Red Bull Global Rallycross Detroit at Belle Isle, a doubleheader event, brought Nur Ali highs and lows but in the end he left the renowned street circuit with the feeling of relief. After a rough start to the season, the Trophy Club, TX resident scored a career best fourth place finish, one spot from the podium. Ali currently sits seventh in the Lites Championship.
The race weekend got off to a slow start. On Friday, issues with the jump forced the cancellation of all track activities. With a condensed schedule for round one on Saturday, the Lites drivers were limited to five laps of practice before the only heat race of the day.
“We were very limited with track time,” said Ali, driver of the No. 42 Valvoline/Tweaker Energy Shot entry. “We barely had time to learn this difficult circuit. It’s narrow with no run off leaving little room for error. It definitely made it a challenge.”
In the heat race, Ali drove a flawless race despite the limited track time and scored a solid third place finish. He was looking to carry that success to the final but it was not to be.
“Coming off the dirt on lap eight, I clipped the wall with the right front and it ended our race,” explained Ali. “It’s a shame because there were only two laps remaining and we were running sixth at the time.”
He finished the final in tenth place.
In round two, held on Sunday, Ali struggled to match his pace of the previous day. With a fourth and fifth place finish in heat one and two respectively, he raced his way into the final via a second place finish in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
Starting the final in the eighth position, Ali made a quick getaway but when the field entered turn two, carnage ensued. Heads up driving allowed him to maneuver his way through the scattered cars and emerge unscathed in fifth spot.
“It was a mess in turn two,” said Ali. “At one point I didn’t think I was going to make it through, but somehow I did. A well-timed Joker Lap moved us to fourth and after that I just hit my marks and drove to the checkered flag. I couldn’t have done it without Dave, my spotter. He made sure I was aware of everything around so all I had to do was focus out front.”
He finished round two’s final in fourth place.
To watch the action from Detroit tune to NBCSN on Wednesday, July 29 at 4:30 p.m. (ET).
The next race for Ali and the Valvoline/Tweaker Energy Shot team is Red Bull Global Rallycross Washington DC on August 15 held at RFK Stadium.
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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