What a crazy race today at Road America, and I am happy to report that it ended up with me back on the podium in 3rd place. Starting from 10th on the grid is never easy but if there is a place to do it, this is it, because the long straights at RA made for some wide open racing. After a decent start, I was able to capitalize on the battles taking place all over the track, and make passes in just about every corner. By the midway point of the race I was up to 3rd, but wouldn’t stay there long as I made a slight mistake heading onto the front straight, and 3 cars blew by me in the draft.

By the time we took the white flag for the last lap I was back in 4th, and knew I had to make a move for the podium. Heading out of turn 3, Kevin Gleason and JD Mobley were battling hard for 2nd, and I was able to get a run on both of them. I literally pushed Kevin down the straight and both of us past JD, and then dove to the inside under braking to get by Kevin as well and claim 2nd place. Behind me, Chris Wehrheim was able to take advantage and slip into 3rd behind me. Coming down the back straight into the final passing zone, Chris was able to get a good run, and grab 2nd from me. I probably could have forced the issue a little bit, but Chris had spent most of the race pushing me to the front, so the last thing I wanted to do was take us both out.

All in all it was a great result, moving me back to 3rd in the Championship, just 4 points behind second and only a fraction out of the lead. Heading into the final two rounds at Puebla, Mexico, I still have a great chance at the championship and can’t wait to get back to the track next month. With the podium finish we add a bonus 10 laps to our total for Right To Play, meaning we added 32 laps to the total this weekend. What that means is another $1600+ goes towards Right To Play, and we are getting close to reaching our goal of raising $10K. Thanks to everyone for their support.

Remember to check back later this week for some photos and a further recap of the weekend!

Jake Thompson