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Mini Max
PSL West Mini Max Sunday Report
A lesson in the fickle nature of motorsports was provided in Min-
iMax, as the start of the day did not give a true indication of what
would be seen on the post-race podium. In qualifying, Sebastian
Alvarez (CRG) stole the pole from his challengers on final lap by
dropping a 46.682-second lap as Saturday winner Marco Kacic
(CRG) and frontrunner Payton Durrant (Tony Kart) found themselves
mired in slower traffic during the final minutes of the session, de-
spite having the pace to top the entire field.
After the qualifying drama, the Prefinal played out as expected,
with Alvarez running away to the win, although the Final was a
much different story. While Alvarez led early, Canadian Griffin
Dowler (Kosmic) found his set-up to his liking and he challenged
early, making a move in the right-hand hairpin Turn 11 to position
himself in front of the field. This honor would last only for a split-sec-
ond, as Alvarez crossed underneath with the appropriate response
Payton
Durrant
Austin Torgerson
Jak Crawford
– an over-under retaliation – but he connected with Dowler’s rear
bumper, sending the new leader into an unrecoverable spin. Both
drivers would fall down the order, having went off into the gravel,
and this allowed Durrant to slip through to assume the lead.
As Durrant settled into his newfound point position, Jak Crawford
(Tony Kart) closed as the primary contender. There would be no
further action for the race win, as Durrant found his pace, settling
into a speed that would give him an insurmountable lead and the
eventful win. The Utah pilot laid down the quickest lap of the race
as well, moving him to fourth in the overall standings, just 29 mark-
ers behind Kacic, who finished fourth behind Crawford and Ashton
Torgerson. For Durrant, the win should give the likable Utah pilot
the confidence to go out and dominate every session this year.