The New Sheriff in Town

The IndyCar Open LITE League, Season 5 first event was at the Sonoma IRL course and yes… as League owner, Pete Ramberg said, “There is a new sheriff in town” and his name is Mikey Grems! In a league that’s been dominated by Joe Flanagan for a few seasons, Mikey and Dave Jaques led a strong 1-2 vApex Racing Group finish, with Rick, Andy, and Kevin all in the Top Ten.

While everyone a vApex had a good night, Mikey had an absolutely stellar night and earned Pole Position, led the most laps, and worked hard for the win! Dave nipped at his heals all night; started beside him on the front row and led 3 of the 27 lap event. At the checked flag, Joe was 37 seconds behind Mikey and 33 seconds behind Dave - Wow!

Rick had a rough time getting a clear lap during qualifying, but manage a decent time on his last lap. He started P12 and drove a steady race to finished P5 with no drama. Andy, who absolutely LOVES Sonoma, struggled a little during qualifying, but worked all night to a nice P8 finish. Kevin also had a great night! He started dead last (P23) with NO practice or qualifying time, yet drove steady laps all night, stayed out of trouble, and finish P10! He gets the award for best increase in position–13 spots! Ted qualified strong (P7) but just missed the “Fast Six” by 0.04 seconds; unfortunately on L2 in the carousel his DW12 got loose and drifted through the turn sending up a cloud of smoke. Rick and Andy managed to dodged Ted’s sliding car, he saved it, but slipped to P19. With the drama over, he worked his way back up through the pack to finish a strong P12 with lap times in the 117s. JC also had a good night! Although he had little practice time, JC drove well and finished P16, increasing his starting position by 6 spots.

All our vApex Racing Group drivers had a great Season 5 opening event, but move over Joe Flanagan… there’s a new sheriff in town, but his deputy is nipping at his heals! However, it’s only the 1st race and Joe Flanagan is a strong racers – he’s not going anywhere. It looks like it will be an interesting IndyCar Open LITE season.

Be sure to tune into event #2 at Road Atlanta Friday night, September 30 to see how the battle rages!