Tanner finishes 21st after crash-filled New Hampshire
It was a short-lived round number two of the Indy Elite Series championship from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday for Watkins Motorsports Group driver Tanner Watkins.
Piloting his No. 24 Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation Chevrolet in the final Indy Elite Series race to be contested with the Dallara DW-12 Indy car, final practice would be a foreshadowing for what was to come.
Marred by multiple crashes, the scorching-hot track temperature exceeding 115 degrees Fahrenheit caused many accidents and drivers were skeptical of the racing action to be had later that night. The teams would trudge on, nonetheless, and qualifying would slot our WMG driver 14th on the grid of 25 drivers.
The race would kick off with Tanner bouncing between 13th and 19th position as the action heated up just as the track did. After 23 laps, there had been two cautions for an accident that saw Jose Crescente take out Andrew Z. Wood, who would later spin as a result of his damage.
On lap 24 of the race, driver Joe Branch had a mechanical problem causing connection issues and a subsequent collision with Homestead race-winner Chris Stofer on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway frontstretch.
Losing control of a badly damaged car, Stofer would slide across the track as Watkins was attempting to evade the danger and collect the WMG driver. The accident would effectively end Watkins' race, as he made three laps under caution before parking his damaged machine after 27 laps had been completed.
Tanner would finish the race in 21st place after starting 14th.
"It was very unfortunate to be knocked out of the race in that fashion," said Tanner. "I am by no means a great driver at New Hampshire but I thought we had as strong of a set as anyone, as evident by our teammates' strong running, and I was just settling into the race when the accident happened.
"We will regroup and start working on Milwaukee now with the new IR-18 car. I just want to thank everyone at Absolute Zero and Powerslide Motorsports for crafting a great set and giving us the opportunity to run."
Looking ahead, the Indy Elite Series makes an in-season car change as iRacing introduces the brand-new Dallara IR-18 Indy car to the service on March 6. The series resumes competition after a week off on March 18 with the Milwaukee 150 from the historic Milwaukee Mile.
Following the round at Milwaukee, the series will gear up for four races in the month of April with stops at the ISM Raceway in Phoenix, the streets of Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The 6th annual Indy Elite Series Indianapolis 500 will be held on Sunday, May 6th at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcasted on RaceSpot TV.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Watkins Motorsports Group.
