Summit Point, WV – The United States Touring Car Championship East Region launched its inaugural season with Round 1 at Summit Point Motorsports Park located in the scenic Shenandoah Valley.

The weekend started off with unpredictable early Spring Northeastern United States weather. Friday test day was a combination of cool temperatures and sporadic flurries and sleet making for interesting setup combinations for both Sportsman drivers, Roger Meada and Coyote Black, that dared to turn wheels on track. The lone Super Touring entrant and East Series director, Andrew Conner, arrived later in the day Friday, and opted to not to pull the car from the trailer and just assist his fellow racers prepare their cars while also finalizing a few last-minute Series administrative items.

Saturday qualifying saw the USTCC entrants lay down some solid initial laps. Saturday also provided a qualifying race, which is a second chance for drivers to race a 12-lap race around the 2.0 mile Summit Point Circuit and improve positions for the Sunday’s feature race.

Sunday’s weather was the coldest yet, temperatures in the low 50s and with a steady wind making it feel more like the lower to mid-40s. The feature race grid was set, Coyote Black in his Acura Type R was positioned ahead of Roger Meada in his Honda Prelude due to Roger having oil pressure issue during both qualifying sessions.

The Super Touring class saw Andrew Conner in his BMW E90 also starting in the back of the grid due to failing post qualifying weigh compliance.
After adding as much weight as he and his team could, he filled the 15-gallon tank to add the required weight and positioned his car behind Roger on the grid.

The weekend’s action was not only a tight battle in Sportsman with Roger and Coyote, mixing it up in a clean battle, up until the point where Roger succumbed to the oil pressure gremlin that he had been fighting all weekend, allowing Coyote to cruise to for the Sportsman win, but also saw Andrew pressing his way forward from his back of the pack starting position to eventually wind up in 1st place for the ST and overall win.

The teams now will prepare their cars for Round 2 in June at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ on the 1.9 Lightning Speedway.