Red Light Racing: Buckley Breaks Through for First Win of the Season at Langley

by Tim Corder

📊 Race Stats at a Glance
🏆 Winner: Joshua Buckley (31 Laps Led)
🥈 2nd Place: Rob Higgins
🥉 3rd Place: Chad Alcares
⏱️ Fastest Lap: Fred LeClair – 14.745 sec (Lap 97)
🚦 Pole Position: Chad Alcares – 14.936 sec
🔁 Leaders: 3 | Lead Changes: 2 LeClair 69 laps led, Buckley 31 laps led, E. Stout 14 laps led
🚨 Cautions: 11 (44 Laps)
⏱️ Race Time: 44 minutes (114 laps)
✨ Clean Machines (0 Incidents): Joshua Buckley, Eric Stout
🚀 Hard Charger: Joshua Buckley (Started 10th, Finished 1st, +9 spots)

Qualifying Recap

Chad Alcares grabbed the pole on the RaceDayCT.com starting grid with a 14.936 qualifying lap, edging Eric Stout by just 0.025 seconds. The front two rows (Jeff Aho, Fred LeClair, Kenny Allen, and Rob Higgins) were all within a tenth of Alcares’ pace. Less than half a second covered the 16 drivers who attempted qualifying, setting up a tense night.

Race Breakdown

From the drop of the green, it became a test of patience with 11 cautions slowing the pace. Alcares and Stout held early control before Fred LeClair took over the point on lap 15 and went on to lead a race-high 69 laps.

Just past halfway, Joshua Buckley methodically worked from 10th to the front. He nosed ahead when a caution flew with 16 to go, then showed poise through the series-maximum three green–white–checkered attempts to secure his first victory of the season. The win also earned him Hard Charger honors (+9 spots) and a Clean Machine nod, joined only by Eric Stout with 0 incident points on the night.

Rob Higgins delivered one of his best drives of the year to finish second, while Alcares converted pole into a solid third. Stout led 14 laps and finished 4th, banking valuable championship points. Kenny Allen rounded out the top five, keeping his season-long consistency intact despite getting swept up in a few skirmishes.

The night wasn’t as kind to others: Jeff Aho slipped from 3rd on the grid to 9th, and Bill Benedict fell seven spots to 14th.

Championship Update

Eric Stout remains in command with 634 points, holding a 72-point cushion over Ethan Troutman. Aho stays third at 546, while Benedict remains fourth 25 points back of Aho. Chad Alcares climbs to fifth, just one point behind Benedict.

The big mover is Joshua Buckley, whose win vaulted him to 8th overall.

Looking Ahead

Next week the league dusts off the big-boy Tour Mods for the high banks of Bristol. While it would take a miracle for anyone to unseat Eric Stout at this point, “The Last Coliseum” always delivers a show.

Catch it September 18 live on Virtual Grip Network at 7:55 PM ET.