Piekarski only entered one qualifying session and came up just 4/10ths of a second shy of Roberts, the polesitter. BJ was a mere 6/1000ths off of Lubash’s qualifying. With the grid set, the stage looked nothing short of a 30-lap shootout for the front three.

When the green flag dropped, the leaders raced hard, but maintained their starting positions for the first 8 circuits around the 1.8-mile road course. On lap 8, Lubash lost fourth gear and fell off the pace, allowing Piekarski to move to second position. BJ set his sights on Roberts. After gaining on the leader, the race took a turn when the power steering went in the Ford Mustang Cobra sponsored by Collision Centers of NH, Dupont Performance Finishes, Lovering Volvo and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Piekarski overshot turn three, missing the tire retaining wall by inches. The car was still drivable and BJ kept rolling through the U-turn to rejoin the pack. On lap 23, Roberts slowed because of a broken valve spring. Scott Bleiweiss of Connecticut gained the lead after Roberts’ misfortune. The PBJ Motorsports crossed the line behind Bleiweiss in what they believed to be a solid second place finish.

SCCA officials ruled in the post-race that Piekarski’s off-road excursion on lap 15 cost him a 1-lap penalty. Instead of a second place finish, the team left Loudon with a fourth place finish.