2017 FEC - Sebring Recap

 Round two of the Forzday Endurance Championship promised to be a reset from the opening round at Daytona. Several moves within the MBR garage would see to it that there would be a major reorder in the points standings. That's what we did know going into the 29 lap event. What we could not know, was how everyone would perform on the track. A Rival's leaderboard blackout would prevent anyone from truly getting a sense of how their opponents would perform on track. The end result would be one of the most interesting races from flag to flag, and some of the most exciting final laps of any series in the FRL to date.

 The evening began with an exciting qualifying effort initially led by Travis Billingsley as he put his Aston Martin up top early with a 2:11.377. Bryan Dean and Ethan Maestri would run in each others tracks for the first several laps before Ethan was able to post a 2:10.302. He elected to pull over and allow Bryan one last chance at a top lap with a clear track. Bryan made the best of the opportunity, posting a pole position time of 2:10.233, ousting Ethan from the top spot with mere seconds left in the session. With the drama of qualifying setting the tone, the field of 9 drivers got set for 29 laps at Sebring International Raceway.

A combined 5,200 horsepower revs up for the green flag at Sebring on Sunday evening

 The initial start of the race would be a rough one for Andrew Steppat in the #001 Nissan as he started from the rear of the field, having missed qualifying. He would hammer into the back of Chris Rader's Dread Pirate Racing Porsche 911. No significant damage was gained by either car, but the delay would allow most of the field to get a fair jump on them both. Ethan Maestri would overspeed into Turn 1, sending his newly minted Nissan on a wide race line. This allowed Travis Billingsley and Bryan Dean to slip past and begin their tussle for P1. Ethan would gather his ride and fall in close behind the two. 

 Behind them, the mid-pack of Aston Martin's would scatter like a shot-gun blast, mixing the field through Turn 1 until settling in briefly with Matthew Smith occupying the P4 position. He would be quickly passed by Andrew Steppat, who would continue his advance toward the front of the field. Matthew would have an unfortunate off, giving P5 to Chris Rader in the #303 911. Tony Tyree would fall in behind the Porsche and would dog him for several laps until Chris got crossed-up in a corner and gave up the position to the #47 Aston Martin. With one Apex car passed and two more lining up behind him, Chris would battle for a couple more laps before technical problems would side-line his efforts. He would retire from the race on Lap 7. Tony would find himself in a comfortable P5 for much of the rest of the race. Nicholas Hargrove would mow the grass on a few more turns in this event, but eventually was able to pass Matthew's #12 Aston Martin for P6.

You could throw a blanket over the first three positions in the early going

 Up front and during lap 1, Travis Billingsley would get a bump from Bryan Dean, upsetting the #18 Apex car enough to allow Bryan to slide around him followed closely by Ethan Maestri. The next 10 laps would see an intense battle between the #808 & #3 cars for the P1 spot. Not far behind, Travis would collect his wits and would mount a Herculean effort to stay ahead of the #001 of Andrew Steppat in P3. These two battles would rage until Andrew was finally able to work around his former Apex Racing teammate to take over P3. At the front, the battle paused as pit cycles began. Bryan Dean would pit on lap 9. Ethan would lead briefly lead the race until coming in for a pit stop at the end of lap 10. Bryan would take over the lead again and would begin to open up a fair lead over the #3.

Some of the best racing in FRL history was on display last Sunday night

 As that gap grew, the gap from P3 to P2 began to shrink as Andrew Steppat began to close on Ethan Maestri. As the last round of pit stops cycled through around laps 18-20, Bryan would come out with over 6 seconds gap on Ethan. Andrew was right there too, looking for an opening to pass. But soon, Bryan would have a big off in Turn 13. He would keep P1, but his 6 second lead now evaporated and the two car battle for P2 suddenly became a three car street fight for P1. The next 8 laps of racing would have an intensity not felt since the days of multi-heat racing of earlier FRL series. All three cars would remain in lock-step lap after lap. As the lead three closed on the P5 car of Tony Tyee, decisions were made. Ethan Maestri chanced a move to the outside coming out of Turn 5. Bryan reacted just in time as he cleared Tony's lap car and made a move to break Ethan's momentum, keeping himself in the lead. Ethan would dance back into line, but nearly opened the door for Andrew to move around him in the process. Things would settle back into rhythm, but the screws were tightening on all three drivers and for one of them, time was nearly up.

 At the end of lap 27, Bryan Dean would have to take his thirsty Porsche into the pit lane for a splash-and-go fuel stop. This set the front two up to make a mistake that could take them both out. Bryan would have to hope for such an event to have a chance at the win. Lap 28 was nearly perfect for both of the Nissan's. Andrew was moving around behind the #3, sizing him up and feeling for a passing lane. Ethan's 370Z was starting to fade just a bit as the tires wore down and suddenly it seemed a bit harder for him to maintain a laser straight line for corner after corner. As the 29th and final lap moved through the complex of Turns 2-5, Andrew set himself up to make his move, late-braking alongside Ethan and then the two cars were locked in a drag race through 3, 4 and out of Turn 5. Ethan Maestri cleared the #001's front bumper and shut the door. On through the lap, Andrew peeked, but couldn't close. To his credit, he kept off Ethan's fender, not forcing the pass. In the end, around Turn 17, Andrew would carry momentum and looked as if he could carry it right around the #3 car, but the acceleration advantage went to Ethan. He crossed the line for the win a mere heartbeat ahead of Andrew.

 Bryan Dean would maintain P3 - not the result he'd hoped for - but still a brilliant effort from the Ape-X driver. Behind him, a whole gaggle of Apex Racing cars would come through from P4-P7. Travis Billingsley would take top honor for their garage, followed by Tony Tyree, Nicholas Hargrove and Matthew Smith. Newcomer Danny McClain in the #42 Aston Martin would make his driving debut here. He would also claim the "Gentlemen Driver" award for this event, racing a clean line and allowing the front runners a wide berth to race. 

 Despite the win, Ethan Maestri did forfeit 20 points in making the switch to Nissan from the Vantage. This brings him up to fourth position in the points, 12 back from Travis Billingsley in third. Bryan Dean secures his hold on second with 37 points, 12 behind Andrew Steppat. Tony Tyree recovers from a dismal start to the season at Daytona and puts himself right back in the points hunt with 12 points, two behind Nicholas Hargrove and two points ahead of Matthew Smith. Danny McClain has a positive debut effort at Sebring and advances to 8th in the points standings. Chris Rader gains 2 points for 9th position.

 The series heads to Austin Texas for the third round of the FEC at Circuit of the Americas on April 9th.