Group-A Racing Wins Radical Cup Finale at Road Atlanta
Going into the final round of the 2020 Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, Group-A Racing had a shot at the championship despite being a rookie team to the series and with a rookie driver. Steve Jenks entered the final round 4th in the standings, 24 points out of the lead.
Thursday & Friday saw the usual tremendous amount of track time for competitors provided by the series. All throughout the two days, Group-A’s Steve Jenks was a consistent top 3 runner on the practice time sheets, consistently ahead of his championship rivals, helping put the pressure on. The series saw young gun Jordan Missig return to the championship. Jordan was a top finisher in the 2019 Radical Cup and ran full time in Formula 3 this year, adding to the depth of competition level.
Qualifying would see Jordan Missig get the pole in a tight field with championship leader Al Miller barely getting second ahead of Steve Jenks. Al Miller was carrying a 10 grid spot penalty from the previous round though and that would place Steve into second for the start of race 1, setting him nicely ahead of all championship contenders.
Race 1 would see Group-A Racing driver Steve Jenks get off to a good start running second behind Jordan with the two pulling away from the rest of the pack. A full course caution would put Jenks on the gearbox of Jordan to attempt an attack for the win. Missig & Jenks would run nose-to-tail, so evenly matched pulling away from the rest of the field, the two having nothing to separate themselves running identical lap times to one another within hundredths of a second. In the end, Jenks would have to settle for another second-place result, his fourth of the season. With it, he finished ahead of all of his championship rivals. To top it off, Al Miller received another penalty for mid race contact. Miller, who had led the points since the opening race was now second, 3 points behind Greg Gorkski and Steve Jenk, now 3rd,only 7 points out of the lead!
Missig would start on the pole in the second race, and Jenks, second, but now Miller would start third. Miller got a great start, placing Steve down to third. After the opening lap, Jordan Missig would make a mistake though, spinning off track elevating Al Miller & Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks to first and second. The story was now the same as race one but this time with Al Miller leading Steve. Bad luck would strike Steve as he unfortunately had debris cut his right front tire, but luckily a full course caution came out. The Group-A Racing team was able to get him in and out without going down a lap. He fought his way back through the pack, even passing two cars on the last lap, one being championship rival Mel Johnson. Despite the adversity, Jenks fought his way back to fifth, with Gorkski in fourth, and Al Miller winning. This now elevated Miller back to points lead with a 10 point lead over Greg who was also 10 points ahead of Steve Jenks.
Race three would see similar starting order with Missig on pole, Jenks second and Al Miller third and Greg Gorkski fourth. This time it was Gorski getting the great start launching up to second, with Jenks third and Miller fourth, all championship contenders right there duking it out in the final round. Jordan Missig was pulling away until a mechanical failure, now elevating that battle to be for the lead of the race and championship! As soon as the pit window opened, Jenks pitted immediately with Al Miller following. Jenks was ultra-impressive with his in lap, pit stop and out lap to build a multi second gap over Al Miller. Two laps later Gorkski would then pit and when he reentered he now found himself multiple seconds behind Jenks, placing him into the lead! Jenks put his head down doing everything he could to re close the championship gap, trying to snag his first win enroute to the championship as well. Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks came across the line earning his first win of the season in dramatic fashion. Al Miller finished second, securing him the championship. With Gorkski finishing fourth, Jenks was able to pass him in the points to place second in the championship.
In the end, Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks earned his first win, runner up in the points, the team finished second in team championship despite being a 1 car effort and Jenks earned the rookie of the year award.
"What made Road Atlanta rewarding is the team performed at their best when the moment mattered the most. Great car setup, race strategy, and coaching gave me the confidence to push hard all weekend. We earned the race and championship results" said Steve jenks.
“I don’t really have words to say on how proud I am of everybody’s effort and how much we loved being in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup this season” stated team principal Jonathan Scarallo. “Rookie team to the series, rookie driver to series we came in guns blazing and a threat every single event and nearly stole this championship in our first year. I can’t say enough good things about this series and everybody involved with this Group-A Racing effort. We are so excited to come back in 2021 with a much bigger multi car program in this awesome series!”
Group-A Racing/Radical New York are now instantly full steam ahead working toward 2021 season. Drivers interested in test or race opportunities with Group-A Racing in Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup or anything else pertaining to Radical sports cars (new car sales, used car sales, parts etc) should contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.