Chris runs top 5 until final laps, finishes
12th
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In
Sunday’s race, Chris Festa returned to form running
5th until the closing 2 laps of the race
after missing the setup in qualifying on Saturday
morning. Chris’ great run from a qualifying
position of 15th began in the Saturday race.
He ran through the field of drivers on the tight St. Pete street
course coming from 15th on the grid to
finish 8th often lapping the demanding
course at speeds equaling the race leader.
In
Sunday’s race, Chris started 8th and was
running 5th by the half way point.
The front “pack” of 9 nine cars all ran nose to tail
in a tight race. Chris again ran lap times
equaling the leaders, but the lead pack of talent
was all very equal. In the closing laps,
drivers began to make very aggressive pass attempts.
As the 6th and 7th place cars
attempted to pass Chris as he was held up by a
lapped car in front of him, things got a bit tight
on the inside of the track. Chris was
penalized as the 3 cars fought for position and
moved to last place. In the closing 2 laps,
Chris recovered and finally finished 12th.
A very disappointed Chris said, “We were right there
with 4th when things started to get very
tight. The lapped car held me up a tiny bit, but
with this great group of drivers that’s like blood
in the water to a shark and Robbie and Richard both
tried to duck underneath into turn 1. I had to move
over to miss the lapped car, but Robbie still had
plenty of room down the inside. Unfortunately, the
officials felt I moved over too aggressively to
avoid hitting the lapped car and put me to the
back. We came back to 12th, which could
have been much worse. A lot of cars found the walls
this weekend and didn’t make it to the end. At
least we’re still 4th in points with Indianapolis next and 13
races to go.”
;
