SST Long Beach Race 2 cut short by fence-ripping crash

Zoey Edenholm was not the primary Stadium Tremendous Vehicles driver to finish up within the Acura Grand Prix of Lengthy Seaside‘s catchfence (Pat O’Keefe in 2016 has that doubtful honour), however her accident was sufficient to create the shortest race in sequence historical past.

Sunday’s Race #2 was barely 4 laps previous when contact between Edenholm and Saturday winner Max Gordon despatched the previous airbourne and into the fence, shredding a bit of it. Though the harm was repaired in time for the weekend-ending GT America, SST couldn’t be resumed. As a result of time constraints, this isn’t an unusual destiny for SST rounds that function an undercard to bigger sequence; in Lengthy Seaside’s case, SST supported the NTT IndyCar Sequence whose race came about straight earlier than theirs.

Edenholm’s truck had barely rotated mid-air whereas hitting the second ramp coming to the beginning/end line to start lap three, inflicting her to land sideways and run diagonally into Gordon’s path. Neither she nor Gordon have been in a position to react in time earlier than they collided, spinning Edenholm into the wall.

Gordon misplaced his hood within the incident and tried to proceed. Because it turned out, he additionally misplaced his brakes and careened previous flip one right into a barrier. He and Edenholm walked away with out damage.

Lap 4 was speculated to be the restart after a scheduled competitors warning, with Edenholm and Gordon respectively restarting second and third. The calamity compelled everybody behind them to decelerate whereas chief Myles Cheek pulled forward and retained his place when the race was stopped.

Cheek was formally declared the winner forward of Matt Brabham and Invoice Hynes. Though definitely circumstantial, it’s Cheek’s first profession victory after narrowly shedding the Race #2 win in 2023 to Brabham. He’s additionally the twenty-seventh completely different SST race winner.

With a 3rd on Saturday and a second on Sunday, Brabham gained the weekend general. Hynes rebounded from a broken brake caliper in Race #1 to file his sixth podium within the sequence and first at Lengthy Seaside.

Edenholm had led the opening lap after passing David Bernstein within the remaining hairpin earlier than Cheek claimed the place coming into flip one. After beginning first and second, Bernstein and his team-mate RJ Stidham struggled throughout the three-and-a-half laps of racing: Stidham spun into the flip 9 tyre barrier throughout lap one whereas Bernstein obtained a faucet by Brabham within the fountain sector and needed to cease to keep away from the wall.

Race outcomes