Watkins Glen 85 Results - 2/14/2016

 It was a barn-burner of a race Sunday night as the field of 9 drivers took to the sweeping curves of Watkins Glen. The pace was fast and the action heavy for 85 miles of racing. An eventful start put pole-sitter Andrew Steppat wide in the first turn, he climbed hard in the first straight to pull even with Ethan Maestri, but contact in the inner loop would bounce his Corvette to the outside wall, leaving Ethan's SRT Viper in command of the lead for nearly 16 laps. In the end, even with some blocking help from team mate Paul Maestri, Andrew was able to pass Ethan for the lead and win the Watkins Glen 85. 

 The DNR team had a strong showing as well. After a botched start by Bryan Dean, he was able to climb and hold onto 3rd place. Meanwhile, team mate Allen Ruff had a spectacular start, running in second place for several laps before eventually dropping into 4th position for the night.

 Two new drivers joined the field for the first time. Andrew Capshaw and Travis Billingsley made their FEC debut in this event. Their Aston Martin's may not have been the class of the field, but these rookies handled their cars quite well, gaining valuable track experience. Travis would finish in 6th position and Capshaw would bring home the 8th spot. Veteran Tony Tyree had engine trouble and was forced to drop out of the race early, scoring a DNF in the #47 Bentley. 

The manufacturer points battle heats up fast as the addition of two more Aston Martin DBR9's sping them into first place. We'll have to see if that is the car the new drivers remain with. Despite the first place finish and top lap time, the Corvette's took a hit this event, dropping into 3rd place while MBR's  SRT Viper's hold serve, maintaining their second position, three points behind the Aston's.

 The next race will be the 24 Laps of Sebring on March 13th.

Results:

Position:	Driver:	Points:	Lap Time:	Lap Points:	Total:
1	Andrew Steppat	25	1:46.404	10	35
2	Ethan Maestri	18	1:47.654	9	27
3	Bryan Dean	15	1:48.234	8	23
4	Allen Ruff	12	1:49.278	6	18
5	Paul Maestri	10	1:48.929	7	17
6	Travis Billingsley	8	1:51.457	5	13
7	Chris Rader	6	1:51.756	4	10
8	Andy Capshaw	4	1:54.771	2	6
9	Tony Tyree*	2	1:52.555	3	5

Position:	Driver:	Points:
1	Andrew Steppat	70
2	Ethan Maestri	53
3	Bryan Dean	47
4	Paul Maestri	35
5	Allen Ruff	25
6	Tony Tyree	17
7	Mikey Collins	17
8	Travis Billingsley	13
9	Carter Merkling	11
10	Chris Rader	10
11	Andy Capshaw	6

Manufacturer Points:	Points:
Aston Martin DBR9	91
Dodge SRT Viper	88
Cheverolet Corvette C7.R	87
Bentley Continental GT	17
Nissan GT-R	11
McLaren 12C GT3	10