December 1st, 2024
Despite the absence of our leadership, The Open Wheel Clash went off like a shot from a gun. The event started strong as 20 drivers logged into the session. With Doug Burns in the booth, Race Control in the ‘Eagle’s Nest’, and Two Fat Guys partner Andrew Reigel of Reigel Promotions E-Sports taking the reins for the driver’s meeting, the event was able to happen with minimal issues.
The action began in heat race 1 almost immediately, seeing Jackson Johnstone break off to an early lead with Chase Copeland and Joseph Pratt battling side by side for a few laps before slight contact caused Johnstone to get squirrely. Johnstone collected the car, but heavy contact was made between Johnstone’s car and Shawn Grimes, who would climb the wall into turn 3. Grimes would pull pit side and heat race 1 would remain under green flag conditions until the drop of the checkered flag, where Copeland would claim the first victory of the evening.
Heat race 2 would see a caution pretty early on when driver James Murphy would tag the rear end of another driver on the entry to turn 1 on lap 2, damaging his front tire early in the run and sending him on a rail-ride around the corner with no way out. During lap 4 of that same heat, the field would see another caution as the 2 car of Joshua Stewart would mis-judge his corner entry speed and close in on Jared Murphy before tagging the brakes and self-spinning to avoid damage. Thomas Davis would seal off the 2nd heat race and emerge victorious, which would land him on the outside pole for the A-Main later in the evening.
Tyler Bickford and Dylan Robbins would lead the field of 6 cars to the green flag in the 3rd and final heat race of the evening, and would make for a spectacular show. Bickford fired off the fourth turn and Robbins reacted quickly, being right on his bumper going into turn 1. Bickford slid high and Robbins would follow Bickford into 3 before running the high side for the momentum. Bickford and Robbins would trade lines going into turn 1, leaving Bickford on the outside and Robbins on the inside, both still side-by-side for the lead with no challenges from the 3rd position. Bickford would hold the flame to Robbins’ rear bumper for the next 2 laps before the top side momentum would prove its’ importance. Bickford would win heat race 3 with Robbins unable to make anything happen on the high side on the final lap.
With no need for a consolation race, all drivers were given 5 minutes to warm up prior to the A-Main, but once that 5 minutes was up, it was time to set the drivers on a 50 lap quest for the checkered flag. Copeland would lead the field to the green flag for a short 2 laps before a spin would cause a caution. Copeland would re-fire and the field would click off the next 10 laps before a collision would lead to a caution once again. As the field resumed racing, Bickford would keep pressure on Copeland, but eyes were on Jared and James Murphy. James would start in the last position and steadily claw his way to the 5th position as his brother Jared fought hard to claim the third position on the top side. Some more incidents throughout the event would make the event simmer, and a green white checkered attempt would mark the end of the event with Copeland leading Bickford and Jared Murphy to the checkered flag.