MONTEREY, Calif. — Mukilteo racer Carl Skerlong matched his career best in the Atlantic Championship Series with a second-place finish in the Monterey Festival of Speed Sunday at Laguna Seca Raceway.
Skerlong, who started on the front row alongside polesitter James Hinchcliffe, took the lead heading into turn 1 of the first lap.
But Hinchcliffe retook the lead on a restart six laps later, sliding past Skerlong in turn 2, then held on the rest of the way in the 34-lap race for a 2.391-second victory.
“At this track, it is extremely hard to pass,” Skerlong said in a press release. “For me, (the strategy) was just to stay consistent and not make a mistake … We didn’t have such a great restart and that kind of decided the race.”
Skerlong’s second-place performance in the No. 14 King Taco machine matched his career-best result in Atlantic competition. He also finished second in the Atlantic event at Houston in 2007.
The runner-up performance at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca enabled Skerlong to rebound nicely from a disappointing, 23rd-place run in the season-opener at Long Beach and a tough first day of qualifying when he crashed before posting a timed lap.
“Definitely to be back on the podium after Long Beach and just after Friday’s qualifying session, you really can’t ask for much more,” Skerlong said. “Overall, I’m happy. I’ve got to thank all the guys at Pacific Coast Motorsports and King Taco for making all this possible. There’s always next race. That was definitely the attitude we had to come in here with after Long Beach, and I’m happy to be almost on top.”
It was Hinchcliffe’s first win since the Atlantic event at Portland in 2006, a span of 23 races. The win also moved Hinchcliffe into the lead in the Atlantic Championship standings by two points over Simona De Silvestro, 44-42.
The Monterey Festival of Speed was slowed by full-course caution flags twice for a total of nine laps.
Next up for the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship will be the Sommet des Legends at Circuit Mont-Tremblant on June 29. The race will kick off a stretch of three consecutive Canadian events in the 35th Anniversary season of Atlantic.
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