The other mantle would be the passing of "title champion" from Andrew Steppat to Travis Billingsley. The #18 MX-5 dominated the series from the mid-point of the series on, aided in part, by a missed event from the #001 of Steppat. Whether or not Steppat missing an event would have a direct effect on Billingsley's win is, at this point, moot. With 19 points on the night with the bonus point for setting a record shattering 1:06 lap time, Travis clears the second place Andrew by 17 points, giving him the Season 7 title trophy.
For Andrew, the race at Atlanta was a near perfect way to send off Forza 6, as he has dominated most races in this game so he dominates at the final event, winning 2 of the 3 heats. Ethan Maestri had a return to form in this event. While he did have a huge stumble out of the gate in Heat 1, he did take advantage of the reverse grid for Heat 2 leading the event from flag-to-flag, giving him his first and only heat win of the season. His fourth place overall finish is his first outside of the Top 3 in his FRL career.
Paul Maestri earns the "Mr. Consistency" award this season, with a heat win and consistent Top 5's, he clears his MBR teammate taking third overall in the series. Nicholas Hargrove battled hard all season with Tony Tyree for a Top 5 in the points, but a rough night in Atlanta sealed his fate and gave Tony his 7th consecutive Top 5 finish. Nicholas would have to settle for 6th overall and a long off-season wait to get another chance at cracking the Top 5 again. Brandon Adkins was there for the fun, but tipped his hat a little when he exclaimed "Not last!" at the end of Heat 3, coming in just ahead of Nicholas. His return to the FRL is a welcome one, and his mostly regular participation yielded him 8th overall in the points out of 12 participating drivers.
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The FRL heads into an uncertain off-season. Ethan Maestri has officially stepped down as head of the FRL. A committee of FRL members has been selected to take over his duties, details of which will be presented here soon. But details for the next FRL season has not been decided on as of yet. Stay tuned here as those details become available. Congratulations again to Travis Billingsley on a well deserved title. Also to Andrew Steppat and Paul Maestri for their podium finishes as well. But especially to all for their support and participation in this hobby!
