the way.

 Trans Am racing was fairly eventful, despite the lack of racing drama from the series points perspective, as most drivers were out enjoying themselves for the final few laps of the season.  The first heat found Brandon Adkins with an early lead in his #4 T-bird followed by Ethan Maestri in second. Ethan made a run for the top, but the T-Bird was giving him fits in the straights. In the final lap, Ethan misjudged Brandon’s race line and tagged the Ford’s rear bumper. This all but killed Ethan’s momentum and he could not rally to make a charge at the end as hoped.

 In Heat #2, Paul ran his Pinto Special and set a blistering pace that no one could match. He won the heat and top lap positions handily. In the third and final heat, Andrew took the wood block out from under the accelerator and ran a normal pace, showing the field his tailpipes the whole way and demonstrating why he is the series champion.

 With that, the second season of the FRL concludes. Andrew Steppat and Steppat Racing take the crown with an overall win on the night and 815 championship points. Paul Maestri takes third for the night with 83 points, but ran hard all season for Maestri Bros. Racing and finishes as runner-up in the championship. Ethan Maestri, despite very few heat wins or top laps for the season, and after missing the event at Tsukuba, still comes away with a 2^nd place finish on the night and ends the series on the podium in 3^rd position overall. Tony Tyree and GR Racing come away in fourth for the night and in the championship. Their dogged determination to finish each and every lap possible is rewarded with recognition as being the Most Improved Driver for the 2013 S2 season. Brandon Adkins scored his first Heat win and Top Lap for the season tonight, but despite superb driving in his 59’ T-Bird, still falls behind Tony for the night in 5^th position, and finishes S2 in 5^th as well. Stay tuned to the FRL blog for our upcoming Season Two In Review for a full rundown of all the race teams and final positions.