Riley Dickinson extends championship points gap with a victory at Road America
Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America championship leader Riley Dickinson extended his championship points gap with a victory at Road America today for the “home-town” team Kellymoss.
The victory at “America’s National Park of Speed” marked an extreme turnaround for the 21-year-old Texan who last year only finished seventh and 10th in the two races here.
Dickinson came under intense pressure from eventual runner-up Alex Sedgwick who converted his front-row start to his best-ever finish of P2.
The Brit had two chances of challenging Dickinson in turn 1 – on the opening lap and again on the restart after a long yellow flag / red flag delay caused by contact between Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am racers PJ Hyett and Jeff Mosing.
The contact put both cars heavily into the wall in the high-speed Carousel section of the Road America circuit. Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center.
After a frantic battle in the Pro class, Dickinson was eventually joined on the podium by not one but two British-born racers.
NOLASPORT’s British-born, Indianapolis-based Dan Clarke earned his first-ever podium finish in his “rookie” Carrera Cup season. While he may be new to the championship, Clarke is a former Champ Car racer who started from pole at Road America in 2006 and finished on the podium here in 2007 in second place.
Today’s victory by Dickinson is his sixth of 2023 from nine races contested so far to date.
“First and foremost, I want to wish Jeff [Mosing] the best. That was obviously a huge hit for him,” Dickinson said.
“Overall, it was a good race. The car’s balance was completely shifted from what we experienced in practice and qualifying.
“Every time we have been on track, the balance has been completely different because of the various cars that are out there running. We learned a lot, and it was obviously a good points day for us.”
Dickinson’s Kellymoss teammate and close friend Efrin Castro also scored victory today in the Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am class.
The win was Castro’s third of 2023, following his pair of wins earlier this season at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Joining him on the podium were Marco Cirone and Moisey Uretsky – also race winners in the class earlier this season.
MDK Racing’s Scott Noble was another racer to find his way back to victory lane in the AM class. Noble won the opening race of the season at Sebring and scored his second victory today – leading home his team boss and championship leader Mark Kvamme.
Wright Motorsport’s John Goetz joined the two MDK racers on the AM podium.
The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will be back on track tomorrow for round ten of the championship at 12:15 pm.