By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
The hills were alive with the virtual sound of Porsche 911 RSRs as Anders Krohn captured the Monday Night Racing Rowdy Energy Pro Series.
Following the halfway break at the track formerly named the A-1 Ring, Krohn took the lead from Season 2 champion Will Rodgers. The Sim Seats Challenge was dominated by road course regulars. Krohn, Rodgers, and Stefan Wilson accounted for leading 45 of the 48 laps.
In the final 16 minutes of the 75-minute race, Wilson closed in on Krohn’s bumper. The duo ran nose-to-tail after Krohn was held up by lapped traffic. With just under eight minutes to go, Wilson made a bid for the lead. A defensive line by Krohn kept the NTT IndyCar Series regular at bay.
When the checkered flag waved, Krohn was just over one second ahead of Wilson. Rodgers, Adam Cabot, and Collin Fern completed the top-five.
“It was highly stressful because I’ve been close at certain races, but I haven’t been able to put it together,” admitted Krohn. “I was determined to do that today. There was a time there that I thought it had all gone away. Fortunately, I hung onto it. Stefan, he and I have raced a ton together, so it was awesome to race as closely with him as we did. That was awesome.”
The newest driver to join Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, Josh Bilicki, Garrett Smithley, David Schildhouse, Garrett Miller, and James Bickford rounded out the top-10. Steve Auffant was the biggest mover of the race, climbing 11 positions from 33rd to 22nd.
The biggest incident of the night came when a spin by Rajah Caruth collected Brad Perez and others. The severe damage left the No. 44 Market Rebellion machine limping back to pit road. Caruth ultimately finished outside the top-25 after the wreck.
Two drivers also received time penalties for track limits at the end of the race. Ford Martin, who’s penalty dropped him from 15th down to 20th after results were official, and Devon Henry, who slipped from 22nd to 24th.
The results:
1. 47-Anders Krohn [2], 2. 25-Stefan Wilson [1], 3. 24-Will Rodgers [5], 4. 17-Adam Cabot [8], 5. 86-Collin Fern [9], 6. 77-Josh Bilicki [11], 7. 52-Garrett Smithley [13], 8. 20-David Schildhouse [10], 9. 93-Garrett Miller [17], 10. 29-James Bickford [14], 11. 6-Ryan Vargas [12], 12. 21-Max Kennon [18], 13. 1-Josh Slate [15], 14. 10-DJ Cummings [4], 15. 13-Gary Sexton [21], 16. 46-Steven Ellis [22], 17. 53-Justin Melillo [23], 18. 63-Bryan Boris Cook [16], 19. 12-Brandon Brown [25], 20. 07-Ford Martin [19], 21. 60-Brad Perez [7], 22. 11-Steve Auffant [33], 23. 57-Seth Eggert [28], 24. 77-Devon Henry [32], 25. 84-Kase Kallenbach [27], 26. 91-Cole Irvin [24], 27. 41-Matt Stallknecht [26], 28. 44-Rajah Caruth [3], 29. 50-Gabe Wood [6], 30. 2-TJ Majors [20], 31. 23-Anthony Alfredo [29], 32. 4-Brett Baldeck [30], 33. 27-Michael Massie [31].
Lead Changes: Five among five drivers.
Lap Leader(s): Stefan Wilson 1-20, Rajah Caruth 21-22, Will Rodgers 23-25, Collin Fern 26, Will Rodgers 27-30, Anders Krohn 31-48.
Laps Led: Stefan Wilson 20, Anders Krohn 18, Will Rodgers 7, Rajah Caruth 2, Collin Fern 1.
Hard Charger(s): 11-Steve Auffant (+11).
Rookie of the Race: 86-Collin Fern, Brandonbilt Motorsports, Fifth.
Caution Flags: One for Four Laps.
Margin of Victory: 1.039 seconds.
Time of Race: One hour, 15 minutes, 28.229 seconds.
Average Speed: 164.778 kph.
Pole Winner: 25-Stefan Wilson, One minute, 26.615 seconds (160.894 kph).
Fastest Lap: 25-Stefan Wilson, Lap 23, One minute, 26.653 seconds (160.831 kph).
Featured Photo Credit: Photo by Seth Eggert / Kickin’ the Tires.