Starting sixth in MLSR's first-ever B-Open recruitment race, Chris Romano ran away from the field at Texas — 65 laps led, zero incidents, and a win that put his name on the board early.
| Pos | Driver | Car | # | Started | Laps | Interval | Inc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Romano | 44 | 6 | -00.000 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Ethan A Thompson | 98 | 2 | -02.359 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Jamal Pough | 8 | 12 | -13.535 | 5 | ||
| 4 | Jordane Whyte | 15 | 4 | -1 L | 11 | ||
| 5 | Richard Wilson15 | 28 | 5 | -1 L | 0 | ||
| 6 | Elijah Maupin | 66 | 9 | -1 L | 7 | ||
| 7 | Adam Ramsey | 97 | 3 | -1 L | 4 | ||
| 8 | James Beard | 5 | 1 | -3 L | 6 | ||
| 9 | Mike Eldridge3 | 90 | 7 | -7 L | 4 | ||
| 10 | Corey Powell4 | 12 | 11 | -58 L | 10 | ||
| 11 | Chris Etchepare | 88 | 8 | -59 L | 12 | ||
| 12 | Kayeden Perkins | 91 | 10 | -83 L | 6 | ||
| 13 | Brian J Boyd | 19 | 13 | -110 L | 0 | ||
| 14 | Alston Baptiste | 1 | 14 | -110 L | 0 | ||
| 15 | John Petrozelle | 58 | 15 | -110 L | 0 | ||
| 16 | Jared C Smith | 9 | 16 | -110 L | 0 | ||
| 17 | Justin M Bell | 7 | 17 | -110 L | 0 |
65 laps led. Zero incidents. Romano didn't just win — he made it look routine.
No points were on the line Thursday night at Texas Motor Speedway — just 17 drivers showing MLSR what they've got. Chris Romano made the most of that opportunity. Starting sixth in the league's inaugural B-Open recruitment race, Romano worked his way to the front early and made it his race from there, leading 65 of 110 laps and finishing without a single incident on his sheet. Clean, fast, and in control from the midpoint on.
James Beard grabbed the pole and led early, but Romano's pace was a cut above. Once he cleared traffic and got to clean air, the gap started building. Beard would fade to eighth by the end, three laps down — tough result for a driver who showed genuine speed when it mattered less.
Ethan Thompson was the best of the rest. The #98 Camaro ran up front all night and posted the quickest lap of the race — a 29.734 on lap 77 — but Romano had enough in hand to hold him off. Thompson crossed the line 2.359 seconds back and can walk away knowing he showed out in a field of unknowns.
Third went to Jamal Pough, who quietly put together the best drive of the night that nobody's going to talk about enough. Started twelfth, picked his spots, and wound up on the podium. Five incident points along the way, but you don't gain nine positions at Texas without getting into some traffic. The #8 Camaro earned it.
Jordane Whyte (4th), Richard Wilson (5th), and Elijah Maupin (6th) all finished a lap down but stayed in it. Wilson's zero-incident run in the #28 Mustang was quietly solid. Adam Ramsey ran the #97 Supra from third on the grid and brought it home seventh — a clean enough run in a race that chewed up plenty of others around him.
The back half got messy. Corey Powell, Chris Etchepare, and Kayeden Perkins all disconnected — Powell after 52 laps, Etchepare at 51, Perkins as early as lap 27. Five more drivers never got going and are credited with DNFs. It's a recruitment race, so the field is always going to have some attrition, but the drivers who stuck around and ran clean gave MLSR plenty to work with in terms of evaluating talent.
No points, no standings impact — just a chance to race under the MLSR banner and see who belongs. Romano answered that question loudly.
Driver of the race: Driver of the race: Chris Romano — led 65 laps, zero incidents, never seriously threatened after taking the lead.
Fastest lap: Fastest lap: Ethan Thompson, 29.734s on lap 77.
Best drive: Jamal Pough, P12 to P3 — nine positions gained on a track that doesn't give them away.
Hard luck: James Beard qualified on pole and led early, wound up eighth and three laps down.