Zach Holden and Brandon Dixon Score Wins at VIR

Alton, VA – Zach Holden won in F1600 competition while Brandon Dixon scored the win in F2000 on Sunday afternoon at VIR.

F1600: Holden Pulls Off Sunday Sweep

Alton, VA – For the second race in a row, and on the same day, Zach Holden took the lead on the last lap and his second victory in three starts on the season-opening weekend of the F1600 Championship Series at VIR. Holden took his No. 96 K-Hill Motorsports Mygale/Honda to the win in a late Sunday afternoon race at VIR following his morning performance. He crossed the line with a margin of .02 seconds, just a few inches, over Team Pelfrey’s Jonathan Kotyk while Matthew Cowley finished third.

“The last lap was pretty hectic. There were three of us very close down the back straight. We were all going for a spot,” said Holden. “I knew I wanted to be second coming out of the last corner, and I drafted and passed him down the front straight. It was almost a little late but we got him.”

Kotyk was denied a comeback victory in the No. 81 Team Pelfrey machine. 

The Saturday winner was leading in the morning race coming to the checkered flag and made contact with a lapped car, sending him flying and ripping parts off his Mygale/Honda. The Pelfrey squad responded in stride and had the car ready and competitive for the final race of the weekend at VIR, which marked round three of the 21-race F1600 season.

Matthew Cowley completed the podium in another Team Pelfrey Mygale/Honda, while Yuven Sundaramoorthy matched his morning race result for K-Hill with another fourth place finish.

Joe Colasacco completed the weekend sweep in the Masters Class for Auriana Racing, winning all three races in his division, and running in the lead group for the duration of the 14-lap race on Sunday afternoon.

“It was fun out there. The field was a bit better behaved than this morning,” said Colassaco. “It was just a matter of if I wanted to stick my nose in where it didn’t belong. There was more to be lost than gained out there. All in all, it was a great weekend. The car went a lot faster than we had ever gone here.”

Lance Fenderson came home sixth for K-Hill while Joel Haas was seventh, and second in the Masters Class. David Osborne was eighth in another Pelfrey car, despite going off on the last lap. John Dole completed the Masters Class podium in ninth spot.

F1600 Championship teams and drivers are next back in action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with a two-day event set for May 12-13.

F2000: Dixon Closes VIR Weekend with Victory

Alton, VA – For the second day in a row, the F2000 Championship Series race at VIR came down to the last lap. This time it was Brandon Dixon who went to the inside of Matt McDonough at the end of the back straight to take the win. Dixon started fifth and drove through the field to the lead, only to trade it back and forth with McDonough, who finished second ahead of Steve Jenks.

Dixon worked his way to first, passing McDonough mid-way through the race. But a restart with a handful of laps saw him slide wide, dropping to third place.

By the last lap, Dixon had caught McDonough again. He tried in turn one with an outside move, but ran out of real estate. A few corners later he had mounted another assault, and got past McDonough at the end of the back stretch to take his second career F2000 victory.

“On the restart I just out-braked myself,” Dixon explained in victory circle. “I went in there too deep and slid off wide and dropped back a few positions. I was just pushing as hard as I could. I got a good run out of Oak Tree and got a good draft. I knew he wasn’t going to give it up, we both went into the turn at the top of the hill really deep. The surface wasn’t good there and he went out wide, and I did the over-under move. The door opened and I took it.”

McDonough took the lead at the start of the race, and executed two other passes for the top spot as there was plenty of action at the front of the field.

“We had a fantastic race. That is what it’s all about in the end really,” McDonough noted.

Jenks marked two podiums in two days with a drive to third place in a strong weekend for the No. 68.

“It was hard racing out there. We had a good run. I watched a lot in front of me too. It was a fun race. My team did a great job all weekend and I think we may be leading in points,” Jenks said.

Tim Paul finished fourth for Momentum Motorsports and Screaming Monkey Racing, coming from seventh on the grid, while Peter Gonzalez had a good run to a top five spot.

Dave Weitzenhof recovered from a lost wheel that ended his Saturday race to finish sixth with Dan Denison following in seventh spot for Polestar.

Saturday winner Nicolas Palacio failed to finish with a retirement mid-way through the race. Palacio started from pole and lost the lead on the opening lap. He took it back a few laps later with a late braking move on McDonough in turn one and led a couple more laps before surrendering the position back to McDonough and eventually Dixon, before retiring with a reported mechanical problem.

Reece Everard, who finished second on Saturday and led the duration of that race, moved from sixth to third in a matter of laps, but went off early in the race, ultimately retiring on lap eight.

The F2000 Championship Series next takes to the track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a two-day event along with F1600 and the Atlantic Championship Series, scheduled for May 12-13.
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Full results from the race are available on www.F1600Series.com and www.F2000Series.com

Photos:
1. Zach Holden
2. Brandon Dixon

Photos: JDS-Photos.com

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