2 Wins, 2 Lap Records for GoGoGear’s Hottest Hatchback Civic in 2026

Sonoma, CA - Round 2 brought the drivers and teams to familiar Northern California for a dash to the line. The battle was heating up in the Sportsman class, where Saturday’s headline was defending champion Andy Chittum was out-qualified for the first time in over a year. The team of Tom Lepper and Reza Arsham navigated a difficult qualifying session to grab pole position for the main event on Sunday. After some lengthy delays due to the track losing electrical power, the racers had a chance to catch their breath before heading out on track at Sunday’s grid.

In the race, it was Chittum who stormed ahead with a great launch off the line; however, that lead would not last long as Arsham squeezed his Civic down the inside at turn 1 on the run up the hill towards turn 2. The move would stick as the melee of the first few corners ensued. The decisive moment came later on the first lap, however, as Arsham was able to navigate past some of the out-of-class competition cleanly through the carousel, but  as Chittum attempted to follow through, he was tagged in a side-by-side collision. Ultimately, the collision provided Arsham with just enough room to build a gap and manage the pace from the front of the field. Arsham’s blistering pace was quickly evident as he continued to increase his lead. After a few dicey moments in the fast turn 10 and turn 11 hairpin, Arsham settled into a groove that no other competitor could touch. Ultimately, he went on to turn his fastest lap, a 1:49.361, which was enough to surpass Chittum’s lap record from last season. Arsham’s feat is the first time since Gary Sheehan’s Hyundai Genesis in 2019 that the driver to win the first two races of the season has set lap records at each event. Arsham was able to secure his second win in two races by the time the checkered flag was thrown, as well as an impressive P3 overall. The Konig Wheels Honda Civic was dialed in and delivered yet another victory for the team, thanks to all of the hard work and long hours spent dialing in the JRZ suspension to get the car to handle just right.

The largest challenge of the year is yet to come for the Honda Civic; Round 3 is a 2.5 hour endurance race that will challenge the fuel efficiency of the cars and the strategy of the teams and drivers. The Civic has proven to be an excellent sprint car, but now the challenge will be to see how it does in a longer format race. Typically, the small gas tank and large 2.4L engine aren’t a winning recipe for the GoGoGear.com team in the longer races. It will take quite a strategy from the team to ensure the car can finish at the front of the grid and maintain the lead at the sharp end of the championship.