Noaker’s Roval Sweep Completes Statistically Perfect Season

Robert Noaker completed a statistically perfect Mustang Challenge season with his Race 2 win under the lights at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval after surviving a pair of restarts and dodging an on-track collision on his way to victory.

The Ford Racing Junior Team driver led every practice session, claimed every pole position, led every racing lap and set the fastest race lap time in each of the 12 championship points-paying rounds this season.

Saturday’s second race saw the two-time series champion manage a pair of restarts and dodge a late-race incident to keep his perfect season record alive by leading every lap and setting the quickest race lap time to officially cement himself as one of the most dominant IMSA drivers in history over a single season.

Noaker led a team 1-2 at the start in his No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R with Will Lucas hot on his heels on the opening lap, before the Dark Horse drivers’ champion began to pull a gap out front.

Behind, Lucas shuffled back while Vento held onto second with Sam Paley and Andrew Aquilante in tow, respectively. All four cars battled over the podium positions before a collision between Nicholas Smither and Drew Neubauer brought out the full-course caution for the first time.

The pair of cars spun on track just as Noaker was making his way through lapped traffic in the lead, though the eventual race-winner avoided making contact with either car before the yellow stunted the field.

Noaker aced the restart to maintain his advantage, making use of lapped cars between himself and Paley behind before a second yellow came out when the hood on Devin Anderson’s TechSport Mustang flew up after contact with the back of Andrew Aquilante’s No. 32 RNR Mustang.

Racing resumed with three minutes to go, with Noaker surviving the second restart to take the checkered flag and the win 4.872 seconds ahead of Paley in second.

Aquilante claimed the final step of the overall and Dark Horse class podium in his series debut weekend after starting seventh, despite late pressure from Sandy Satullo, who finished fourth in his No. 7 RNR Mustang.

Vento rounded out the overall top five in his McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford.

In sixth was Alex Bachoura, who won in Dark Horse Legends to sweep the weekend in-class and claim the DHL drivers’ title, outscoring rival Zachry Lee, with whom he was tied heading into the final two races of the season at Charlotte.

Alfonso Diaz finished runner-up in DHL ahead of Lee after a tense podium battle at multiple points throughout the 45-minute sprint race.

A trio of post-race penalties was assessed for on-track incidents, with Joseph Dederichs being handed a ten-second penalty, which saw him classified 15th by the time his penalty was applied.

Tom Tait separately drew the same penalty for contact with the rear of Dan McKeever’s No. 91 machine, while Smither was also penalized ten seconds after being deemed responsible for the incident with Neubauer, which brought out the race’s first caution.

RESULTS: Race 2