Andrew Steppat Wins 2nd Running of the Indy 200

 It was a slow start for the 2nd annual FRL Indy 200. Qualifying started later than planned, but Ethan Maestri was able to win pole position with a sub-38 second lap. He would take that front row position, with Nicholas Hargrove on the outside of row one, and head into Turn 1 for the lead of the opening laps of the race. Nicholas would fall in behind and the two would have a dominating run over the field of 10 cars for the first 30 laps or so.

"Pardon me, coming through." Andrew Steppat (middle) threads his way through traffic at Indy 

 As the final pit cycles were finishing up, Ethan Maestri found himself just ahead of Andrew Steppat. Andrew would fall in very close to Ethan as they headed off into Turn 1. As they turned in, Ethan's back wheels had no traction as the draft from Andrew's car removed the downforce off his spoiler. Ethan would end up hard into the wall and out of the lead. This would start a woeful series of laps for the former front runner. Nicholas Hargrove would inherit the lead and would build a huge gap over third place Andrew Steppat. The race continued to worsen for Ethan, he would spin a third time trying to avoid contact and would wind up hard into the wall just outside the pit entrance. His #3 Chevy was damaged so badly that he could not even move into the pit lane. Nicholas Hargrove would do the unthinkable at this point. Leading the race, he would pull down and help the stricken Ethan Maestri into the pits. After clearing the #3, he would promptly head back out onto the track perhaps not winning the stage, but certainly winning the respect of all those competing.

 The field would be re-racked for the final 30 laps with Andrew Steppat leading the field. As the race started, a series of incredible events would unfold that would eliminate nearly every car from contention except one, the #001 of Andrew Steppat would singularly clear the Turn 1 carnage created by Allen Ruff and would go on to complete the final 30 laps unchallenged.

Carnage in Turn's 1 and into 2. Nicholas Hargrove nearly cleared the spinning Allen Ruff...nearly.

As bad as Travis Billingsley and Tony Tyree were damaged in the Turn 1 & 2 carnage (foreground), Allen Ruff  (in air, background) endured the brunt of the accident

 Drivers Mike Webb and Ryan Mazzocco would find themselves in the catbird seat, picking their way through the wrecked field of cars that had started in front of them. They would run for a time in P4 & P5. Eventually Ryan would spin again and would drop behind Tim Adkins and Ethan Maestri. Mike Webb would suffer an ill handling car and would spin out of fourth place. Tim Adkins and Ethan Maestri would settle into a battle for fourth briefly. Ethan tried to make a move on the outside of Turn 1 and washed up into the wall, sending him into the pits and ending any chance for a race win. Tim ran well in P4 until he spun and started a cycle toward the back of the field. This allowed Tony Tyree and Travis Billingsley to creep back into the mid-pack. Danny McClain  had a fantastic start and a solid run through the first heat to finish in P2. However, he would get collected in the Turn 1 incident and would wind up in P8 on the night, just behind Tim Adkins. 

Ethan Maestri (Red #3) gets ready to make a pass on the #14 of Tim Adkins, a fateful move that would end his chances of a win for the night

 Mike Webb would be passed by Ethan Maestri in the late stages of the second heat but pulled off a feat by finishing ahead of FRL veteran in P4. Nicholas Hargrove recovered from the early carnage in the second heat to finish P2, well back from Andrew Steppat, who was able to cruise to an easy victory in this annual FRL event. He'll receive the Crystal Trophy for his efforts and taste the dairy product of his choice in celebration. Our next One-Off comes quickly with a multi-class event on the famed Le Mans circuit on June 14th.