Going into the fifth event of the season, Jacob Whalley was experiencing a quiet yet solid season performance. 9th in the standings, Whalley was running towards the top of the midfield consistently. When the Alpha Touring Challenge came to Lime Rock Park, he qualified 9th and brought home 8th in the first two heat races. Starting from pole after the top eight were inverted for the feature, Whalley was in position for another solid finish. What came after was a defensive masterclass, as Whalley maneuvered his Elantra perfectly to keep Slugnificent, D Cody Hunley, and Logan McKinzie from getting by him for the full 34 laps of the race. This is Whalley’s first career victory in the league, and propels him much closer in points to the rest of the top ten.

Whalley doesn’t flinch as McKinzie pushes him up the hill on the last lap.

Wojciech Swirydowicz won the first two heat races, but was unable to participate in the feature, leaving a lot of points still on the table. Similarly, Slugnificent suffered a drivethrough penalty in the feature and didn’t finish it, and Francois Shink had a major accident in the second heat that cost him a bundle of points overall. These incidents allowed McKinzie to extend his championship lead to 30 points, while Bajulaz and Hunley both gained multiple positions after solid performances.

Beaver versus Beaver.

For the second time this season, Aaron La secured the bonus point for fewest incidents, with just 2x over the course of all three heats. Nick Beaver impressed in his first career start, ending up on the podium after a fierce battle with Bajulaz and Hunley in the final heat. Shaun Gurd collected his second top ten finish, demonstrating how he has improved since the start of the season.

PosNamePts
10Justin T Rhodes96
11Aaron La95
12David Bauer284
13Shaun Gurd83
14Ronald Methot76
15Daniel Cedeno73
16Wiley Cox72
17Alexander Carver-Robbins68
The battle for the midfield remains tight.

The Alpha Touring Challenge goes to Circuit Villeneuve for the first time ever next week for an hour-long Alpha Challenge. The track is the second of three street circuits the league is visiting this season. Bajulaz won the first at Belle Isle, while Long Beach is still six weeks away.