PGRL S4 R9 Recap

18 April 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 9
Premier Series | Martinsville Speedway

At the Wallriders Rejoice 200 presented by Octane93 on Twitch, Jake Silvia from Apex Simsport claimed victory at Martinsville Speedway in the Pretty Good Racing League. The race started with Brian Greenlee on pole position, while Scott Eckrich began in 15th and Jeff Ward in 28th. With 23 cautions thrown and 113 laps run under yellow flag conditions, including the final lap, pit strategy was often negated by the frequent restarts. Seven lead changes occurred throughout the 200-lap race.

Silvia took the lead on lap 25, with Ward quickly making up ground and breaking into the top 10 by lap 30. Meanwhile, Eckrich was challenging Cody Dempster for 4th, then pressuring Creighton Carter, ultimately resulting in contact that sent Carter to the back of the pack. Eckrich continued to gain momentum through the frequent restarts, challenging Silvia for the lead with 50 laps completed. Although he managed to edge ahead of Silvia on lap 77, another caution soon halted the action, requiring a restart.

Eckrich opted to pit under caution on lap 116, along with Ward, and both drivers found themselves back in the top 10 by lap 131, while Silvia remained in the lead. Despite Eckrich’s efforts to advance back to the front, he found himself blocked by several drivers and ultimately spun low on the track, falling back to 15th. Meanwhile, Ward was making progress and was back up to 4th, with the leaders in sight.

With 50 laps remaining, Ward had climbed to 2nd place and was putting pressure on Silvia for the lead. Although it appeared that Ward had the faster car and attempted to overtake Silvia going into the final 10 laps, another caution prevented any further moves, and Silvia took the checkered flag under yellow flag conditions. After the race, Silvia acknowledged, “That’s kind of the nature of this racing. I decided to pit real early, give up the stage win… and try to focus on the long game. It almost bit me in the end.”

Scott Eckrich maintained his points lead, holding a 62-point advantage over Michael Chrobok in 2nd place. The Pretty Good Racing League will next tackle Talladega Superspeedway on April 25th for the “Chuckles” I’m in Danger 250 presented by MC2 Editing Services, with the action going live at 8:55PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!