Yahoo Autos Field, Cowden, and Persing take Radical wins at Barber Motorsports Park
Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted Blue Marble Radical Cup North America racers for race two and three on Saturday as the field saw their first wheel-to-wheel action of the day Saturday morning. With race three following the NTT IndyCar Series qualifying session, it was a packed house of fans and spectators as competitors closed their weekend of action late Saturday afternoon.
It was a battle of the veterans up front in the Platinum class as former American Le Mans Series entrant Jon Field (ONE Motorsport) managed to earn his second win of the weekend as he beat Indy Al Miller (ONE Motorsport) by 0.384s for the victory. It was Steve Jenks (Group-A Racing) that was able to find his way to the third and final step on the podium advancing forward from fourth to third, just ahead of Alain Derzie (ONE Motorsport) and Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing).
Nick Persing (Radical Northwest with Cameron Racing) was the first driver to beat Danny Dyszelski (WISKO Racing) in 2023 as he rocketed his way to the top of the charts. Scoring the win, Persing was the first driver to win an event in the United States behind the wheel of a new XXR car.
Robert Soroka (RySpec Racing) found his way to the podium for the first time this weekend as he held off the advances of long-time Radical racer and 55-year-old Gregg Gorski (ONE Motorsport). Nick Pearson, a newcomer to the Radical Cup North America program, improved from his P7 starting spot to cross the line fifth, his first top-five result of the weekend.
Doubling up on race wins at Barber Motorsports Park, RySpec Racing’s Jake Cowden climbed to the podium’s top step on route to earning the Sunoco Hard Charger Award, gaining five positions from his sixth-place starting spot, however, following the event, Cowden was penalized for an infraction handing the win to race one winner, Bijoy Garg (Team Stradale). Ben Blander gained five positions to stand on the second step of the podium with Ken Savage (TEAM) in P3.
Sweeping the weekend’s action in the Platinum class, Jon Field made his third trip to the podium’s top step and collected a trio of first-place trophies. Steve Jenks was able to add another second-place finish as Louis Schriber scored his best result of the weekend and climbed to the third and final step on the podium.
Pushing hard to keep in the top-five, Alain Derzie pushed his #09 entry to a fourth-place finish ahead of former dirt racer turned Radical driver Wayne Williams in fifth. Alan Miller, unfortunately, had an on-track incident and failed to complete the full race distance.
With Dyszelski already claiming four victories this season, Persing knocked the WISKO Racing driver off the top of the blocks in Saturday morning’s race and continued that success Saturday afternoon. Taking his second win of the season and the second weekend of the day, Nick Persing celebrated on the top step of the podium, with Robert Soroka and Gregg Gorski in second and third. Dyszelski was unable to advance forward throughout the 25-lap race to finish fourth, just ahead of Pro 1340 2022 champion Austin Riley.
Pro 1340’s Jake Cowden was able to find his way back to the top step of the podium with a dominating performance in race three. Adding his third podium result of the weekend, Bijoy Garg crossed the stripe in the second position with round three race winner Jace Bacon finding his way back to the podium in third. Jen Savage was flanked by a pair of Bacon’s with Jace in third and Seth Bacon in fifth.
With more than a month off, Radical Cup North America competitors will return to the track mid-June at the famed Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin alongside the NTT IndyCar Series.
Be sure to stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the event weekend.
Blue Marble Radical Cup events are open to all local and regional Radical racers with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at http://www.radicalmotorsport.com. Please stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America social media pages for news and updates from the 2023 season