Red Bull GRC Media Alert // Race Recaps: Dallas

Red Bull GRC Race Recap: Dallas
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IN BRIEF: It looked like Tanner Foust’s perfect season would remain unblemished after early rounds, but when all was said and done, it was Patrik Sandell who would take the top spot at Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas. Sandell grabbed the lead on the first lap ahead of Steve Arpin, while Foust would fight his way back up to third.
HEAT RECAPS: The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross duo of Tanner Foust and Scott Speed dominated the heats and semifinals once again, with both drivers sweeping all three rounds of points-paying action to earn the first two spots on the starting grid. The last chance qualifier went to Brian Deegan, whose Chip Ganassi Racing crew spent most of the day repairing the car after a practice fire and missed the second round of heats and the semifinals.
MAIN EVENT RECAP: When the lights turned green, Foust and Speed drag raced down the frontstretch into turns one and two. Foust got ahead by a nose, but came into the tricky right-hander with a little too much speed and slid wide. Patrik Sandell, who started the race from the middle of the second row, saw a hole and pushed through, with Steve Arpin following. Sandell had the preferred line to the chicane and got through first, with Arpin, Speed, and Foust following.
Undeterred, Foust clawed his way back to third with a quick Joker Lap and set his sights on Arpin. The two drivers jostled for second place throughout much of the final, sliding two wide into the dirt section and making bumper to bumper contact, but the Chip Ganassi Racing driver would not give up the spot. The battle allowed Sandell to check out, ending the event with an advantage of over seven seconds.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 Red Bull GRC season:

1. Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST

2. Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST

3. Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle

4. Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle

5. Joni Wiman, #31 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe

6. Austin Dyne, #14 AD Racing Ford Fiesta ST

7. Brian Deegan, #38 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST

8. Rhys Millen, #67 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster

9. Jeff Ward, #07 SH Rallycross/DRR Ford Fiesta ST

10. Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe
QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 Red Bull GRC season:
Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST: “I wouldn’t say it was easy, but they lined the cars up so I had a straight shot between the two front row cars. Mentally, I was just focusing on that spot. I never saw those two Volkswagens for ten laps, and I’m pretty happy with that! I’m so happy for this group because we are working so hard together. I moved up to Indianapolis this summer just to be with them, and try to do everything together and to be as perfect as we can.”
Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST: “I just love the fact that we’re getting off the line this year. And just to be in the line with these Volkswagens, they are going really good. Our Ford Fiesta guys have been working so hard each and every week. We have made leaps and bounds of progress, and this is just a testament to the hard work that they have been doing. We have so many great sponsors on board and I have an awesome teammate in Brian Deegan—I can’t believe the 38 crew got that car running again. What a fun racetrack this is, and what an awesome crowd we have out here!”
Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle: “The cars are so fast that even when you’re in the lead it’s chaotic. But mud on the windshield was interesting—I found the wiper button pretty quick. I had a great battle with Arpin, and I gave him one hit from behind where I wasn’t expecting him to brake, but I gave the spot back. I was trying to have a clean battle and get the pass. I couldn’t do it, but it was awesome to race it out. It’s unfortunate—we had the perfect season up until the final, and it may seem like smooth sailing from the outside sometimes, but we’re working so hard to get our qualifying times good, and trying to win the heats. It’s been a great season so far, and hopefully it will continue on.”
FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 Red Bull GRC season:

· Patrik Sandell earned the third win of his Red Bull Global Rallycross career on Saturday in Dallas. He became the second Supercar final winner of the year after Tanner Foust swept the season-opening doubleheader in Phoenix.

· Steve Arpin earned the third podium of his Red Bull GRC career, and tied his all-time best finish, by placing second in Dallas. Arpin’s most recent previous podium came 12 rounds prior at Daytona International Speedway.

· Tanner Foust remains the only driver to stand on the podium at every Supercar race so far this year after finishing third in Dallas. Foust now has seven podium finishes in his last eight races.

· Fourth-place finisher Scott Speed has not finished outside of the top five in a Red Bull GRC event since August 2015 in Washington DC. He remains a perfect eight for eight in heat races and semifinals.

· Brian Deegan has won the past five Supercar last chance qualifiers, dating back to Barbados last October.
UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

1. Tanner Foust, 180

2. Patrik Sandell, 155

3. Scott Speed, 150

4. Steve Arpin, 137

5. Brian Deegan, 103

6. Joni Wiman, 79

7. Sebastian Eriksson, 78

8. Austin Dyne, 67

9. Jeff Ward, 58

10. Rhys Millen, 53

11. Sebastian Saavedra, 3
UNOFFICIAL MANUFACTURER POINTS:

1. Volkswagen, 14

2. Ford, 12

3. Honda, 10
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GRC Lites Race Recap: Dallas
IN BRIEF: Defending GRC Lites champion Oliver Eriksson returned to form after a disappointing season opener in Phoenix, winning the GRC Lites round in Dallas after a cunning pass of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Tanner Whitten. Lites rookie and new points leader Cabot Bigham would get by his DRR teammate for second, but Whitten would retain third to complete the podium.
HEAT RECAPS: Tanner Whitten and Oliver Eriksson qualified first and second and held their respective advantages throughout the heats, with both drivers winning both of their heat races. After an incident involving Nur Ali and Collete Davis forced a restart of the last chance qualifier, Phoenix race winners Conner Martell and Miki Weckstrom placed first and second, with Christian Brooks and Parker Chase earning the last two transfer spots to the final.
MAIN EVENT RECAP: Whitten got the jump off the line and managed to grab an early lead, but Eriksson remained a persistent force on his back bumper throughout the main event’s early stages. On the fifth lap of the race, Eriksson made his move: coming into turn 15, he turned one of the trickiest corners on the course into a passing zone and grabbed the lead for good.
Behind them, Brooks and Cabot Bigham were embroiled in their own fight for third, with Brooks claiming the spot on the same lap. But a perfectly executed Joker Lap propelled Bigham back into podium contention, in fact giving him the edge on Whitten for second place. They would cross the line in that order, with Brooks fourth and native Texans Harry Gottsacker and Parker Chase in fifth and sixth.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 GRC Lites season:

1. Oliver Eriksson, #16 Olsbergs MSE X Forces

2. Cabot Bigham, #2 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

3. Tanner Whitten, #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

4. Christian Brooks, #44 AF Racing

5. Harry Gottsacker, #69 PMG Rallysport

6. Parker Chase, #19 PMG Rallysport

7. Alejandro Fernandez, #126 AF Racing

8. Conner Martell, #21 DirtFish Motorsports

9. Travis PeCoy, #3 AF Racing

10. Miki Weckstrom, #45 Olsbergs MSE X Forces

11. Cole Keatts, #53 Olsbergs MSE X Forces

12. Nur Ali, #42 Rhys Millen Racing

13. Collete Davis, #07 River Racing/Rhys Millen Racing
QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 GRC Lites season:
Oliver Eriksson, #16 Olsbergs MSE X Forces: “I raced with Tanner last year and we raced together pretty well and clean. I just thought I could keep up with him, and in the gravel part I was a little bit quicker. So in the end I just tried to give it my all and keep my head up.”
Cabot Bigham, #2 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: “A lot of work came into this weekend, and the team did a really good job. Honestly I’m just so stoked to be on the podium right now. Being on that flatbed after practice, just trying to keep the momentum up and staying positive really worked into where I stand right now.”
Tanner Whitten, #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: “I think the team switch that we made from last year to this year makes all the difference in world. We’ve got a great group of road course oriented, the guys around us, and we got some good partners working with us this year that have given us a lot of support to be here for the limited schedule that we have taken on. Huge thanks to all of those guys—t’s been an awesome off-season getting to know everyone. We’re happy we could show our speed out here with our first outing.”
FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the third round of the 2016 GRC Lites season:

· Oliver Eriksson earned the fourth win of his GRC Lites career, and his first of the season, in Dallas on Saturday. Eriksson, the defending class champion, posted finishes of 10th and sixth in the Phoenix season opener.

· Cabot Bigham posted his second consecutive runner-up finish to earn the points lead for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Bigham became the second rookie to lead the championship this year, behind Olsbergs MSE X Forces driver Miki Weckstrom.

· In his season debut, Tanner Whitten posted a third place finish in the second Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car. Whitten and Alex Keyes have combined to score 121 points in DRR’s second entry, which would rank it third in the standings behind only Bigham and Conner Martell.

· Harry Gottsacker (San Antonio) was the highest-finishing native Texan in the field, placing fifth, one spot ahead of PMG Rallysport teammate and New Braunfels native Parker Chase. Nur Ali of nearby Trophy Club placed 12th in his season debut for Rhys Millen Racing.

· Only five drivers have competed in all three Lites main events so far this year: Bigham, Martell, Weckstrom, Brooks, and Eriksson.
UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

1. Cabot Bigham, 145

2. Conner Martell, 122

3. Miki Weckstrom, 120

4. Christian Brooks, 105

5. Oliver Eriksson, 104

6. Alex Keyes, 71

7. Trenton Estep, 57

8. Collete Davis, 51

9. Tanner Whitten, 50

10. Harry Gottsacker, 46

11. Travis PeCoy, 42

12. Alejandro Fernandez, 35

13. Preston Murray, 33

14. Parker Chase, 27

15. Cole Keatts, 6

16. Nur Ali, 3
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