AUDIO/RECAP: Three-Peat; Brundies Survives Crash-Filled Night for Full Throttle Cup Trifecta at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. — Audio, recap and photo by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman for Real Sim Racing —

Call Eric Brundies the King of Richmond.

The defending =RSR= Full Throttle Cup Series champion took the lead of Monday night’s Commonwealth Clash at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway and never looked back in claiming his third consecutive RIR victory in Real Sim Racing’s premier iRacing division.

His path through those final 55 laps, however, was anything but simple.

Brundies had to survive six late race restarts and a one-lap dash to the checkered flag before claiming his seventh career FTCS checkered flag and first of the 2015 season aboard his Terry Labonte Special No. 94 Kelloggs Ford Fusion.

“I was a little nervous there before the end with Adam [Benefiel] behind me because of how good he was on restarts,” said Brundies, who broke a tie with Guy Snyder IV and now sits alone in fourth on the series’ all-time win list. “I almost threw it away there when we took the green, almost shoved it into the outside wall. But, luckily we were able to hang on. Second and third behind me started racing and that was pretty much it.”

“Then when I saw them stacking up in four I knew we were home-free, just sat back and smiled,” Brundies added. “I don’t know what it is about this racetrack as to why we’re so good here, but it all worked out tonight.”

The win also makes Brundies the ninth different driver to slot onto the Chase Grid with a victory in 2015 — something that the defending champion was very relieved about.

“This puts us in a good spot for the Chase now, which is a huge weight off our shoulders,” Brundies said. “I knew we weren’t going to win six this year like we did last season, but I’m glad we at least finally have one.”

While Brundies escaped unscathed, the field behind him did not. In turn three on the final lap, Corbin Himstreet and Benefiel came together and ignited a Talladega-style “Big One” 200 yards from the start/finish line and collecting many of the top ten runners in the process. Names including Dan Murray, David Comstock, Stefan Marinak, Paul Cooper and a flipping Dan Murphy were all collected in the 12-car melee that shuffled the final results mightily.

Out of the smoke came Brundies’ teammate Harrison Widelitz, who finished second after being a lap down and scored his best FTCS result since his breakthrough victory as a substitute driver for John Abbott at Martinsville.

“I could sum up this race as a typical short track brawl in general,” said Widelitz, who charged forward 36 spots after starting the night on a provisional in 38th and fighting back from his involvement in a crash after halfway. “I messed up in qualifying after being on a really good lap; just looped it and had to start at the back. I was in the right spot to avoid a few of those wrecks after I got back on the lead lap, thankfully, and with how chaotic the end of the race was, I’ll take this second place effort.”

Chad Coleman followed Widelitz home in third, with Mitch Rollo claiming his best-career FTCS result in fourth for the Boomtown Sim team. Sean Casto rounded out the top five at the checkered flag.

Marinak limped across the line in sixth after using an alternate pit strategy to lead 85 of the race’s 180 laps, with he and three of his Wolfpack teammates pitting at the night’s first caution on lap 19 and rotating in and out of the front group all night before their late-race troubles.

Cooper, William Kempf, rookie Christopher Hurlow and substitute pilot J.D. Laird rounded out the top ten. Laird was in for Talladega winner Pedro Mojica at the wheel of the No. 50 JDR Graphics Toyota.

A carnage-filled night saw a total of 17 ServiceMaster Clean caution flags for 86 laps and four lead changes among three different drivers (Brundies, Marinak and Jeff Ward). Ward led a total of 40 circuits on the night, but was involved in a skirmish on lap 96 with Comstock and Jose Gonzalez that crumpled his No. 89 Yeti Coolers entry and took him out of contention for the victory.

The race’s most serious accident was remarkably not the final lap disaster, but instead was a 15-car parking lot on lap 117 sparked when Jason Lester was spun off the front bumper of championship leader Dwayne Vincent in turn four. Lester ultimately blocked the track when he spun across into traffic, sweeping up Kempf, Widelitz, Gonzalez, Steve Gottschalk, Hurlow, Scott Stenzel, Murphy, Johnathon Caddell, Doug Roth, Laird, Nick Silver, Nathan Little and Comstock in his wake.

The =RSR= Full Throttle Cup Series returns to action for their longest race of the season, the World 225 from Charlotte Motor Speedway, on May 18 (9:30 p.m. Eastern on LSRTV).

Audio with runner-up Harrison Widelitz: