Gossett gets lucky win in CTMP Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1

Bobby Gossett (No. 44 BSI Racing) might have thought Lady Luck was not on his side at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Saturday when his provisional pole time was disallowed, but she made herself known in the race. A well-timed yellow, accident avoidance and a post-race technical infraction resulted in him taking his second Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin win of the season.

Gossett turned the fastest lap in qualifying, but because he exceeded the maximum lap time during the session, his fastest two laps were erased. This bumped him to eighth on the grid. An amazing start saw Gossett already up to third on the first lap, and into second on the following lap.

On lap 4 Gossett took the lead from Ethan Lampe (No. 31 Hendricks Motorsports), who he would trade places with several times before the pair were pounced upon by reigning series champion Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing). The trio looked like it would pull away from the field, but their infighting allowed the likes of championship point leader Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing) and two-time series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) to catch up. As a result, Gossett fell back to fourth.

When the first full course caution came out, it was Lampe in the lead behind the safety car, followed by Thomas, Adakonis, Gossett and Fletcher.

When the race restarted, Gossett struggled to move forward in the lead pack, but things got dicey as time went on. With two minutes to go, Thomas and Fletcher made contact in Turn 10, blocking the track and forcing everyone behind them to take evasive action, Gossett included.

Fletcher continued with a wounded car and lost his wheel in Moss Corner. The wheel came to a stop in the center of the track, bringing out a full course yellow and the white flag.

Remarkably, Gossett had made the pass for the win just before the FCY came out. Lampe crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for ride height. This gave Gossett his second win of the season.

“We kind of just got lucky there to be completely honest,” Gossett said. “The yellow was lucky. The wreck (Thomas and Fletcher) was lucky. It was all lucky, but you know we'll take it, especially after qualifying this morning, getting my time taken away.

“After the restart, everyone was getting more aggressive. Everyone wanted the positions more. As it was coming to an end you could kind of just feel it coming. And it did happen. I know everyone on my team was like, ‘Come on, go quicker, go quicker,’ but in my mind, I'm just like, ‘It's OK, stay in the points and don’t wreck out.’”

Canadian rookie Marcello Paniccia (No. 38 McCumbee McAleer Racing) earned his first MX-5 Cup podium in front of the home crowd. Though he is a rookie, Paniccia did compete at CTMP last year where he gave the series a try and earned impressive results. His runner-up finish proved it was no fluke.

“From where we started, it was a hell of a race,” Paniccia, who started 12th said. “I'm shaking way too much for this to not be real. I knew I could do it. It's just a matter of time, and I'm really happy with myself, especially from like the mediocre qualifying we had this morning.

“The last two laps I had it (a pass) ready. I had a teammate up front with me too (Adakonis), and I really wish we knew that yellow was coming out because that spot was there and reachable. But I was playing the long game and waiting for the straightaway.”

Adakonis increased his championship points led with a third-place finish.

Parker DeLong (No. 42 Parker DeLong Racing) and Noah Harmon (No. 12 Hendricks Motorsports) completed the top five.

John Salerno (No. 34 JTR Motorsports Engineering) earned the Penske Hard Charger Award for picking up 12 positions in the race.

Ellie Gossett (No. 77 BSI Racing) finished 15th and earned the Highest Finishing Female Award.

Christian Hodneland (No. 32 BSI Racing) finished 21st, the highest-finishing driver over the age of 50, which earned him the Takumi Award.

Watch Sunday’s Round 8 from CTMP now on the RACER+ App or RACER YouTube channel.

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