BRS: bezio-brs Persists To Win at Dover
- Published ()
- Bellstar Racing Series
Dover, DE - It was a new dawn for the Bellstar Racing Series when the sun broke over the track at Dover this past Sunday for the Dover 200. A new dawn as the series would get its first test of the most sweeping set of rules changes since the inception of the league. Tagged as the Caution Reduction Initiative, or CRI, the rules were designed to improve the racing quality of the series. Officials exhorted drivers to remember the two-spin rule and no passing until the backstretch rule even as they prepared for a new race review process. Even at this late date, official results are still in limbo while officials review compliance with the CRI.
The race itself was anticipated to be an exciting one as the teams prepared for the high-banked concrete oval of Dover. With the demands of the CRI in mind, teams struggled to balance a fast car versus a tight condition versus the anticipation of having to make long green flag runs. Would new drivers emerge as strong contenders with the impact of sprint setups downplayed?
sonicphile starts testing the CRI early in the race, spinning out on lap one right in front of -FlasH-BRS and the rest of the field.
Things started out as normal it seemed with points leader and two-time winner sonicphile grabbing the pole as the only driver to crack the 153 mph mark. Lined up next to him was a perennial favorite, but struggling this year, -FlasH-BRS. The CRI was tested almost immediately when sonicphile looped it in T3 on the first lap. Fortunately, the entire field was able to get around his car without anyone else getting involved in the wreck.
The early portion of the race saw several drivers wondering whether the CRI would be a success as 3 more cautions would come out during the first 20 laps. First, on lap 5 MacDaddy! and B_Helvey would get together going into turn 1 in what appeared to be a warp induced crash. A few laps later, Hogar*PIK spun out after touching the apron going into turn 3, bringing out yet another yellow. Then, on lap 19 MacDaddy! spun in turn 1, catching both sandman55 and Kern-BRS in a mult-car incident.
Kern-BRS and sandman55 both look for somewhere to go as MacDaddy! spins in front of them!
Only a few laps later, on lap 32, Kern-BRS would spin out down the front stretch and just as he had his car almost under control at the entrance to turn 1, he would collect sandman55 and bring out another yellow flag.
iggyis goes for the pass on Crash*PIK through turn 1 on lap 32.
Things would start to look better after this though as a moderately long green flag run would ensue. -Runner-BRS looked strong for the first part of this run, though ZXFLY was able to stick with him and after about 15 laps or so took the lead and started pulling away a bit. Meanwhile, Runner-BRS would start to fade, falling all the way back to sixth place before the next yellow flag. That would come out on lap 77 when Hogar*BRS spun out going into turn 1.
The field hits the pits on lap 34.
After this brief break in the action which was needed by the field to get tires, another 20+ lap run would ensue until lap 102. Going into turn one, Nek_Noslen and sandman55 would get together ever so slightly, but enough to send both cars spinning up into the wall and bringing out the yellow flag. Controversy erupted as race officials proceeded to black flag several of the lead lap cars for passing under yellow. It appears the confusion was brought about when the officials could not track the lapped car of Nek_Noslen who had been involved in the accident. The ensuing stop and go penalties would severely hamper the efforts of many of the teams to bring home a victory.
Once underway again, Sully** was able to move to the front of the field and started to dominate things, though -Runner-BRS was keeping him in his sights. That is until lap 152 when Sully**'s car gets loose out of turn four and he spun down the frontstretch. Sully** was able to get going fairly quickly, but not before -Runner-BRS was able to grab the lead away.
JCauseyFD and -Runner-BRS squeeze by the almost stopped car of Sully** on lap 152 after Sully** spins out down the frontstretch.
In a cruel twist on the same lap though, -Runner-BRS would start to come in for a pit stop, then change his mind. In the process, he clips the pit wall and blows his engine up to finish his day prematurely and bringing out a yellow flag.
After narrowly avoiding disaster with Sully**, -Runner-BRS clips the pit wall and blows his engine.
Another yellow flag came out on lap 178 when -FlasH-BRS warped into Sully**, causing some extensive damage to Sully** which eventually led to an expired engine. With a short twenty lap sprint left, the field saw a familiar sight - sonicphile up near the front, poised to take another victory if he could get by iggyis. Things would not be so pleasant for sonicphile this time though as he spun out on lap 194 coming out of turn 2 to bring out the day's final yellow flag.
Ouch - iggyis puts it into the wall on the final restart, letting a potential victory slip away.
The field took their final green flag on lap 199 with iggyis on the point and apparently on the verge of victory. A bad start for iggyis though would send his car into the outside wall just past the start/finish line. This let bezio-brs move to the point and with a clear track, he was able to motor on around and take his first victory of the season.
bezio-brs beats Mention-BRS and the rest of the field back to the stripe for his first win of the season.
Dover 200 Race Winner - bezio-brs Pole Award- sonicphile Front Runner Award - pending Hard Charger Award - pending Headache Award - pending Points leader after 5 events - pending