CHOUINARD LEADS MINI CUPS TO FIRST WIN OF SEASON
Ava Chouinard jumped off the pole and led the field from the green all the way to the checkers for her first win on the season and her career second. She held off Zachary Martinez, then spent most of the race with Kyle Pianka at her back, then won a green-white-checkered finale with Tommy Harris giving chase, a half-car back. Jake Melberg, Maddie Harkin and Nikolas Frechette completed the order of finish.
It took two attempts to get the race underway as Harris and Zachary Levesque got togeher on the back stretch. On the second try, Ava nosed ahead of a battling Martinez then took the lead on the backstretch. An impatient Pianka went under Martinez into second and Michael Cooper followed underneath to make an attempt at third. By lap 4, Chouinard was well up on the field and after the four-car gap, Pianka then Martinez, Cooper and Harris ran nose-to-tail.
Martinez staggered to the outside, allowing Cooper in underneath. Martinez appeared to be struggling with the car. He and Harris then got together with Harris spinning off the backstetch. Harris continued, but the contact had uprooted the entire fiberglass nose of Martinez’ mini-cup and it was literally flapping in the breeze as he wound around the oval to the pit exit and departed.
Chouinard and Pianka lined up for the lap 10 restart and she nosed ahead at the green. Pianka battled but Chouinard seized the lead out of turn two. Pianka dropped in just before Jake Melberg and Levesque got together but were able to continue. Next time around, Frechette and Cooper made contact and Frechette spun to the infield.
Another Chouinard/Pianka face-off saw the same results as Ava notched the lead in turn one. Harris scooted in under Pianka to seize second. The latter then spun, catching Harkin. Cooper, trying to avoid, ended against the wall in front of the flagstand. Pianka was ushed to the pits while Cooper went off on the hook. Harkin returned to the race.
The lap eleven restart was a green-white-checkered affair and Chouinard leapt from the box with the lead over Harris. Melberg pulled into third with Harkin jumping in behind him, followed by Frechette and Levesque, the entire field remaining ontrack.
They wound furiously through the final two laps in that order to the finish line.
MINI CUPS