Steppat Takes Second Victory At Lime Rock

 The FEC took to the track at Lime Rock on the South chicane circuit on March 10th. With a victory at Daytona, Andrew Steppat looked to take another step toward making quick work of the series points battle by taking it back to back wins. He started off in the right way, scoring pole position in qualifying. However, it would not be an easy run for him. With MBR locking out the next three positions, he would have to fend off an early challenge by the #3 of Ethan Maestri. Ethan would have trouble on the 2nd lap however and quickly faded to the rear of the field. This left the #33 of Paul Maestri to stalk his rear view mirror for several laps. Paul would yield his position to team mate Travis Billingsley a few laps later and the #18 Mazda would shadow the #001 Merkur all the way to the checkered flag.

 Ethan, after a very early mistake and pit stop, would climb to P6 before being forced to make a second pit stop with a battery issue. Nicholas Hargrove looked to be in for a good run, starting the race in P5. However, the #5 Cougar proved to be less than nimble in the corners and faded back to P8. Tony Tyree and Matthew Smith, both in Mustangs, had the toughest of races. The #47 of Tony Tyree would finish P8, just ahead of Matthew.

 The biggest surprise of the night would come from Rocket Boys Racing. RBR drivers Drew Dilbeck and Ghabe Stouffer would start at the back of the field but moved quickly forward and established a dominant position throughout the event. Drew placed his #29 RX7 into P3 with a late charge on the #33 of Paul Maestri. Ghabe would pilot his #2 RX7 home in P5, ahead of many of the veterans in the field. While Drew's podium likely paints a target on his back as far as Driver BoP is concerned, the addition of a new name to the top echelon's of the series is a welcome one.

 In all, MBR had a very strong hand at the start of the night. But niggling problems and mistakes cost them a strong result. The #18 solidifies his right to challenge the series leader. RBR had a coming out party of sorts here, but it will remain to be seen if they can maintain the momentum going to far more challenging tracks in the coming weeks.

 The series moves on to Sebring on March 24th. 

Sebring Results:
1. Andrew Steppat - 21 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 18 points
3. Drew Dilbeck - 16 points
4. Paul Maestri - 14 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 12 points
6. Ethan Maestri - 10 points
7. Nicholas Hargrove - 8 points
8. Tony Tyree - 6 points
9. Matthew Smith - 4 points

Series Standings after 2 events:
1. Andrew Steppat - 42 points
2. Travis Billingsley - 36 points
3. Paul Maestri - 28 points
4. Ethan Maestri - 26 points
5. Ghabe Stouffer - 20 points
6. Nicholas Hargrove - 16 points
7. Tony Tyree - 16 points
8. Drew Dilbeck - 16 points
9. Matthew Smith - 4 points