DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman – Slip Angle Motorsports photo –

Slip Angle Motorsports teammates Ray Alfalla and Bryan Blackford made the revival of the ASCORS ProGeek Consulting Cup Series, and the series’ debut on the iRacing.com platform, a memorable one Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.

The two – who had dueled nearly the entire race at the front of the field – were side-by-side for nearly the entire final lap of the inaugural Daytona 250 before coming together off the exit of turn four. The ensuing contact between Blackford’s left front fender and Alfalla’s right-rear quarter panel sent Blackford’s No. 37 SnowCone Productions Ford into the outside wall and out of contention for the win.

As Blackford skidded backwards in a shower of sparks, Alfalla raced to the start-finish line to take the first-ever series victory on iRacing over Adam Benefiel, by a scant margin of 0.093 seconds at the checkered flag.

“That was a really, really tight car in the closing laps,” Alfalla said in Victory Lane. “The way the right front went away on it made it tough. We had to take care of our tires, which is why we were running such weird lines in the corners.”

“There on the last lap, I got a little tight coming up off of (turn) four – kind of put Bryan in the wall, which kinda sucked – but I wasn’t trying to do anything special. Just hit the gas in turn four, finally, and away it went. I’m happy both of us didn’t wreck out, though, and happy to bring home the win in the return of ASCORS. This is a really great series to be a part of and I’m really glad it’s back in action.”

Only one caution, at lap 24 after contact between Alfalla and Logan Clampitt sent Clampitt’s No. 44 entry into the wall off turn four the previous time by the line – and then into a multi-car crash in turn one with Josh Parker, J.D. Laird and Josh Connors – slowed the pace in a largely clean event showcasing the talents of numerous Pro- and NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series-level drivers in the field and in the draft.

Beyond that, the race was clean and green from start to finish, with 22 lead changes between six different drivers and a cycle of green flag pit stops with 37 laps to go that set up the dash to the checkered flag – after the final 72 circuits of the event went uninterrupted.

The action reached its peak with 12 laps remaining, when Alfalla took the lead from Blackford and began his march towards the checkered flag. The two-time NPAS champion led through the six to go mark, but a huge run for Blackford – who got help from Byron Daley on the outside lane as the lead pack navigated slower traffic – gave him the lead back with five to go and made Alfalla the chaser in the final sprint.

For 10 straight miles, Blackford blocked both lanes as Alfalla looked low, trying to utilize a push from series newcomer Adam Benefiel to get the momentum to make a move, but to no avail. At the white flag it was Blackford up top with Daley pushing, and Alfalla ahead of Benefiel on the bottom as the quartet raced for the win.

Alfalla got the advantage on the bottom exiting turn two and nearly had Blackford cleared at the entrance to turn three, but Blackford fought back – trying to squeeze Alfalla down in the final set of corners that ultimately spelled his end.

“When we went down the backstretch the last time, I thought I’d have more help honestly,” Blackford lamented, crossing the line fifth after gathering up his race car. “Byron (Daley) tagged the wall though – or something – and fell back, so going into three Ray and I were dead even. At that point I thought it’d be a drag race to the line.”

“I didn’t expect what took place to take place though. Coming out of four, I knew I was pushing Ray down a little bit – more than I had – but I think he slid up just a little bit too much. There’s some bent feelings, cause I thought I was gonna be able to get it, but I still love racing hard with him and I feel like we’ve both learned something from tonight. We’ll keep working together and move on to the next one.”

While Alfalla came across to win the race, Benefiel snuck through to claim a hard-fought second, nearly seeing a pathway to the top spot open up in the final moments.

“We qualified horrible, but it allowed me to fall back and pick up some teammates,” admitted Benefiel. “We were just riding, though, and a big group came out of four and pitted on the fly. That’s really what got us up there. When I saw Ray and Bryan I realized just how much track time I had actually made up (during the final pit cycle).”

“I accidentally found something coming out of turn two, when we were pushing there at the end, and it got me up behind Ray to where I could dance with those guys at the end. It was close – I thought maybe, if Ray slowed up enough after he and Bryan got together – but it wasn’t meant to be this time. Still thrilled with the effort though; this is a great way to kick off the year.”

Save for Benefiel, it was a sweep of the top-five finishing positions for NPAS regulars. Matt Bussa survived to record a third-place effort, with Daley hanging on for fourth and Blackford rounding out the front five.

John Gorlinsky, Chase Cabre, Chad Coleman, Alex Monteferrante and Brad Patton were the balance of the top 10.

A notable outside those top 10 was 2014 PEAK Series champion Michael Conti, who started 42nd on a provisional and ran as high as second at the halfway benchmark. Struggles on his final green-flag pit stop, however, dropped Conti off the lead draft and he ultimately finished 13th.

In ProGeek Pole Qualifying, Blackford stole the top spot from Alfalla in the final moments, edging his teammate for the pole award by one one-thousandth of a second with a time of 46.875 seconds (192.000 mph).

The ASCORS ProGeek Consulting Cup Series moves to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 28 for round two of their 2016 season, broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on LSRTV and iRacing Live.

RESULTS: ASCORS ProGeek Consulting Cup Series; Inaugural Daytona 250; Daytona International Speedway; Feb. 21, 2016

1. Ray Alfalla
2. Adam Benefiel
3. Matt Bussa
4. Byron Daley
5. Bryan Blackford
6. John Gorlinsky
7. Chase Cabre
8. Chad Coleman
9. Alex Monteferrante
10. Brad Patton
11. Bentley Glaser
12. Justin Weaver
13. Michael Conti
14. Doy Woods
15. Dustin Lengert
16. Jason Galvin
17. Daniel Roeper
18. Jon Adams
19. Greg Spears
20. Eric Brundies
21. Corbin Himstreet
22. Tyler Dalton
23. Jesse Kovacs
24. Scott Mitton
25. Matthew Moose
26. Tyler Tucker
27. Austin Jones
28. Josh Jones
29. Joseph Gulotta
30. Matthew Quick
31. Mathew Chafe
32. Rich Jette
33. Jayson Anderson
34. David Ankeney
35. J.D. Laird
36. Michael Guest
37. Garrett Smithley
38. Brad Newman
39. Josh Parker
40. Logan Clampitt
41. R.J. Williams
42. Josh Connors
43. Allen Lewis

Lead Changes: 22 between six drivers

Lap Leaders: Blackford (1-2, 57-62, 72-84, 86-88, 95-99); Alfalla (3-6, 13-14, 28, 31-35, 39-40, 43-56, 66-71, 89-94, 100); Lengert (7-12, 15-25, 36-38, 41-42); Coleman (26-27, 29-30, 64-65); Gorlinsky (63); Patton (85).

Laps Led: Alfalla (41); Blackford (29); Lengert (22); Coleman (6); Gorlinsky (1); Patton (1).

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77

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