2018 Stadium Super Trucks season

2018 Stadium Super Trucks season
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Matthew Brabham, the 2018 champion

The 2018 Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks season is the sixth season of the Stadium Super Trucks series. The season consisted of 20 races; it began on January 27, 2018 at Lake Elsinore Diamond and concluded on January 20, 2019 at Foro Sol in conjunction with the 2019 Race of Champions.

With a series-high six wins and 450 total points, Matthew Brabham won his first SST championship. Gavin Harlien finished second in the standings with 490 points and five wins.[1]

Drivers

No. Driver(s) Round(s)
1 United States Jerett Brooks 1
Australia Paul Morris 2–12, 15–16
United States Adam Andretti 13–14
5 United States Casey Mears 17–18
7 United States Robby Gordon 1–8, 11–20
Canada Russell Boyle 9–10
9 Australia Russell Ingall 15–16
14 United States Davey Hamilton Jr. 19–20
17 Mexico Lalo Laguna 1
18 Mexico Apdaly Lopez 1, 5–6, 19–20
21 Australia Matt Nolan 7–8
25 United States Arie Luyendyk Jr. 1–12, 17–18
United States Casey Mears 13–14
47 United States Jeff Hoffman 1
52 United States Davey Hamilton Jr. 5–6
55 United States Gavin Harlien All
57 United States Bill Hynes 1–12
United States Greg Biffle 13–14
United States Sheldon Creed 17–18
United States Jerett Brooks 19–20
60 United States Cole Potts All
68 United States Blade Hildebrand All
73 Japan E. J. Chiba 11–12
74 United States Sheldon Creed 1
75 United States Erik Davis 5–6, 17–18
77 Australia Travis Milburn 2–4, 7–8
United States Jerett Brooks 17–18
83 Australia Matthew Brabham All
87 Australia Toby Price 2–4
88 United Kingdom Tommy Dawson 13–14
410 Australia Greg Gartner 2–4, 7–8
441 United States Troy Diede 5–6

Season summary

The season began at the Lake Elsinore Diamond, where the 2017 finale had been held.[2] Apdaly Lopez won the Feature event, but confusion arose in the days following the race as multiple drivers took the Joker Lap on the final lap, which is not allowed per series rules. After video review by series officials, Bill Hynes – who ran the Joker on the penultimate lap – was declared the winner, though Lopez was allowed to keep his win. Matthew Brabham, who finished seventh, was also revealed to have utilized the same strategy as Hynes, and had his finishing position upgraded to second alongside Jeff Hoffman.[3]

A tripleheader at Australia's Adelaide Street Circuit followed. In the first race, rookie Cole Potts took advantage of Robby Gordon's transmission problem and Brabham locking his brakes entering a turn to win his first SST race. Gordon rebounded to win the second, while Brabham won the final round; Gordon had been in position to win the third race when he entered the final corner too deep, allowing Brabham to capitalize and win.[4] Behind him, Gavin Harlien's truck landed off a jump at a poor angle, resulting in a broken right rear wheel that caused him to hit the wall. Harlien continued to accelerate until he crossed the start/finish line to finish sixth.[5][6]

At the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the first race was stopped after Apdaly Lopez rolled his truck with 17 minutes left; race officials chose not to resume the event and leader Harlien was declared the winner, scoring his maiden series victory.[7] Series commentator Sean Sermini criticized the decision during the broadcast, calling it "Very upsetting."[8] Brabham won the second round of the weekend.

In May, the series returned to Australia to race at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. Matt Nolan, running his first points race, flipped while jumping on a ramp in the first event, causing his truck's left rear wheel to come off; the wheel eventually hit a vacant spectator bridge. The incident eventually spurred the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) to suspend the series from CAMS-sanctioned races for safety concerns, though SST officials were not notified of the news until July.[9][10] The weekend concluded with Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Jeff Hoffman scoring their first series wins, while Brabham recorded the overall weekend win.[11][12]

Harlien and Luyendyk won at Detroit, the former holding off Aaron Bambach and Luyendyk for the win in the first race. Six laps into the second round, Luyendyk was the race leader when the red flag came out for Paul Morris' wreck in turn three that sent him airborne and onto his truck's roof after hitting a tire barrier.[13][14][15]

The series returned to Texas Motor Speedway for a second year in June.[16] Japanese rally driver E. J. Chiba made his series debut, while Gordon returned for the weekend after missing the Detroit weekend to race in the Baja 500. On lap 16 of 18, Harlien passed Morris for the lead and eventually won Race One, while Brabham took advantage of the field fighting among themselves for position to win Race Two.[17]

Brabham competing at Road America

In August, the trucks made their debut at Road America in support of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Johnsonville 180, running a shortened course that bypassed turns 6–12, though the full circuit was utilized for the final laps.[18][19] NASCAR drivers Casey Mears and Greg Biffle competed in the weekend, the latter making his SST debut.[20] Gordon and Brabham won the weekend's races, while Biffle finished second in the latter.[21]

Nolan's wreck at Perth and the CAMS suspension forced the series' planned competition in October's Gold Coast 600 at Surfers Paradise to be called off. During the month, the series, represented by Queen's Counsel barrister Stewart Anderson, went to court against CAMS in a case overseen by the Supreme Court of Victoria. Anderson argued new wheels would be built with forged billet aluminium that makes them heavier and less likely to detach than the current cast alloy; in an inspection conducted by retired V8 Supercar driver Larry Perkins, he gave his approval of the trucks and pointed out their safety was comparable to the Supercars. Anderson also claimed CAMS and SST had formed an agreement in February in which the former agreed the series was being operated within CAMS' satisfaction, while the delay until July to inform SST officials was a breach of contract.[10] On October 11, judge John Digby ruled in favor of CAMS.[22] The ban would not be lifted until August 2019.[23]

Six days after the trial, SST partnered with the Australian Auto Sport Alliance, which is not affiliated with CAMS, and the Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS), ensuring the series' future in the country. After a risk assessment, the AASA and NSW Sport and Recreation approved the series for competition in AMRS event.[24] The trucks' first race weekend under the AMRS banner took place nine days later at the Sydney Motorsport Park,[25] won by Brabham and Harlien.[26][27] 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series champion Russell Ingall contested his first SST weekend.[28]

To close out the 2018 calendar year, the series participated in the Robby Gordon Off-Road World Championships at Glen Helen Raceway.[29] Hoffman and Harlien were victorious in the two rounds, while Brabham finished second in both races, placing him in position to win the championship.[30]

The 2019 Race of Champions at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez's Foro Sol in Mexico City served as the season finale.[31][32] Due to the Race of Champions' track and race format, the trucks utilized a head-to-head bracket system in which two drivers competed against each other, with the winner advancing to the next round; should a driver lose in the first two rounds, they may proceed if they were the fastest of the defeated drivers as the "Fastest Loser". After three rounds, the final two drivers competed in the final round. Gordon won Saturday's racing after defeating Brabham, while Brabham clinched the championship when he won against Harlien in the third round on Sunday; Brabham ended the 2018 season by beating Hoffman in the final.[33][34]

Schedule and results

Rnd Circuit Date Fastest qualifier Pole position Winning driver Supporting
1 California Lake Elsinore Diamond, Lake Elsinore, California January 27 United States Jerett Brooks United States Jeff Hoffman Mexico Apdaly Lopez
United States Bill Hynes
Standalone
2 Australia Adelaide Street Circuit, South Australia, Australia March 2 Australia Matthew Brabham United States Bill Hynes United States Cole Potts Adelaide 500
3 March 3 Australia Toby Price United States Robby Gordon
4 March 4 United States Bill Hynes Australia Matthew Brabham
5 California Streets of Long Beach, Long Beach, California April 14 United States Robby Gordon United States Arie Luyendyk Jr. United States Gavin Harlien Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
6 April 15 United States Aaron Bambach Australia Matthew Brabham
7 Australia Barbagallo Raceway, Western Australia, Australia May 5 Australia Matthew Brabham Australia Matt Nolan United States Arie Luyendyk Jr. Perth SuperSprint
8 May 6 United States Bill Hynes United States Jeff Hoffman
9 Michigan Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan June 2 Australia Matthew Brabham Canada Russell Boyle United States Gavin Harlien Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix
10 June 3 United States Cole Potts United States Arie Luyendyk Jr.
11 Texas Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas June 9 Australia Matthew Brabham United States Aaron Bambach United States Gavin Harlien DXC Technology 600
12 June 9 United States Blade Hildebrand Australia Matthew Brabham
13 Wisconsin Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 24 United States Blade Hildebrand United Kingdom Tommy Dawson United States Robby Gordon Johnsonville 180
14 August 25 United States Adam Andretti Australia Matthew Brabham
15 New South Wales Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek, New South Wales, Australia October 27 Australia Matthew Brabham Australia Matthew Brabham Australia Matthew Brabham Australian Motor Racing Championships
16 October 28 United States Blade Hildebrand United States Gavin Harlien
17 California Glen Helen Raceway, San Bernardino, California December 1 United States Sheldon Creed Land rush start United States Jeff Hoffman Standalone
18 December 2 United States Gavin Harlien
19 Mexico Foro Sol, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City January 19, 2019 United States Robby Gordon Head-to-head system United States Robby Gordon 2019 Race of Champions
20 January 20, 2019 Australia Matthew Brabham

Race of Champions results

January 19

Seed Driver 1 Seed Driver 2
Round 1
1 United States Robby Gordon 10 Mexico Apdaly Lopez
2 United States Blade Hildebrand 9 United States Jerett Brooks
3 United States Jeff Hoffman 8 United States Casey Mears
4 Australia Matthew Brabham 7 United States Cole Potts
5 United States Davey Hamilton Jr. 6 United States Gavin Harlien
Round 2
1 United States Robby Gordon 3 United States Jeff Hoffman
2 United States Blade Hildebrand 4 Australia Matthew Brabham
6 United States Gavin Harlien 7 United States Cole Potts
Round 3
1 United States Robby Gordon 6 United States Gavin Harlien
4 Australia Matthew Brabham 7 United States Cole Potts
Final
1 United States Robby Gordon 4 Australia Matthew Brabham

January 20

Seed Driver 1 Seed Driver 2
Round 1
4 Australia Matthew Brabham 5 United States Davey Hamilton Jr.
2 United States Blade Hildebrand 9 United States Jerett Brooks
3 United States Jeff Hoffman 8 United States Casey Mears
1 United States Robby Gordon 7 United States Cole Potts
6 United States Gavin Harlien 10 Mexico Apdaly Lopez
Round 2
1 United States Robby Gordon 7 United States Cole Potts
2 United States Blade Hildebrand 3 United States Jeff Hoffman
4 Australia Matthew Brabham 6 United States Gavin Harlien
Round 3
1 United States Robby Gordon 4 Australia Matthew Brabham
3 United States Jeff Hoffman 7 United States Cole Potts
Final
3 United States Jeff Hoffman 4 Australia Matthew Brabham
  • Bold – Won round
  • Italics – Fastest loser
  • Seed set by qualifying times

Standings

Rank Driver California
ELS
Australia
ADE
California
LBH
Australia
PER
Michigan
DET
Texas
TEX
Wisconsin
ROA
Australia
SMP
California
GHR
Mexico
MXC
Points
H1 H2 F
1 Australia Matthew Brabham 6 2 3 3 1* 4 1 7 4 4 2 10 1* 2* 1 1 9 2 2 2 1 540
2 United States Gavin Harlien 3 3 6 2 6 1 3 9 6 1 3 1 2 3 5 2* 1 4 1 43 52 490
3 United States Robby Gordon 1 4* 11 1* 10* 2 4 5 11 Rpl Rpl 5 3 1 6 4 4 10 5 1 43 410
4 United States Jeff Hoffman 2 2 4 12 4 12 12* 2 1 8 4 3 8 12 4* 5 8 1 3 52 2 377
5 United States Cole Potts 2 5 1* 8 11 7 2 8 2* 10 7 4 5 8 8 3 3 8 6 3 3 369
6 United States Blade Hildebrand 5 7 7 9 5 6 11 4 3 5 5 11 6 4 3 9 6* 12 4 62 62 341
7 United States Arie Luyendyk Jr. 4 9 2 5 7 3* 14 1* 8 3 1* 6 10 Rpl# Rpl# 3 11 305
8 Australia Paul Morris Rpl Rpl 8 4 8 10 5 3 5 9 10 2* 4 6 2 249
9 United States Bill Hynes 4 1 10 11 12 11 10 11 10 9 8 7 9 Rpl# Rpl# 208
10 United States Aaron Bambach 14 6 2* 6 9 7 5 7 9 132
11 Australia Travis Milburn 5 6 2 6 7 95
12 Mexico Apdaly Lopez 3 1 13 9 101 101 81
13 United States Sheldon Creed 1 6 6* 9 62
14 Australia Greg Gartner 9 7 9 10 9 61
15 Australia Matt Nolan 12 DNS 9 10 8 7 59
16 United States Davey Hamilton Jr. 5 7 91 81 58
17 United States Erik Davis 8 8 5 7 56
18 United States Jerett Brooks 5 10 11 8* 71 71 54
19 United States Casey Mears 6# 12# 7 10 81 91 50
20 Australia Toby Price 12 10 3 40
21 Australia Russell Ingall 7 5 30
T-22 United States Adam Andretti 11 9 23
T-22 Japan E. J. Chiba 8 11 23
24 United Kingdom Tommy Dawson 10 11 21
25 United States Troy Diede 9 13 20
26 Mexico Lalo Laguna 6 8 17
T-27 United States Greg Biffle 7# 2# 0
T-27 Canada Russell Boyle 7 9 0
Rank Driver California
ELS
Australia
ADE
California
LBH
Australia
PER
Michigan
DET
Texas
TEX
Wisconsin
ROA
Australia
SMP
California
GHR
Mexico
MXC
Points
H1 H2 F
Jerett Brooks replaced Paul Morris at Lake Elsinore, and all points scored by Brooks went to Morris.
Russell Boyle replaced Robby Gordon at Detroit, and all points scored by Boyle went to Gordon.
# Casey Mears and Greg Biffle replaced Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Bill Hynes at Road America, respectively, and all points scored by Mears and Biffle went to Luyendyk and Hynes.
1, 2, 3 Round in which driver was eliminated
Legend
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place (Top 5)
Light Blue 6th–10th place (Top 10)
Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish (DNF)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown Withdrew (Wth)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race abandoned (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Driver replacement (Rpl)
Race not held (NH)
Not competing
In-Line Notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
miscellaneous notation

References

  1. ^ "2018 Overall Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Sinclair, Adam (January 11, 2018). "Stadium SUPER Trucks to Start 2018 World Championship at Lake Elsinore Diamond Stadium January 27". Speedway Digest. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Nguyen, Justin (February 7, 2018). "SST: Bill Hynes declared winner of Lake Elsinore race". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  4. ^ Nguyen, Justin (March 4, 2018). "SST: Potts, Gordon, Brabham take victories in Adelaide". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "SUPPORTS: Brabham wins chaotic Super Trucks finale". Speedcafe. March 4, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Alaniz, Anthony (March 11, 2018). "WATCH A STADIUM SUPER TRUCK'S ATTEMPTED PASS GO HILARIOUSLY WRONG". Motor1. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  7. ^ Dottore, Damian (April 15, 2018). "Joao Barbosa's fuel-saving tactic leads to IMSA Sports Car Grand Prix victory". Press-Telegram. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  8. ^ ZumMallen, Ryan (April 19, 2018). "Stadium Super Trucks Launches into Race Fans' Hearts". Trucks.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  9. ^ Howard, Tom (September 20, 2018). "CAMS suspends Super Trucks on safety grounds". Speedcafe. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Harris, Geoffrey (October 5, 2018). "MOTORSPORT: Robby Gordon, CAMS slug it out in court". Motoring.com.au. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Nguyen, Justin (May 6, 2018). "SST: Luyendyk, Hoffman score first career victories in Perth". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (May 6, 2018). "Matt Brabham wins Stadium SUPER Trucks race in Australia, prepares for V8 Supercars stint". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Nguyen, Justin (June 4, 2018). "SST: Harlien and Luyendyk score Detroit victories". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Robinson, Geoff (June 3, 2018). "'Bachelor' star Arie Luyendyk Jr. picks up win at Belle Isle". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  15. ^ Perrins, Slade (June 4, 2018). "Morris in spectacular SST rollover in Detroit". Speedcafe. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "Stadium Super Trucks return in 2018". Texas Motor Speedway. August 22, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  17. ^ Nguyen, Justin (June 10, 2018). "SST: Harlien and Brabham two-step to victory in Texas". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  18. ^ Kallman, Dave (October 17, 2017). "Road America adds stadium off-road trucks to NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  19. ^ Nguyen, Justin (August 26, 2018). "SST: Gordon and Brabham take Road America victories". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Nguyen, Justin (August 22, 2018). "SST: Greg Biffle returns to racing at Road America in series debut". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  21. ^ Campbell, Angela (August 26, 2018). "Robby Gordon And Matthew Brabham Dominate At Road America". Speedway Media. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  22. ^ Howard, Tom; Herrero, Dan (October 11, 2018). "Court upholds Super Trucks suspension". Speedcafe. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  23. ^ van Leeuwen, Andrew (August 20, 2019). "Australian ban on Stadium Super Trucks lifted". Motorsport.com. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  24. ^ Coch, Matt (October 22, 2018). "Sydney Motorsport Park confident of SST safety". Speedcafe. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  25. ^ Coch, Matt; Herrero, Dan (October 17, 2018). "Stadium Super Trucks to race in Sydney next week". Speedcafe. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  26. ^ Coch, Matt (October 17, 2018). "AMRS Wrap: Brabham wins opening SST encounter". Speedcafe. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  27. ^ Coch, Matt (October 17, 2018). "AMRS Wrap: McElrea crowned Formula Ford champ". Speedcafe. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  28. ^ Howard, Tom; Herrero, Dan (October 25, 2018). "Ingall joins Sydney Stadium Trucks field". Speedcafe. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  29. ^ Ochsner, Shaun (September 4, 2018). "Massive Payout for Inaugural Robby Gordon Off-Road Championships at Glen Helen". Four Wheeler. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  30. ^ "Brabham extends SST title advantage". Speedcafe. December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  31. ^ "Stadium Super Trucks join Race of Champions". Racer. December 21, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Herrero, Dan (December 23, 2018). "SST to finish 2018 season at Race Of Champions". Speedcafe. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  33. ^ Nguyen, Justin (January 21, 2019). "SST: Brabham secures championship at Race of Champions". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  34. ^ "Brabham wins Stadium Super Trucks title". Speedcafe. January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.

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