Dixon Rebounds to Win Race Two!
Brandon Dixon was able to return to form on Sunday, starting from second place, he forged ahead to take victory in a convincing manner.
Steve Jenks starts pole for race two, and championship leader Brandon Dixon is on the outside of row one. Dixon will surely be looking to make good on what has been a fairly lackluster weekend for the points leader. Nick Palacio continues with his strong form and starts from the third spot, he wasn’t far off the pace of the top two in qualifying, he certainly could be a force in this race.
They are approaching to the start finish line, the green flag is waving! Dixon is asleep. Jenks secures the top spot, it’s Palacio to second. Dixon falls to third, he tries to get by Palacio into turn three, but there’s no such luck. Chas Shaffer is fourth and sitting squarely on Dixons tail. Jenks went off before the completion of lap one, Palacio leads! The racers head down the front straight, Dixon races Jenks into turn one. They slip up, Jenks holds second, but Dixon falls to fourth behind Shaffer. Gonzalez in fifth and is dogging Dixon something fierce, meanwhile Palacio builds a lead.
They start the third lap, Dixon tries Shaffer into turn one, he can’t do it. Gonzalez as a result gets a run on Dixon down to turn three, but it’s not to be. On the back half of the course, Dixon gets by Shaffer, as the group comes to the line Gonzalez has a run on Shaffer too. Gonzalez goes to fourth.
Out front, Palacio is running steady, he has more than two seconds over Jenks in second. Dixon is another two seconds back from Jenks, but something doesn’t appear quite right for Jenks. His lap times aren’t quite what they should be. Palacio grows the lead to three full seconds.
With fifteen laps remaining, Dixon gets by Jenks. Up to this point, Palacio is consistently the fastest car on track. Dixon chases in second. Jenks is third and Gonzalez is fourth. Chas Shaffer is fifth and Bob Wright runs in sixth.
Twelve laps are left, Dixon has upped his pace. He’s about two tenths of a second faster than Palacio, but with a three second lead Palacio must be feeling pretty safe.
Coming to the line, this would be ten laps left to circulate, but Palacio is off! The last turn caught him out, he’s backwards into the gravel trap, he’s safely out of the car, but his race is over. Dixon takes over the lead! Jenks is second and Gonzalez steps onto the last step of the podium.
With eight to go, Shaffer retires to the pits. That moves the Pinto powered Van Diemen of Mike Pepitone up to fourth overall. Out front, Dixon has a large lead, Jenks too is secure in the second spot, while Gonzalez is third in his Radon entry.
To the checker flag, Dixon wins race two at Summit Point! Steve Jenks is second. Disaster strikes for Gonzalez, an all too common occurrence for the series veteran. He stops on track. This promotes Mike Pepitone to the final spot on the podium, it’s the first Pinto powered podium of the season!