Grant's Three-Wide Pass Nets Victory
Wampum, PA - With the green flag in the air, Ryan Norman and Keith Grant led the charge to turn one from the front row, but it was David Grant making it three wide and taking the lead with an aggressive move from third on the grid heading into turn one in the No. 29 Polestar Racing Group Swift 016/Mazda.
Grant was able to hold Norman at bay for the opening of the race after his thrilling three-wide maneuver on the start, taking his second win of the Atlantic Championship Series season in his fifth start in 2016 in round nine of the 14-race season.
"Well I knew I had to get a great start since I didn't have a good qualifying this morning, so I just went for it," said Grant. "It stuck. It was a really good day and afternoon. I need to thank Polestar and my family for letting me do this. I also need to thank Keith for the setup help this morning. I was off and he helped."
Norman looked to extend his points lead with a second place finish over Keith Grant until a mechanical failure ended his day and dropped him through the order, promoting Keith Grant to a second place run in the No. 40 Swift 016/Mazda.
"There was no way of catching (David), he was quick today," said K. Grant.
After a multi-lap battle, Lee Alexander got the better of teammate Chris Ash to finish third as the Comprent Motorsports drivers followed in third and fourth in the final order.
"It is my first time here and this track is awesome, one of my favorite places. I need to thank Comprent for giving me a great car, as usual," said Alexander.
It was a good day for K-Hill's Kirk Kindsfater too, who brought home the No. 32 Swift 016/Mazda in the top five with a strong performance.
In the Atlantic Challenge category, Connor Burke led the opening lap but was forced to visit pit road, handing the lead to his teammate and father, John Burke, in a similarly-prepared Swift 014/Toyota from Company Motorsports.
Burke then had to deal with Bob Corliss, who tracked him down for the class lead by lap eight and took the lead a lap later. That didn't last, however, as Burke took the lead back by lap 11 and scored the class victory in the No. 55.
"That was an interesting race, it was a lot of fun. My battery died right on the last lap," said Burke.
Atlantic drivers repeat the day on Sunday, with morning qualifying and an afternoon race to conclude their weekend in Pittsburgh.