Schriber Strikes, McMurry and Nicol Sweep at Laguna Seca

The stars of the Radical Cup North America series shone brightly during the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey. Raiden Nicol surely caught the eye of the NTT INDYCAR Series team owners by claiming an outright victory as he continued his perfect season to pick up wins 10, 11 and 12 in Pro 1500, while debutant Sam McDougall also impressed. Louis Schriber claimed two victories in the Platinum class, and Chris McMurry returned with a clean sweep in Pro 1340.

“With nearly 30 competitors battling it out on the twists and turns of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Radical Cup was some of the most exciting races of the weekend,” explained Radical Motorsport’s Tom Drewer. “Especially the epic ‘David and Goliath’ style battle between Field in the high-horsepower SR10 and Raiden Nicol in the 1500cc SR3. I hope the talent scouts were watching that one, because in Raiden Nicol there is something truly special, and he wasn’t the only standout. And with two weekends remaining, many of the championship battles are tighter than ever.”

Platinum

In the Platinum class, it was Jon Field who made a bold statement, converting his pole position into a commanding win in race one, leading flag to flag. Behind him, championship contender Louis Schriber looked poised for a strong runner-up finish after an early race battle, but a mid-race mistake cost him track position. Capitalizing on the moment, Wayne Williams and Chip Romer charged forward to take second and third, respectively, joining Field on the class podium.

Race two of the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca brought intense action and unexpected shakeups, especially in the Platinum class. Field who led early, looked poised to take another dominant win after leading nearly the entire race. However upon the final restart, in a dramatic twist, Field was passed by Pro 1500 driver Raiden Nicol in the penultimate turn and spun while attempting to reclaim the outright lead through the final corner. This dumped Field down the order and handed victory to Louis Schriber, who made a strong comeback to secure his second win of the season for JBR Motorsports. Scott Wagner, who had battled with Schriber early on, suffered an alternator belt failure with just under six minutes remaining, allowing Wayne Williams to take over second and Chip Romer to claim the final podium position in third.

In the final race of the weekend for the Platinum class, Louis Schriber capped off a stellar performance by claiming his second third win of the year. He held off Wayne Williams, who crossed the line in second, while Scott Wagner rounded out the podium, and Steve Jenks salvaged fourth to still have a shot at the championship title. For much of the race it looked as though Scott Wagner might add his name to winner’s list, but a tussle with Field, who was trying to unlap himself, and a mistake in the Corkscrew on the second to last lap cost him two steps. It also meant Williams walked away with three wins and 16 points over Schriber with two events and six races to go.

Pro 1500

The Pro 1500 class saw pole sitter Raiden Nicol deliver a flawless drive from the front in race one, securing not only the class win but an impressive fourth-place overall finish. He was followed by Matt Romer in second and Spencer Schmidt in third, rounding out a tightly contested Pro 1500 podium. Valen Venkatesh impressed with fifth in front of his home crowd, while Jack Yang beat out Mike Anzaldi to secure the Gold class trophy.

Amazingly, Nicol was faster than even the Platinum class cars, meaning that a Pro 1500 car would start Race 2 from the outright pole– a first for the series. Not surprisingly, the Primal Racing driver was swamped by the faster class as the green flag flew. Spencer Schmidt immediately capitalized on the melee, which saw him lead Pro 1500 until lap four, when Nicol took over the top spot. Nicol then proceeded to hunt down Field, whom he passed with a surprise lunge through Turn 10 to take the overall win along with Pro 1500 honors.

Behind him, a fierce battle for the podium unfolded between Spencer Schmidt and Matt Romer, but a late-race restart saw Canadian Austin Riley make a bold move to pass both and grab second in class. Jack Yang continued his strong run in Pro 1500 Gold, finishing fifth overall and collecting his second Gold class victory of the weekend.

In race three Raiden Nicol continued his unbeatable form, securing another dominant class victory and an impressive second overall. Matt Romer and Spencer Schmidt battled closely throughout the race to claim second and third in class, just ahead of Gold class winner Jack Yang, who finished fourth overall and completed a clean sweep of the Gold class for the weekend. With 12 consecutive wins, Nicol is in complete control of both the Pro 1500 and Overall Radical Cup North America championship battles however, behind him, Yang is now second in Pro 1500 points, just three points clear of Riley, with Schmidt only 14 points further back.

Pro 1340

In the Pro 1340 class, it was veteran racer Chris McMurry who turned heads in his return to the series. The Crown Racing with Radical Arizona driver outdueled Race 1 pole sitter, and class points leader, Brady Clapham, in a nail-biting battle that lasted to the checkered flag. McMurry claimed the win, while Clapham held onto second, with Graham Rahal Performance’s Dermot Ennis locking in the third spot to complete the class podium.

In race two, Chris McMurry was once again in a league of his own, dominating the Pro 1340 class and mixing it up with the Pro 1500 field as he ran wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Ryan Persing and Dennis Kelly. Dermot Ennis repeated his performance from race one to finish third, while Brady Clapham, who had been ‘Mr. Consistency’ in the class, slipped back in the order reporting bent suspension after a wild ride early in the race. That opened the door for Mike Dardin to secure his first podium of the weekend, finishing second.

Chris McMurry proved unstoppable in Race 3, sweeping the weekend with his third class win. Brady Clapham bounced back after a tough second race to finish second, while Mike Dardin completed the Pro 1340 podium in third, to give Crown Racing and Radical Arizona yet another podium result. Clapham’s points haul was strong enough to keep him will in front in terms of the championship table, while Dermot Ennis’s podiums has solidified him in second.

The Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race awards went to:

• Chris McMurry – Race 1

• Steve Jenks – Race 2

• Brady Clapham – Race 3

Next stop for Radical Cup North America will be over the September 11-13 weekend as they battle the famed Road Atlanta facility in Braselton, Georgia.

Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalcupnorthamerica.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.