Izaak Treece beats Jim Treat by 6.041 seconds for his fourth A-Open win, and Christian Barnes's three-race win streak ends in the night's only caution
| Pos | Driver | Car | # | Started | Laps | Interval | Inc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Izaak Treece | 6 | 1 | 130 | -00.000 | 0 | |
| 2 | Jim Treat | 42 | 9 | 130 | -06.041 | 0 | |
| 3 | Jordane Whyte | 97 | 15 | 130 | -07.595 | 4 | |
| 4 | Corey Mohr | 19 | 11 | 130 | -11.489 | 0 | |
| 5 | Zack Domer | 014 | 5 | 130 | -12.058 | 0 | |
| 6 | Jacob Loesch | 51 | 3 | 130 | -14.860 | 1 | |
| 7 | John Williams | 57 | 14 | 130 | -15.433 | 1 | |
| 8 | Michael L Patrick | 81 | 18 | 130 | -18.739 | 1 | |
| 9 | Shawn Hook | 88 | 8 | 130 | -20.337 | 0 | |
| 10 | Chris Etchepare | 99 | 10 | 130 | -21.479 | 0 | |
| 11 | Corey Powell4 | 66 | 21 | 130 | -22.067 | 0 | |
| 12 | Russell Marciniak | 12 | 20 | 130 | -25.728 | 3 | |
| 13 | Dallas Manus | 35 | 2 | 130 | -26.775 | 4 | |
| 14 | Robert T Burke | 22 | 16 | 129 | -1 L | 0 | |
| 15 | Chasen McCook | 14 | 12 | 129 | -1 L | 1 | |
| 16 | Gary May | 9 | 13 | 129 | -1 L | 1 | |
| 17 | Joseph Essenberg | 10 | 17 | 129 | -1 L | 0 | |
| 18 | Ronald Breland | 11 | 6 | 129 | -1 L | 0 | |
| 19 | Christian Barnes2 | 27 | 4 | 129 | -1 L | 4 | |
| 20 | Gerrad Essenberg | 4 | 19 | 128 | -2 L | 0 | |
| 21 | Marc Andre Ciccariello | 89 | 22 | 124 | -6 L | 4 | |
| 22 | Joe Konen | 72 | 23 | 123 | -7 L | 0 | |
| 23 | Jamel Love | 3 | 24 | 69 | -61 L | 4 | |
| 24 | Gregory Vadnais | 24 | 7 | 27 | -103 L | 1 | |
| 25 | Jason Trocki | 46 | 25 | 22 | -108 L | 1 |
"I honestly thought Christian was way quicker than me, especially on that first stint. And so I kind of threw an adjustment in and that thing was on rails." -- Izaak Treece
Izaak Treece didn't think he had the best car at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the first run. By the end of the night, nobody else was close.
Treece started on the pole, led 112 of the 130 laps and won the opening race of the MLSR A-Open Series Chase on Sunday night by 6.041 seconds over Jim Treat. Jordane Whyte finished third, Corey Mohr fourth and Zack Domer fifth.
It was Treece's fourth A-Open win and his first since he won three straight at Dover Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway in September. It also ended Christian Barnes's run of three consecutive A-Open wins.
"It feels pretty good to win here at Charlotte," Treece said. "It's a hard track. A lot of technique that goes into it."
Barnes takes his shot
Barnes started fourth and was up to second by Lap 20. He caught Treece in lapped traffic, and the two ran side by side for several laps before Barnes took the lead. Treece nearly climbed the wall off the corner as Barnes cleared him.
Barnes led six laps. Treece pitted one lap before him in the first round of green-flag stops and came back out in front.
Dallas Manus, who started second, slipped back before the stops with damage to the front and rear of his car. Whyte said afterward that he got into Manus in Turns 3 and 4 and called it a racing deal. Manus finished 13th. Gregory Vadnais was tapped into the wall in the opening laps and was out after 27 laps, and Jason Trocki was out after 22.
One caution changes the race
Jamel Love started 24th and had driven up to sixth before the first round of stops. Shortly after he got loose on his own and saved it, he spun again, right in front of Barnes. Barnes was running second and couldn't see the No. 3 through the tire smoke.
The hit brought out the only caution of the night, past Lap 60. Love was done after 69 laps. Barnes kept going in a badly damaged car and finished 19th, a lap down.
"Shout out to Christian for sticking it out," Treece said. "I know that caution kind of messed him up, but proud of him for just sticking it out and trying to wheel it."
Treat comes on late
Treece led Whyte and Treat to the restart and pulled away again. John Williams, who started 14th, climbed to third in the top lane before his tires faded. Treat got under him for the spot and drove off.
"I knew all week long that we had a really, really, really good long run car," Treat said. "I decided I'm just going to back my corners up a bunch this time and just take it easy. And it felt good."
Whyte locked up and slid on the entry to pit road for the final round of green-flag stops but still held second once the cycle played out. Treece pitted a lap later, with Treat right behind him. Domer, Corey Powell, Chris Etchepare, Russell Marciniak and Manus stayed out longer, and Powell led five laps before he pitted. Treece ran the fastest lap of the race, a 29.099, on Lap 100, right after his stop.
"Just being able to drive off the rear," Treece said of his long-run speed. "It's super easy to burn your right front here."
With fewer than 10 laps left, Mohr got a run on the bottom through Turns 1 and 2 and took fourth from Domer. Up front, Whyte hit the wall trying to get around a lapped car, and Treat went by for second.
The finish
Treece took the checkered flag 6.041 seconds ahead of Treat. It was Treat's third second-place finish of the season, after Darlington and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Whyte started 15th and finished 7.595 seconds back.
"Wasn't quick enough, but pretty solid for a debut," Whyte said.
Mohr finished fourth in his first MLSR start. Domer, the A-Open regular-season champion, was the top Chase driver in fifth. Jacob Loesch finished sixth, Williams seventh, Michael L Patrick eighth from 18th on the grid, Shawn Hook ninth and Etchepare 10th. Powell started 21st and finished 11th.
The Chase moves to Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, October 25. Phoenix is Treece's hometown.
"Home track. I'm excited," Treece said. "Phoenix is also another track that's pretty known for shredding your tires. So, gotta be really patient there."
Driver of the race: Izaak Treece: Treece won the pole, led 112 of the 130 laps, ran the fastest lap of the race and won by more than six seconds for his fourth A-Open victory.
Fastest lap: Izaak Treece: Treece turned a 29.099-second lap on Lap 100, the fastest of the race. Corey Powell's 29.221 was next.
Best drive: Jordane Whyte: Whyte started 15th, ran second for most of the second half and finished third, 12 spots better than he started, even after sliding on pit entry on his final stop.
Hard luck: Christian Barnes: Barnes started fourth, passed Treece for the lead and was running second when he hit Jamel Love's spinning car in the smoke. He finished 19th, a lap down, in the first race of the Chase.