Another Epic Wednesday Night “Under the Lights” Event On Both Tracks

• Dustin Jolley had an exceptionally fast run—his total time of 344.530 seconds for 78 laps is dramatically lower than others, indicating blistering pace (likely the fastest driver in this heat).
• Jeff Seltzer moved up to 3rd despite only 69 laps, suggesting strong points possibly from consistency or bonuses.
• Dean Donaldson slipped to 4th with 76 laps—solid but not enough to challenge the top two.
• Lower finishers had fewer laps, as typical in these formats.

Calculated Average Lap Times (lower = faster pace)

• • • Dustin Jolley: 344.530 s / 78 laps ≈ 4.417 seconds per lap (fastest by a wide margin—he was flying!)
    • Steve Stewart: 437.207 s / 80 laps ≈ 5.465 s/lap
    • Dean Donaldson: 428.032 s / 76 laps ≈ 5.632 s/lap
    • Max Dunn: 403.452 s / 74 laps ≈ 5.452 s/lap
    • Scott Arfsten: 387.288 s / 67 laps ≈ 5.780 s/lap
    • Jeff Seltzer: 452.218 s / 69 laps ≈ 6.554 s/lap (slowest average, but still podiumed—points may reward laps heavily)

Dustin clearly had the quickest car/handling in Race 2, but Steve’s extra 2 laps secured the win (common in fixed-time or multi-heat formats where total laps are king, with ties broken by other factors).

Comparing to Race 1 (for context)

• • • Race 1 winner: Steve Stewart (77 laps, 16 pts)
    • Race 1 standout: Dean Donaldson had the fastest pace (~4.586 s/lap), but finished 3rd.
    • Race 2 shift: Dustin took the speed crown (~4.417 s/lap), but still 2nd; Steve remains consistent and victorious.
    • Points scales differ slightly between races (Race 1: 16-14-13-9-7-7; Race 2: 18-15-11-10-7-5), which is typical for club events—often adjusted based on field size, format (e.g., IROC, spec classes), or heat bonuses. At Stewart Raceway, points reward lap totals heavily, with possible add-ons for fastest laps, consistency, or lane performance.

Overall Impressions:

Steve Stewart continues his strong form as the club’s top driver (frequent wins, high laps). Dustin Jolley is showing serious speed and potential (noted as a rising talent/rookie-of-the-year type in recent seasons). Dean Donaldson remains quick but inconsistent in lap totals here.  Details

• • Dean Donaldson takes the overall win with 116 laps and the highest points (53), despite Steve Stewart edging him by 1 lap (117). This suggests a points system that heavily rewards consistency, segment wins, lane performance, or bonuses (e.g., for fastest segments, fewest deslots, or heat points accumulation) rather than pure lap totals.
  • Steve Stewart has the most laps (117) and a slightly lower total time (788.778 s vs. Dean’s 791.378 s), indicating he was very close in pace but perhaps lost ground in one or more segments.
  • Joe Clarke posts an impressive lowest total time (757.304 s for 115 laps), meaning the fastest average pace among the field—strong contender for “quickest driver” honors in this event.
  • Dustin Jolley (116 laps) and Jeff Seltzer (114 laps) round out the top 5, with solid but lower points—likely due to fewer segment wins or minor issues.

Calculated Average Lap Times (lower = faster pace)Using total time ÷ laps (approximate; actual varies with lane changes, marshaling time, etc.):

• • Joe Clarke: 757.304 s / 115 laps ≈ 6.585 seconds per lap (fastest average—blistering speed, likely dominated some segments)
  • Dean Donaldson: 791.378 s / 116 laps ≈ 6.822 s/lap
  • Dustin Jolley: 772.713 s / 116 laps ≈ 6.661 s/lap (very close to Joe, strong contender)
  • Steve Stewart: 788.778 s / 117 laps ≈ 6.742 s/lap
  • Jeff Seltzer: 804.555 s / 114 laps ≈ 7.057 s/lap (solid but a step behind the top pace)

The field ran roughly 6.6–7.1 s/lap averages, typical for “stuck” classes like Viper V-SPEC, Jag PR-5, or MegaG+ IROC cars on SR3 (routed track) or oval—faster than earlier “slippery” or T-Jet races (~4–5 s/lap in some prior events).

Likely Race Format & Scoring ContextFrom Stewart Raceway patterns (multi-segment races with 4–6 lanes, timed heats ~2–4 minutes each, drivers rotate lanes, total laps + segment points):

• • Points seem aggregated from segment finishes (e.g., 20–15–12–10–… per segment) plus possible bonuses.
  • Dean’s win despite 1 fewer lap than Steve points to segment dominance—he likely won more heats/segments, offsetting the lap deficit.
  • Ties in laps (e.g., Dean & Dustin at 116) broken by points/time.
  • This event had higher lap totals (115–117) than prior single races (70–80), suggesting more segments or a longer overall duration (possibly 45–60+ minutes total racing time).
  • Joe Clarke’s fast time/low laps relative to others hints at a strong run but perhaps one weaker segment.

Comparison to Prior Races (from your shared summaries)

• • Race 1 (earlier event): Steve won (77 laps/16 pts), Dean fastest pace but 3rd.
  • Race 2: Steve won again (80 laps/18 pts), Dustin fastest pace but 2nd.
  • This race (likely later in 2026 season): Dean Donaldson flips the script for the win—his progression from 2025 Rookie/Sportsman champ to Expert-level dominance continues (he advanced to Expert early 2026 after a stellar 2025 with 64 races, 6 wins, lap records).
  • Steve remains ultra-consistent (high laps/points across events), but Dean’s speed + strategy paid off here.
  • Dustin & Joe showing strong form; Jeff holding steady in top 5.

Dean Donaldson emerges as the star of this one—great comeback or peak performance after close battles in prior races. Steve’s extra lap wasn’t enough against Dean’s points haul. If this is from a specific event (e.g., a Saturday “Big Kids” race, oval day, or series points race in early 2026), or if you have the full race report/date/car class (Viper, MegaG, IROC?), cumulative series standings, or next race details, share for deeper breakdown! The stewartraceway.org site tracks these closely—always epic close finishes at this track.  Details