2024 Summer Extreme Series, Round 5 Finale: A new expert emerges, an old expert wins the day.

In spite of a couple of expert drivers skipping the final round, we had a great turnout and were able to complete the series with some very competitive results in all categories. Round 5 was contested on the SR3 oval utilizing the MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites” platform, basically a box stock car with a F1/Indy hardbody.

Round 5 Finale Short Story

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Aaron Castro	180	16	459.356
2	Steve Stewart	179	13	471.432
3	Jerry Pearson	170	11	469.339
4	Jared Johnson	157	7	487.252
5	Eric Lane	144	6	503.525
6	Matthew Johnson	133	5	469.217

Qualifying

Track: SR3 Oval Super Speedway
Date: Oct-12-2024 12:09
Class: MegaG+ 1.7 Lites (22V)
Descr: Progressive
Name	Lap Time	Speed (Mph)	Place
Steve Stewart	2.146	762	1
Aaron Castro	2.181	750	2
Jerry Pearson	2.252	726	3
Eric Lane	2.511	652	4
Shaylin Maddox	2.912	550	5
Jared Johnson	3.708	441	6
Matthew Johnson	4.750	344	7

Team Maddox returned to racing in Round 5, but not in full force as young Junior driver, Abe Maddox elected not to race. Shaylin put in a nice qualifying session but did not start the days qualifier races.

B Qualifier Race (30-lap segments):

In this one, Jared Johnson was on a terror, pressuring the second-fastest qualifier, Aaron Castro, early in the race and finishing on the same lap for two of the four segments. Jared had a rough time in the Blue lane and lost significant laps in that segment but put up a great fight against Eric Lane and eventual race winner, Expert Aaron Castro.  Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Aaron Castro	120	16	296.118
2	Jared Johnson	111	13	304.939
3	Eric Lane	102	11	302.466

A Qualifier Race (30-lap segments):

Jerry Pearson was in the hunt in this race against the fastest qualifier, finishing second but losing four laps to Home Cook’n in the Orange lane. Matthew Johnson received excellent support from his team management and finished very well as a Junior driver against two of the fastest teams in the race. In the end, we didn’t have to do the Last Chance Qualifier due to no-shows and early departures , we just transferred all drivers to the Feature.  Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	120	16	265.858
2	Jerry Pearson	112	13	272.122
3	Matthew Johnson	93	11	270.582

Feature Event (45 lap segments, 48 lap fuel allocation):

The feature was a pretty chaotic event. I’m not going to cover it here but let’s say it had a lot of misc chaos and self-inflicted damage. In the end, Aaron Castro emerged as the winner by a lap. You’ll have to view the video of this one, it was wild. Details

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Aaron Castro	180	16	459.356
2	Steve Stewart	179	13	471.432
3	Jerry Pearson	170	11	469.339
4	Jared Johnson	157	7	487.252
5	Eric Lane	144	6	503.525
6	Matthew Johnson	133	5	469.217

Total Series Points From All Races, 50/50 Races, Qualifier Transfer Heats, and Feature Events:

This isn’t representative of actual points since some drivers garnered points by going through qualifier and Last-Chance Qualifier races. However, it does represent actual points totals for those who did not earn Feature Event points with our new race format.

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	George Peters	1173	636	7491.16
2	Steve Stewart	1348	609	7297.468
3	Aaron Castro	1224	495	6352.578
4	Jerry Pearson	1172	491	6630.399
5	Kevin Webster	469	279	2967.587
6	Eric Lane	610	159	4266.355
7	Jared Johnson	440	136	2057.271
8	Jordan Walker	302	133	2894.16
9	Matthew Johnson	387	124	2051.404
10	Madeline Johnson	100	72	823.462
11	Shaylin Maddox	67	36	462.865
12	Abe Maddox	66	36	464.606

Total Series Points From All Feature Events:

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Steve Stewart	972	416	5585.136
2	George Peters	764	349	5127.071
3	Aaron Castro	831	305	4434.096
4	Jerry Pearson	746	242	4532.463
5	Jordan Walker	302	133	2894.16
6	Eric Lane	440	110	3443.471
7	Kevin Webster	174	89	996.869
8	Jared Johnson	157	7	487.252
9	Matthew Johnson	133	5	469.217

It wasn’t necessary to slog through calculating the best four out of five in this case. Both George Peters and Aaron Castro missed one race, which eliminated the need to go through all that since it would not change the points positions indicated above. Nor would it change the points positions for anybody else.

The following are the series points standings for each racer category:

Junior Final Points Standings:

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Matthew Johnson	387	124	2051.404
2	Madeline Johnson	100	72	823.462
3	Abe Maddox	66	36	464.606

Sportsman Final Points Standings:

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Jerry Pearson	746	242	4532.463
2	Eric Lane	440	110	3443.471
3	Jared Johnson	157	7	487.252
4	Shaylin Maddox	67	36	462.865

Pearson Racing’s Jerry Pearson had a fantastic series. Jerry dominated the Sportsman ranks and often appeared on the podium, often higher than Expert drivers. After winning an official racing series as a Sportsman driver, Jerry now moves on to the Expert category ranks. Congratulations, Jerry!

Expert Final Points Standings:

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	George Peters	764	349	5127.071
2	Aaron Castro	831	305	4434.096
3	Jordan Walker	302	133	2894.16
4	Kevin Webster	174	89	996.869
5	Steve Stewart	972	416	5585.136

Because both George and Aaron missed one race in this series, there was no need to calculate the best four of five points totals. It wasn’t necessary for any contest in the Sportsman or Expert ranks.

George and Aaron duked it out in this series, often besting Home Cook’n as they battled for series points. During this series, George set two new lap records in the MegaG+ Modified class. Aaron Castro now holds the fastest lap in the “Lites” class at 5.026 in the White lane. The fastest lap on the oval with the MegaG+ 1.7 “Lite” platform is 1.713 set by George Peters in the White lane. Aaron clicked off a 1.716 in the Blue lane in the Round 5 finale.

That’s a wrap for the 2024 Summer Extreme Series. It was highly competitive, and I think everyone likes the new race format.

Congrats to George, Jerry, and Matthew for winning their respective categories in the series. Great driving!

Stay tuned for video coverage of the Finale and plans for our next engagement. Okay, shut up and drive!