Round 2 of Winter Rivals Completed

 Virginia International Raceway hosted the second round of the FRL's Winter Rivals Challenge series. Andrew Steppat set the bar early in his ZR-1 and never took his foot off the pedal, setting a 1:11.387 early on and then dropped that to a 1:11.274 by the time the board closed. Ghabe Stauffer made great strides after hitting and sitting on a 1:11.690 for most of the 2 week challenge. He made a late charge for Andrew, dropping his best time to 1:11.418. Niko Smith languished in the 1:12's for most of the 2 week session, but a late charge in his Ford Falcon netted him a 1:11.542 officially, though he did post a 1:11.29x after the leaderboard officially closed. He'll be one to challenge the top two going forward.

 With just a few days to go, Ethan Maestri and Travis Billingsley started a back-and-forth swap of P3 that saw them both drop their times into the 1:11.5xx's. Seth Jensen showed late in the session, posting the sole 1:12 on the board. Joey Lamothe scores a 1:13.188 in a land barge 69' Dodge Daytona. Gabe Fast posts a final official time of 1:19.226, improving from an initial time of 1:21.188!

 

 The festivities ended with two heats run by four participants. Technical difficulties scrubbed results from the first session, but a lively race developed in the second heat with Niko Smith taking the win over a close second by Travis Billingsley. The next track is Grand Oak Club and the board goes live on Monday, December 30th & runs until January 12th.

VIR - South Points
Andrew Steppat	25
Ghabe Stauffer	18
Niko Smith	15
Ethan Maestri	12
Travis Billingsley	10
Seth Jensen	8
Joey Lamothe	6
Gabe Fast	4
Series Totals
Ghabe Stauffer	43
Andrew Steppat	43
Niko Smith	30
Ethan Maestri	24
Travis Billingsley	16
Joey Lamothe	14
Seth Jensen	12
Preston Liberatore	10
Gabe Fast	5
Tony Tyree	2

Round 1 of Winter Rivals Challenge Complete

 Round one of the FRL Winter Rivals series has concluded. Ghabe Stauffer posts the top time of the leaderboard with a blistering 42.641 seconds, manhandling all 17.3 ft. of his 69' Dodge Charger, like a boss. Andrew Steppat makes a late showing, but secured P2 with an equally impressive 42.808 in a 69' Chevy Camaro. Niko Smith rounds out the podium, taking his 73' Holden across the line in 43.021 seconds. 

 The bulk of the field toiled in the 43's along with him. Positions 4-8 were only separated by 0.378 seconds! The two week challenge period was finished with a meet-up at the selected track, Maple Valley Short, for some 6-12 lap shootouts. Ghabe continued his domination of the field by winning all three heats. Seth Jensen was able to capitalize on some small mistakes by Ethan Maestri, taking his 73' Pontiac across the line in P2 in the main heat of 12 laps. The final heat of the night featured a barn-burner of a duel between Seth and Travis Billingsley, both crossing the line with less than .020 between them, Seth getting the better of Travis at the line. 

 The Challenge series moves on this week to Virginia International Raceway - South. This event will conclude on December 29th, another concluding meet-up is being planned to close-out this event as well. Points have been awarded and shown on the table below. 

Maple Valley Points
Ghabe Stauffer	25
Andrew Steppat	18
DrMibbz	15
Ethan Maestri	12
Preston Liberatore	10
Joey Lamothe	8
Travis Billingsley	6
Seth Jensen	4
Tony Tyree	2
Gabe Fast	1
Series Totals
Ghabe Stauffer	25
Andrew Steppat	18
DrMibbz	15
Ethan Maestri	12
Preston Liberatore	10
Joey Lamothe	8
Travis Billingsley	6
Seth Jensen	4
Tony Tyree	2
Gabe Fast	1