OBRL CUP SERIES S8 R8 Recap

06 April 2025
OBRL Presented by VCTRYLNSPRTS | Season 8 | Round 8
YesterYear Cup Series | Darlington Raceway

On Sunday, April 6th, The OBRL’s YesterYear Racing Cup Series, presented by VCTRYLNSPRTS, took on the legendary Darlington Raceway for round 8 of season 8 — and the Lady in Black didn’t disappoint.

Dan Hill led the field to green after laying down a blistering pole time of 29.377 seconds, with Josh Robinson starting alongside him. From the drop of the flag, Hill looked unstoppable, rocketing away from the pack and stretching out a commanding lead lap after lap. Behind him, the fight was on. Tom Ogle muscled his way into 2nd while Robinson and Dwayne McArthur locked horns for 3rd in a spirited early battle.

Further back, Cortney Nelson was on the move, slicing through the field and briefly climbing to 3rd before tire wear began to take its toll. Around lap 44, McArthur regained 3rd from Nelson as the long run began to expose whose setups could handle the Darlington abrasion.

Nelson, struggling with corner grip, was the first to blink, diving onto pit road and committing to a two-stop strategy. He was soon followed by several others while the rest of the field gambled on stretching fuel and rubber for a one-stop run. This created a major strategy divide that would shape the second half of the race.

As pit cycles shuffled the order, tensions ramped up in the fight for 3rd. McArthur was holding strong, while Kotska and Robinson were closing in. Kotska’s aggressive moves through lap traffic got under Robinson’s skin, but it bought McArthur a small buffer heading into the next green flag pit cycle.

Then came the turning point. On lap 60, Hill — who had led every lap up to that point — suffered a race-ending technical failure, handing the lead to Ogle, who had been shadowing him with consistency and pace. Ogle took full control of the race from there, heading down pit road for his scheduled stop while McArthur briefly inherited the lead before pitting himself.

As the field cycled through, Nelson found himself in the lead, but with one big caveat: he would need to stop again. Ogle, McArthur, Kotska, and Robinson were all hoping to stretch it to the end on a single stop. Nelson’s only hope was to leverage his fresh tires in the closing laps — but disaster struck before that strategy could play out. After making his final pit stop on lap 96 and rejoining into heavy traffic, cold tires betrayed him. Coming off the corner, Nelson got loose and slammed the inside wall, ending his night early.

That left Ogle comfortably out front with clean air and a clear track. McArthur continued to fight tooth and nail to hold onto 2nd, but with 26 laps to go, Robinson finally got the edge and slipped by. From there, tire wear took its toll across the field, and the action settled down.

Tom Ogle cruised to the win — his second in a row — after a masterclass in patience and execution. Robinson brought it home in 2nd, preserving his commanding points lead, now 48 points ahead of Ogle. McArthur held on for a gritty 3rd place finish.

Next up, the OBRL heads to the high-banked bullring at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 13th. Catch the full broadcast live at 8:00PM ET, only on the Virtual Grip Network!