Fastest lap from Gridlife Mid-Ohio 2023. This was effectively my debut in Sundae Cup (finally, after blowing my engine in the first practice session of Midwest Rev-Up at Gingerman) and I honestly couldn't be happier with the results. 3rd place for the weekend in what was probably the most stacked field of drivers I've ever had to compete in. Every driver in the top 10 was a threat, and I times were EXTREMELY close and consistent throughout the entire event.
This lap was set during Qualifying 2, and bumped me from P6 all the way to P1, securing my spot in the Podium Sprint. I tied this lap in the Podium Sprint on my second flyer (1:49.355) but couldn't find any additional time. Some experimentation and testing since this event has shown me that I was fighting my setup to some extent, T1 at this track was a lot more difficult than it needed to be, and I'm confident that the next time I run here with some different settings I'll be able to comfortably cut more time.
Really not complaining though! I told myself going into this event that as long as I made the Podium Sprint I wouldn't be mad at myself. I obviously wanted to take home a trophy, but I absolutely was not treating it as a foregone conclusion or putting the pressure on myself that it was the only acceptable result. I just wanted to make a strong showing for my debut in Gridlife, and I feel like I definitely succeeded at that. Being able to debut at a Festival event with full stream coverage made the whole thing extra exciting, check out the VODs to see some great footage! Q2, 3 and the Podium Sprint focused on my car quite a bit, it's pretty surreal to see myself in the current equivalent of the televised races I used to watch on Speedvision growing up!