Bridgeport, NJ – It had to happen! He was so close, so often. It was only a matter of time!
Going into Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek, Connor Gross had collected six consecutive top five finishes at the Spirit Auto Center Speedway. After a wild Speedweek that saw both ups and downs, Gross was able to finish out the week in seventh in points with ninety plus cars competing on some nights. Then on Friday night, Gross drove to his first ever 600 Micro Sprint victory on the Spirit quarter mile.
Alex Swift became a five time winner in the 270 Micro Sprints with his win to close out the month of July.
It was Hyper Racing EVO Injection night at the Spirit Speedway as Brandon Pavel and Chris Fenmore lined up on row one for the 600 Micro Sprint start. After a quick complete restart, Pavel grabbed the lead.
Multiple restarts in the first ten laps kept the field tight together as Pavel led Gross who started in seventh, Fenimore, Christian Bruno and Geordon Marero through lap ten.
Pavel and Gross began to pull away from the field as the leaders raced to the half way mark. Bruno raced into third as the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic.
Gross challenged Pavel for the lead on several occasions but Pavel shut the door on the challenger each time. The two drivers were racing for the lead when the caution waved with sixteen laps scored. Pavel and Gross battled for the lead on the restart. The two leaders got together. Contact was made. Pavel spun but Gross was able to continue, never coming to a stop. The caution waved again with Gross as the new leader while Pavel headed to the pits with damage.
Gross led the way over Bruno through the remaining distance – even with another caution on the final lap. Gross picked up the win – a career first – over Bruno, Marrero, Joey Amantea and Mark Landwher. Fenimore, Anthony Tramontana, Eddie Barber III, Frank Holmes and Robert Pierce completed the top ten in the running order. Top five finishes were Spirit bests for both Amantea and Landwher.
Barry Pollard and Tommy Rinck led the field of 270 Micros to the green flag but it was Alex Swift who quickly moved into the lead. Tommy Rinck won the battle for second with John Wagner, Jr. in the early going but Wagner regained the spot before half way.
The battle was on for the top five as the final laps were scored. Swift drove to his fifth win of the season over John Wagner, Jr. Tyler Grau raced home in third with Lee Nardelli taking fourth over Nick Walton. Tom Landwher finished sixth over Trevor Waegel, Rinck, Billy Gray and John West.
Nick Skias had a short night. Skias headed to the pits with damage with just two laps scored.
HYPER RACING EVO INJECTION 600 SPRINTS (25 laps): 1. Connor Gross, 2. Christian Bruno, 3. Geordon Marrero, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Mark Landwher, 6. Chris Fenimore, 7. Anthony Tramontana, 8. Ed Barber III, 9. Frank Holmes, 10. Robert Pierce, 11. Jayson Conover, 12. Rob Miles, 13. Stephen Fleetwood, 14. Barbie Eichorn, 15. Chris Turner, 16. Brandon Pavel, 17. Preston Lattomus, 18. Steve Bracall, 19. Gary Bozowski, 20. Tommy Errico Jr., 21. Rich Deck, 22. Fred Heinly, 23. Heather Harris, 24. Rebecca Lamothe, 25. Brendan Hires, 26. Wayne Scott
Winged 270s (20 laps): 1. Alex Swift, 2. John Wagner Jr., 3. Tyler Grau, 4. Lee Nardelli, 5. Nick Walton, 6. Tom Landwher, 7. Trevor Waegel, 8. Tommy Rinck, 9. Billy Gray, 10. John West, 11. Jimmy Wagner, 12. Dom Pomponi, 13. Hope Karlesses, 14. Barry Pollard, 15. Shea Wills, 16. Nick Skias
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