Treece Crushes Gateway Field for Third Consecutive A-Open Victory

Izaak Treece's introduction to the MLSR A-Open Series has officially moved beyond impressive.

It is becoming historic.

After winning in his series debut at Dover and following it with another victory at Darlington, Treece arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway looking to extend a perfect beginning to his A-Open career.

He didn't just extend it.

He overwhelmed the field.

Treece led 150 of 170 laps Saturday night and crossed the finish line 23.812 seconds ahead of Shawn Hook, completing one of the most dominant performances of the inaugural A-Open season.

Three starts. Three victories.

And this time, there was little doubt about who had the car to beat.

Hook Leads Early, Treece Applies the Pressure

Hook earned the pole and controlled the opening portion of the race, with Treece starting alongside him in second.

Following an early caution, Hook again got a strong restart and cleared Treece for the lead. But Treece immediately began applying pressure, using a different approach through Gateway's asymmetric corners and repeatedly closing on the No. 88.

It was an early preview of what would ultimately decide the race.

Treece believed his combination of technique and tire management would become increasingly valuable as the runs developed.

“I’m pretty good at Gateway,” Treece said afterward. “There’s a lot of technique that goes into this track and tire saving and I knew I have both of those things.”

Once Treece finally put the No. 6 in front, the complexion of the race changed completely.

“I knew Shawn was going to be quick,” Treece said. “If I could just get in front of him and kind of manage that clean air and keep it behind me, I think I have a real shot. And once I got past him, I mean, that was it.”

The final statistics back him up.

Hook led eight laps.

Christian Barnes led eight.

Ronald Breland led four.

Treece led everything else.

Long Green Runs Turn Gateway Into a Clinic

After an early portion of the race featuring cautions and restarts, Gateway settled into extended green-flag racing.

That was where Treece separated himself.

As tire wear accumulated, the No. 6 continued opening the gap. Behind him, drivers experimented with different pit cycles and tire strategies in an attempt to find an alternative.

The race eventually reached a point where simply remaining on the lead lap became an accomplishment.

During one extended run, only six cars remained on the lead lap as Treece continued working through traffic. Tire management became one of the defining challenges, with some competitors stretching sets for nearly 70 laps.

Different strategies emerged.

Jim Treat attempted to reduce the number of stops and stretch his tires considerably longer, but Treece's pace made sacrificing lap time for an extra-long stint difficult to overcome. By the closing stages, the advantage had grown to nearly 17 seconds and Treece continued putting cars a lap down.

The race ultimately featured two green-flag pit cycles on the run to the finish, and neither changed the order at the front.

Treece simply kept going.

Hook Takes Second, Barnes Charges From 22nd to Third

While the victory became increasingly secure, the performances behind Treece produced several notable results.

Hook finished second after starting from the pole, completing all 170 laps and finishing 23.812 seconds behind the winner.

But perhaps the biggest recovery belonged to Christian Barnes.

Barnes started 22nd and climbed all the way to third, a gain of 19 positions. He joined Treece and Hook as the only three drivers to complete all 170 laps.

Dallas Manus finished fourth after starting third, while Jacob Loesch completed the top five.

Brad Harris finished sixth and recorded the fastest lap of the race at 32.184 seconds. Ronald Breland finished seventh after leading four laps, followed by Jim Treat, Chasen McCook and Gary May.

By the time the checkered flag fell, fourth-place Manus was already one lap down. May, in 10th, finished two laps behind.

It was a statistical illustration of just how severe Treece's pace had become.

Trouble Hits Several Contenders

Gateway was considerably less forgiving to several drivers farther down the order.

Zack Domer entered the night near the front of the championship picture and started fourth, but finished 14th, two laps down.

Jamel Love's night ended much earlier. Love showed competitive pace before an issue sent him to pit road and ultimately left him 77 laps behind the winner in 20th. The exact cause of Love's problem was not established during the race.

The attrition became even more severe farther down the results, with several drivers completing fewer than 60 laps.

But none of it affected Treece.

Three Starts. Three Wins.

Dover introduced Treece to the A-Open field.

Darlington proved the first victory wasn't a one-off.

Gateway turned the streak into something entirely different.

Treece has now won each of his first three A-Open starts, and Gateway was easily the most emphatic of the three.

There was no late restart to survive. No final-lap battle. No strategy gamble required to steal track position.

Treece started second, took control and drove away.

When the white flag came out, his advantage was already more than 22 seconds.

One lap later, the official margin stood at 23.812 seconds.

The most remarkable number, however, may still be 150.

That's how many of Gateway's 170 laps belonged to Izaak Treece.

And after three appearances in the MLSR A-Open Series, every checkered flag has belonged to him, too.