Rob Warren Steers Clear of Carnage for First Golden State Special Win
Buckley, CA – April 19, 2016…Rob Warren of Pulaski, NY kept his 1st to Finish Race Servers sim supermodified away from the walls and errant cars to win the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), Golden State Special 75 Tuesday night at Buckley Speedway. Carl Becker and Bob Gangwer survived a multitude of close calls to finish on the podium in second and third place.
“Wow what a race,” exclaimed the winner. “First time winner at Buckley-that’s great, we all come here to win so to get that win under my belt that’s pretty cool.
Warren, by virtue of his Fast Car Dash win, started on the pole for the 75 lap feature with 2011 Golden State Special winner Carl Becker next door. “I had a pretty good start, but so did Carl,” explained Warren. “It wasn’t long until we got into some lapped traffic and I think I tweaked the front end a little when I nudged the 07, (Jeff Bivens), to let him know I was there and I couldn’t shake Carl.”
Unbeknownst to Warren at that time was the fact that wouldn’t be the first time he’d weave around a struggling Bivens, or other lapped cars, but he timed his passes better than everyone else around the slower racers and stretched his lead to over six seconds at the end. “I figure I lost the least amount of time trying to figure out where cars were going to be so I had a blast out there,” said Warren.
Carl Becker wasn’t as fortunate and although he held second place at the finish, when asked if having to dodge race cars at high-speed got his heart pumping he stated, “Oh yeah, my hear rate’s up, you can say that again!”
Becker followed his humorous statement by explaining his nerve-wracking race, “I was enjoying following Rob and lapped traffic was pretty good for a while, but then Jeff’s car started warping and he was all over. I just missed him and all the sudden the 92, (Rick Walls), car was there and I think I shoved him all the way through the wall, so at that time Bobby pulled up to within a couple of tenths.”
Even with a damaged race car and pressure from behind by Gangwer, Becker kept his head long enough to stand on the podium. “It felt good to have a good run. I wish I could have gotten in here a little sooner this year to have had a few more races under my belt but it felt good to run second here at Buckley,” he concluded.
For Bob Gangwer, it was the second year in a row to finish in third place here and third race in a row that he’s been on the podium. “That was crazy out there tonight so I’m pretty happy to limp this thing home for P3,” stated Gangwer.
“It kind of reminded me of the old days with cars all over the track, but it sure did keep me on my toes trying to figure out how not to destroy the car but at the same time keep Carl from getting away,” he said. “Congrats to Rob, things just fell his way, literally, tonight. Thanks to Rick and Jeff for being here, no hard feelings, I just hope they aren’t too frustrated and want to come back and race supermodifieds with us again.”
Rick Walls of Warsaw, IN climbed into a sim racing supermodified for the third time at Buckley and stated, “I had a hard-time staying off that outside wall, I tried to stay out of everybody’s way, but other than that it was a pretty fun race, these things are really a blast to run.”
Jeff Bivens, the driver of the acrobatic sim supermodified apologized profusely afterwards saying, “First of all I want to say I’m sorry to everyone who’s race I ruined or wrecked in front of. I believe the Sandman, (Ray Sand, Jr.), might of left because of me. It was fun, for whatever reason, my car is like a magnet to the walls and then it likes to climb them. I have this trademark I guess of showing the underside of the car to the fans,” he said.
The rest of the drivers all chimed in explaining that nobody was upset with Carl Becker saying, “You have no idea how many times I’ve wrecked or helped other people wreck, so you didn’t do anything that the rest of us haven’t done, so none of us are mad.”
Bivens was making just his fourth SUPRS feature start and put it in perspective while working to figure out a new style of sim racing saying, “I’m trying, these are a blast to drive. I just have to get the hang of them.”
For the second year in row, Warren won the Fast Car Dash, and after not finishing the race last year, recorded win 13 of the 2015-16 SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship.
After being sidelined with health issues, Dave Brigandi returned to SUPRS action and picked up the heat race win then went on to finish fourth after a spirited battle with fifth place finisher Domenic Gioia.
The SUPRS Gold Crest Division racers will now head north out of the San Fernando Valley to the San Joaquin Valley and Madera Speedway to close the 2015-16 SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship season with the 12th running of the Summit Classic 125. Action begins on Sunday with Test-N-Tune at 8pm. Then, for the first time during Summit Classic, a non-wing supermodified race for rFactor will be held on Monday at 8pm.
Scheduled for Tuesday, the invitation only Cherry Breaker 63 for drivers that have never won a SUPRS wing supermodified feature will take place prior to Time Trials for the 12th Annual SUPRS Summit Classic 125.
Finally on Wednesday, the grand finale for SUPRS happens and the drivers will try to add their name to the long list of winners of the Summit Classic 125. Practice is scheduled to begin at 7:45p with the green flag dropping on the Summit Classic 125 starting field at 9:15pm.
Fans of supermodified racing and online sim racers alike can learn more about the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series by visiting www.SUPRS.net, “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and Viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
- Golden State Special
- April 19, 2016
- Buckley Speedway
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined)
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Wing Side Up Enterprises, RW Woodworking: 11.969, 11.946
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Race Servers, Designs of Elegance: 11.996, 12.013
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang: 12.044, 12.074
- 9-Domenic Gioia; Oswego, NY; Lizard Lick Towing, Genesee Beer: 12.143, 12.131
- 52-Dave Brigandi; Syracuse, NY; Buffalo Bio Diesel, Terry: 12.237, 12.141
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; Rochester, NY; SandmanRacing.com, The Tint Shop: 12.142, 12.255
- 92-Rick Walls; Warsaw, IN; Coors’ Light, Big Red: 12,614, 12.205
- 07-Jeff Bivens; Indian Land, SC; Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins: NT
Fast Car Dash – 8 Laps (showing car number, driver, name)
- 35-Rob Warren
- 42-Carl Becker
- 25-Bob Gangwer
- 9-Domenic Gioia
Heat Race – 11 Laps (showing car number, driver, name)
- 52-Dave Brigandi
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.
- 92-Rick Walls
- 07-Jeff Bivens
Feature – 75 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 35-Rob Warren; * ** | 11.972
- 42-Carl Becker; 11.968 | +6.743
- 25-Bob Gangwer; ! | 11.892 | +6.920
- 52-Dave Brigandi; 12.029 | +1 Lap
- 9-Domenic Gioia; 12.016 | +1 Lap
- 92-Rick Walls; 12.192 | +5 Laps
- 07-Jeff Bivens; 12.375 | +27 Laps
Time of Race: 16:24.855
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
