,
The battle between Justin, Steve, and myself could not have been better. Everyone at one point was in 1st place. Once I got to the front we approached Spec E30 traffic which was a part of my strategy. My primary goal was to be assertive with passes and put as many E30's between myself and Justin or Steve as I could to slow them down. Justin was faster in overall pace, and Steve was faster in the straights. My only chance was to make the passes they weren't willing to. 
Come Lap 4, Steve unfortunately had to avoid a slow moving Spec E30 that for some reason thought it was a good idea to drive to the apex at no more than 25mph on one of the final lefts before the oval. Steve's evasive maneuver put him into a tire barrier ending Project G20's race. This was tragic both to see and also since Steve was running at a winning pace. Here we have the on board video of Project G20's crash.
On the second to the last lap, while I was in the lead with Justin closely following in 2nd, I was approaching the final (1st place) Spec E30 in the field. I knew I had to get around him or Justin would get a run on me either on the next straight, or the oval shortly thereafter. My only chance was to put the final Spec E30 in between us to hurt his corner exit so I could get as much gap as I could before the oval. But this late in the race and battling hard throughout, my tires were not performing at the same level as they were earlier in the race. I performed a bold pass under braking into a hair pin and found some brake lock up which reduced my effective stopping distance which resulted in contact with the 1st place Spec E30 ending my race and leaving me with this sweet tire donut and dent on my left rear and a mildly bent trailing arm. It was the risk I was willing to take to solidify a chance for the win, but this time it just didn't work. Live and learn.
Here you can watch my Project EF on board footage of the race and eventually my contact at the end. Hope you enjoy, watching the full video is worth it!
Justin was able to keep his nose clean despite all the drama happening in front of him during the race and secured back to back wins for the AutoClub Speedway MPTCC weekend. The Rockstar Garage S2000 was solid the entire weekend and its back to back first place finishes brings the team just two points away from the season championship lead. The Motovicity Distribution Podium for Sunday Round 4
1st place Justin Taylor, Rockstar Garage S2000, $125 Motovicity Race Bucks awarded
2nd place Clint Boisdeau, MotoIQ Project Civic EF?, $75 Motovicity Race Bucks awarded.
3rd place Steve Rockwood, MotoIQ Project G20, $50 Motovicity Race Bucks awarded.
Fellow MotoIQ editor Nick Betz nominated Justin Taylor as the “ARP Stud of the Weekend”. Not only did he get both pole positions and both wins, he was also the only car not to have contact on Sunday. Along with all the racing he also went to his shop on Saturday after qualifying and before the race to do a header and exhaust install for a customer! If you're in the Inland Empire, be sure to check Rockstar Garage out for all your automotive needs.
The next MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championship presented by Motul round will be at Buttonwillow Raceway June 13-14. We'll be running the not nearly as common Counter Clockwise Configuration #1. The field will be hard pressed to get used to the track quickly. Should make for another great race, hopefully this time around without any contact.
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