McWhorter Dominates at Road America

Joseph McWhorter won his first ASL Elite Series race in style, winning the pole, stage and the checkers at the Road America Grand Prix. The win helped McWhorter overcome a rough start to the season and propels him into the playoff bracket, joining Johnny Avila and Jesse Bunnell in the winners’ column.

McWhorter led 22 of 25 laps, with Steve Yenisch leading the other three after he assumed the lead when most of the field pitted during the stage break. McWhorter and most of the leaders stayed out until the stage break, but Steve Yenisch, Jeff Yenisch and Richard Holland decided to pit before the stage and assumed the lead when the race resumed.

Yenisch’s older tires were no match on the restart following the stage break, and McWhorter powered past and never looked back. Adam Matz, Steve Yenisch, Bentley Glaser and Jeff Yenisch rounded out the top five in the running order.

Next week is the Atlanta Double-Header, where the Elite Series will tackle back-to-back sprint races on the 2008-era and modern-day Atlanta Motor Speedway ovals. WFO Racing Network will be carrying both races live on January 29!

Advertisement

Bunnell Steals Win at Iowa

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Jesse Bunnell captured his sixth career victory at Iowa Speedway and earned a coveted playoff berth just three weeks into the season. Bunnell found himself in the right place at the right time, as Jason Day and Landen Ciardullo wrecked exiting Turn 4 on the final lap, opening the door for Bunnell to slide past for the win.

Jason Day found himself in control of the race late after taking two tires, but Landen Ciardullo chased him down on the final lap, attempting to seize back control after leading 120 laps and being the dominant car for much of the race.

Todd Cray won the opening stage after assuming the lead when Ciardullo pitted for tires with 10 laps to go in the stage. Cray was in contention in the closing laps, but wrecked out along with Hunter Waters, who flipped down the front-stretch, ruining the race for both drivers.

In all, it was a chaotic race, especially compared to last week’s race at Auto Club Speedway, which was free of cautions for incident. The pace was slowed to a track-record 11 cautions, and few, if any, cars finished the race without at least a few battle scars.

For a complete change of pace, the Elite Series heads to Road America next Sunday. The only road course event of the season will be broadcast live on WFO Racing Nework.

Avila Goes Back-to-Back With Win at Auto Club

Johnny Avila continues to dominate both the Spring 2023 season and the record books at Auto Club Speedway after winning at the two-mile California track. It was Avila’s second win in as many races, and his third of all time at Auto Club.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Avila started from the pole and led a race-high 60 laps and eclipsed Steve Yenisch for the lead with 11 laps remaining and never looked back. Behind Yenisch in the running order was Tyler Saville, Bentley Glaser and rookie Landen Cairdullo to complete the top 5.

The 100-lap race was only slowed by the stage break caution, an impressive feat considering a league-record 44 cars started the race.

The Elite Series heads to Iowa Speedway next week. Catch the action live on WFO Racing Network at 8:20 pm on Sunday, January 15!