Given the opportunity to finish a Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race for the first time, 16-year-old Austin Cindric charged to the front to join Jade Buford in scoring their first series victory on Saturday under sunny skies at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Buford started on the outside of the front row in the new No. 158 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Shelby GT350R-C. After chasing TOTAL Pole Award-winning teammate Billy Johnson in the No. 15 Multimatic Ford Shelby GT350R-C for 15 laps, Buford beat his teammate out of the pits under the first caution to hold the lead, and the Multimatic cars were running 1-2 before changing drivers on Lap 39.
“This was a pretty physical race, especially with how hot the cars get,” Cindric said. “I think I cycled in fifth or sixth in line and about everybody was at the same pace. I was thinking, ‘How am I going to get by these guys?’ because I knew we needed to. I tried to make my way through and made a few risky moves, but they ended up paying off.”
Cindric passed Robin Liddell for position and then gained two spots when the Mantella Autosport Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R of Kyle Marcelli and Mark Wilkins pitted under green. He passed Matt Plumb to take the lead on Lap 64.
“I knew from the drop of the green flag that we’ve found what we were looking for,” said Buford, who started second. “We finally came to race – and win. I couldn’t be happier for Austin, myself and the entire Multimatic team.
It was good news, bad news for Multimatic Motorsports. Toronto driver Scott Maxwell retired from the race following heavy contact shortly after taking over for Johnson. The team led twice for 26 laps.
“Just a typical racing incident,” said Multimatic team owner Larry Holt. “I think that car’s finished – we’ve got a body in white and will build it up for our next race at Lime Rock. What about Austin? That kid’s unbelievable.”
Matt Plumb challenged Cindric down the stretch, but came up short by 4.703 seconds at the checkered flag.
“I had nothing left,” said Plumb, who co-drove with his brother Hugh in the No. 13 Billfish Foundation/Rum Bum Studios Porsche 911. “We were lucky to be able to hang on to the draft. I had to push super hard my entire stint to keep up.”
Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell finished third in the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R, ending a three-race winning streak. It was their fifth podium finish of the year, including taking second in the season opener at Daytona.
“We’ve become accustomed to winning, but taking third on a day like today still feels good,” Davis said. “This course doesn’t lend itself to the strengths of our car. I think we overachieved to come up with a podium.”
Unofficially, Davis and Liddell had two points trimmed from their lead after five races and now lead the Plumb brothers by 17 points, 167-150.
Pumpelly, Rodriguez Score Second Victory In RS1 Porsche Cayman
Spencer Pumpelly survived a torrid side-by-side battle with Andrew Carbonell to join Luis Rodriguez Jr. in scoring their second Street Tuner (ST) victory of the season in the No. 17 Rennsport One Porsche Cayman.
Pumpelly lost the lead to Carbonell in the No. 26 SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5 started by Liam Dwyer on the final restart with 36 minutes remaining. The two battled all the way to the checkered flag, going side-by-side for nearly a full lap with 25 minutes remaining. Pumpelly prevailed in that battle, although Carbonell briefly nosed ahead 10 minutes later.
“Hats off to Rennsport One, because we’ve had a lull after starting the season off with a win,” said Pumpelly, who won by 0.358 seconds. “We had everything working well and it showed today. Also hats off to Carbonell, who raced me hard and clean. He was quicker, but we were faster around here where it mattered, and I think that was the difference.”
“I have tons of respect for Spencer,” Carbonell said. “We raced close, but gave each other enough space. We did a lot of side-by-side racing, at some of the fastest corners around this track. I can’t say how much fun it was. I gave it all she had. I’d love to take the win, but I’ll take the points any day.”
Dwyer was assessed a drive-through penalty for contact with Dan Rogers in the No. 38 Next Generation Motorsports Porsche Cayman on the ninth lap of the race that dropped the team to 23rd. Dwyer gained back two positions before turning the car over to Carbonell on a green-flag pit stop
‘Stuff like that happens,” Dwyer said. “I thought I gave him enough room, but got penalized. From there, the team called great strategy to get Andrew into position, and we were able to extend our points lead.”
Taking a two-point lead into the event, Carbonell and Dwyer unofficially leave with an 11-point advantage over CJ Wilson Racing No. 5 ModSpace Mazda MX-5 drivers Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer, who finished eighth.
Andrie Tartanto, Chad Gilsinger, McCumbee, Jonathan Bomarito and Ted Giovanis each led in the opening half of the race before Pumpelly worked his way to the front.
Devon Jones started from the pole in his second series start in the No. 34 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5, but he and co-driver Christian Szymczak battled mechanical issues throughout the event and finished 21st.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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