PGRL S5 R4 Recap

14 June 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 5 | Round 4
Premier Series | Sonoma Raceway

Scott Eckrich, representing Loud Pedal Motorsports, emerged victorious at Sonoma Raceway in the PIXELCAR PRIDE Road Race Showcase, part of the Pretty Good Racing League Premier Series. Jeff Ward started the race from the pole position, with Mike Rasimas in 2nd and Colton Salek in 3rd. Eckrich began the night in 14th place.

Ward initially held the lead, but on lap 12, a miscalculation in a corner allowed Salek to seize the top spot. Eckrich steadily made progress, maintaining a consistent pace and advancing to 4th place during the first half of the race. Unfortunately, Thomas George, who had a quiet run in 8th place, retired from the race without incident on lap 19.

Strategic pit stops came into play as Ward attempted to undercut Salek by pitting for fuel on lap 29. Eckrich followed suit on lap 30, with Salek making his pit stop on lap 31. Salek rejoined the track just over 1 second ahead of Ward, maintaining his lead, while Eckrich moved up to 3rd place.

With 20 laps remaining, Eckrich began pushing his #70 Winternode machine, consistently lapping almost 1 second faster than the leaders. He quickly closed the gap on Ward and Salek. Ward’s race took a turn for the worse on lap 40 when he missed a braking point and made significant contact with the wall, damaging his left front.

Eckrich continued to apply pressure to Salek, ultimately capitalizing on a mistake Salek made in the hairpin on lap 49. Eckrich cleared Salek and showcased his dominant pace, pulling away from Salek over the final 6 laps to secure the checkered flag.

Salek maintains his lead in the point standings, holding a 12-point advantage over Michael Chrobok, who surpassed Cody Dempster by a single point.

The next event, the Boss Hoss Cycles 200, is scheduled to take place at Nashville Superspeedway on June 27th. Racing enthusiasts can catch all the excitement live at 8:50 PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!