Monday Night “Under The Lights” April 6, 2026 — Only Two Races, But They Were Epic!

AI-generated race analysis from the April 6th and 7th events at the SR3 Road Course Squeeze Lane, segmented to highlight the intense battles within both the Expert Division (Steve Stewart, Dean Donaldson, Dustin Jolley) and the Sportsman Division (Jeff Seltzer, Bev Seltzer, Mark Wialbut).

Overall Event Summary & Closest Finishes

The combined results across both classes created two distinct, thrilling narratives: a battle for second place in the Expert division and an absolute dead heat in the Sportsman division.

- The Expert Duel: Steve Stewart dominated the event overall with 310 total laps. However, the closest finish of the entire event was between Dean Donaldson and Dustin Jolley. In Race 1, they tied exactly at 97 laps. In Race 2, Dean squeezed out 195 laps to Dustin’s 194. Ultimately, Dean claimed 2nd place overall with 292 laps, besting Dustin’s 291 by a single lap.
- The Sportsman Dead Heat: Jeff Seltzer comfortably led the Sportsman group with 254 total laps. The battle for 5th overall, however, resulted in an exact tie in lap count between Bev Seltzer and Mark Wialbut, both completing exactly 235 laps across both races. Bev claimed 5th place on a tiebreaker, edging Mark out on segment points (67 to 65).

Race 1 Detailed Report: MegaG+ 1.7 Formula e (18v)

Track: SR3 Road Course Squeeze Lane

Segment Length: 25 Laps

Steve Stewart ran a flawless race, winning three of the six segments to take 1st place. Dean Donaldson and Dustin Jolley fought hard, both ending on the same lap, with Dustin officially taking 2nd on points/run time. In the Sportsman group, Jeff Seltzer put together a highly consistent run, while Mark and Bev traded fastest times in the later segments. Details

Race 1 Driver Performance Table

Place	Division	Driver	Total Laps	Total Points	Fastest Lap	Lane of Fastest Lap
1	Expert	Steve Stewart	100	58	5.454s	Orange (Seg 3)
2	Expert	Dustin Jolley	97	58	5.540s	Blue (Seg 6)
3	Expert	Dean Donaldson	97	56	5.404s	White (Seg 6)
4	Sportsman	Jeff Seltzer	87	46	5.785s	White (Seg 4)
5	Sportsman	Mark Wialbut	85	32	6.009s	Green (Seg 3)
6	Sportsman	Bev Seltzer	78	32	6.175s	Green (Seg 6)

Race 2 Detailed Report: Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK Lexan

Track: SR3 Road Course Squeeze Lane

Segment Length: 35 Laps

With longer segments, the Viper V-SPEC class allowed for blistering speeds. Steve Stewart again took the win, but the lap times plummeted across the board. Dean Donaldson set an incredibly fast pace, logging the overall fastest lap. The Sportsman division saw a massive highlight from Mark Wialbut, who laid down a lap time that rivaled the Experts. Details

Race 2 Driver Performance Table

Place	Division	Driver	Total Laps	Total Points	Fastest Lap	Lane of Fastest Lap
1	Expert	Steve Stewart	210	93	4.269s	Orange (Seg 4)
2	Expert	Dean Donaldson	195	71	4.169s	Green (Seg 4)
3	Expert	Dustin Jolley	194	68	4.694s	Blue (Seg 3)
4	Sportsman	Jeff Seltzer	167	48	4.985s	Green (Seg 5)
5	Sportsman	Bev Seltzer	157	35	5.295s	Blue (Seg 4)
6	Sportsman	Mark Wialbut	150	33	4.468s	White (Seg 5)

Note: Data extracted from and.

Sportsman Highlights:

- - Mark Wialbut’s Breakout Lap: While finishing 6th in lap count, Mark’s 4.468s lap in Segment 5 was absolutely spectacular. It was faster than Dustin Jolley’s best lap and earned Mark a permanent spot in the track record books.
  - Jeff Seltzer Breaks the Barrier: Jeff successfully broke the 5-second mark, logging a 4.985s lap to solidify his grip on the Sportsman lead.
  - Bev Seltzer’s Consistency: Bev hit her stride in Segment 4, laying down her best lap of 5.295s and securing the laps needed to tie Mark overall for the event.

New Track Records (Set April 6, 2026)

The aggressive driving from both divisions resulted in several new track records at the SR3 Road Course Squeeze Lane. Most notably, Sportsman driver Mark Wialbut captured a Lane 2 record alongside the Experts.

MegaG+ 1.7 Formula e (i) 18v Records:

- - Lane 2: 5.404s — Dean Donaldson
  - Lane 4: 5.454s — Steve Stewart
  - Lane 5: 5.517s — Steve Stewart

Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK Lexan Records:

- - Lane 1: 4.567s — Dean Donaldson
  - Lane 2: 4.468s — Mark Wialbut
  - Lane 3: 4.169s — Dean Donaldson
  - Lane 4: 4.269s — Steve Stewart
  - Lane 5: 4.403s — Dean Donaldson
  - Lane 6: 4.688s — Steve Stewart

We had a little controversy during the technical inspection of the Viper SPEC STOCK class podium finishers. Dean’s car had .328 front tires installed, while everyone else was running .350 fronts. In Dean’s defense, our currently published rules “related” to this class of car, allow front and rear tire diameter changes, unrestricted. We currently call this class “Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK Lexan,” which is not exactly accurate. HOPRA.net rules allow any diameter front or rear silicon tire. However, our version of the HOPRA rules allows a Lexan body, which HOPRA’s rules do not, only a factory hardbody.

So, all that said, I’m proposing that we clarify our rules for our Viper “SPEC STOCK” class (aka: Box Stock), which has, for the last year or so, verbally specified a completely stock (standard build) V-SPEC V1 Level-4 chassis, with only low-profile shoes, rear tire compound and diameter changes, and a Lexan body allowed. All other HOPRA SPEC STOCK rules apply. This will be considered our “Lite” version of the Viper V1 chassis.

To avoid further confusion, I’m in the process of updating our active car rules and will republish them as soon as possible. The reason for our “Lite” or “Box Stock” classes is to better support entry into our program by drivers who lack the interest and/or the skills to “tune” or otherwise prepare cars for racing. I recognize the interest of several drivers to go faster and allow more modifications. I will work on a proposed set of new rules for both our MegaG+ 1.7 and our Viper V-SPEC platforms, which will give our more tech-savvy drivers more flexibility to prepare cars and compete in these higher-level car classes.

Season Points Standings Summary 🏁

Here is how the leaderboard looks when separated by skill level:

Expert Division 🏆

These drivers currently hold the top positions in the overall standings:

- - Steve Stewart: 4280 points
  - Dean Donaldson: 3573 points
  - Dustin Jolley: 3204 points
  - Joe Clarke: 1194 points
  - Kevin Webster: 278 points

Sportsman Division 🏎️

The Sportsman field is much larger, with several drivers in a close battle for the division lead:

- - Ramsey Wright: 570 points
  - Jeff Seltzer: 490 points
  - Joe Vargas: 330 points
  - Bev Seltzer: 325 points
  - Bill Whiteside: 300 points
    
    (Note: There are 21 additional drivers in this division further down the standings)

A big thanks to this awesome group of drivers for bringing great things to share (except Dean, who was supposed to bring SAUSAGES!) Seriously, it was a great meal prepared by Kathy, and all kinds of treats to go along with it. Thank you all!!

Given that we were only able to get two races completed in almost six hours, we may have to reinstitute a strict RMS-controlled 90-second rotation time. We’re taking way too much time between segments these days.

Okay, shut up and drive!