Yahoo Autos All titles up for grabs this weekend in Blue Marble Radical Cup North America finale
In what is shaping up to be the largest Blue Marble Radical Cup North America event of 2023, teams and competitors will descend on Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca for the final event weekend of the season. With tight points battles in two classes, the challenging natural terrain facility, made famous by the Corkscrew, will be the deciding event of the 2023 season
“What a year it has been,” said Radical Motorsport’s Tom Drewer. “But we are not done yet. We have some epic championship battles heading into the final weekend including the outright title, with three wheel-to-wheel races to decide it all. And, for the fourth time this year, the best Radical drivers from across the continent will star alongside the NTT IndyCar Series.”
The biggest championship battle will come from the Pro 1500 ranks as after 15 races, WISKO Racing’s Danny Dyszelski and Radical Northwest’s Nick Persing enter the weekend tied with 703 points. In a toe-to-toe battle from the opening round at NOLA Motorsports Park, the duo has traded race wins, pole positions, fastest race laps, and a little paint, and now it’s down to the wire for class honors as well as the overall series championship title. Behind them, Gregg Gorski has a 42-point margin of RySpec Racing’s Robert Soroka with Soroka only 45 markers over his teammate and fellow Canadian Austin Riley. While the championship battle will be one for the ages, the battle for third in the title chase will be one to watch as well.
While the action in the points chase is hot and heavy, 18 Pro 1500 competitors will take to the track in California. Cameron Racing / Radical Northwest will enter five drivers in total as Arul Venkatesh, Joe Nuxoll, Richard McDougall, and Todd Curtis will race alongside Persing. ONE Motorsport will have a stout driver lineup with Aurora Straus, Miguel Grillo, Will Lin, and Nick Groat alongside Gorski while RYNO Racing will have three entrants in Ron Fletcher and Dave Tweedlie who will compete alongside Radical Cup stalwart Mike Anzaldi. Rounding out the 18-car grid will be Group-A Racing’s Jack Yang and WISKO Racing’s Mike Calka.
While the Pro 1500 points chase is tied heading into the final round, the Pro 1340 championship battle is just as heated as G-Tech Motorsports Ken Savage is a scant 13 points ahead of Crown Racing’s Jace Bacon. Jace’s Father Seth is only 32 points out of the lead as it is a three-driver race up top with three more races to go. While Savage has been consistent, it has been Jace Bacon who has come on strong as of late making a last-minute push for the title. A strong showing at the Circuit of The Americas saw him earn one win and three podium results, outscoring all other Pro 1340 drivers on the weekend.
With 11 drivers on the entry list, the Pro 1340 class will be another one to keep an eye on as the class breaks their 2023 entry record with Crown Racing supplying eight of those entries. While the Bacons will lead the Arizona based team into California, they will be joined by Vince Switzer, Evan Wolf, two-time 2023 race winner Chris McMurry, Karl Fredrikson, Eric Griffin and Ralf Ludwig. Team Stradale will be represented by Ben Blander while Brendan Wright will expand the Cameron Racing / Radical Northwest driver lineup.
ONE Motorsports’ Jon Field will lead the Platinum class into Laguna Seca and while he is ahead by 81 points, the championship is still not his. RYNO Racing’s Louis Schriber will need a near-perfect weekend and hope that Field runs into trouble over the final three races, but he can’t look too far ahead as ESSES Racing’s Wayne Williams is only 62 points behind in third. With nine entries for the weekend, Field will just need to stay out of trouble and have a solid first race to add his name to the record books. Joining Field, Schriber and Williams will be the likes of Scott Wagner, “Indy Al” Miller, Jim Booth, Jason Plotke, Jeff Ramsey and Jason Greenwood.
While the drivers’ championships are not the only thing on the line this weekend, teams’ championships will be another major topic of discussion as well as the overall championship. Just like the drivers’ championship, the closest team’ championship battle is in Pro 1500 with WISKO Racing holding a one-point advantage over Radical Northwest / Cameron Racing entering the final weekend. Crown Racing controls the Pro 1340 championship and should be able to secure that title during the final event while ONE Motorsports cannot be caught in the Platinum class.
Set to hit the track Friday for two official practice sessions and qualifying, Saturday will feature the first and second races of the weekend. Sunday is reserved for the final wheel-to-wheel race of 2023 with champions to be crowned that evening at the Champions Celebration. Action will be broadcast on the Radical Motorsports YouTube page HERE.
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 www.radicalmotorsport.com. Please stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America social media pages for the latest series news and updates.
