Communiqués de presse - Wheeler/Pituch Rivalry Slides Under the Radar

Wheeler/Pituch Rivalry Slides Under the Radar

The HamrHedz Cup went all but unnoticed in Season 12. Italian, Paolo Gil Villanova won all but 5 races, securing the title nearly half way to the finale at Laguna Seca. In a distant 2nd (nearly 200 back) was France's Peter Pan Jr. who claimed 3 wins and the 2nd step of the podium 7 times, mathematically locking the silver 3-4 weeks before the final stage.

So, if you were a fan, why bother heading to the track on race day at the HamrHedz Cup? The battle for 3rd. American Rage driver, Nick Wheeler, and Czech driver Milan Pituch created a masterfully dramatic finish for the fans at Laguna Seca, ultimately avoiding a tie-break in Season points by a lap and a half.

The crazy finish to the season was, in part, due to a reserved approach from a normally aggressive Wheeler. After the frantic finish of the final stage, Wheeler admitted "I really didn't want it to come down to the end like that. Milan put on an incredible finish to close down our points gap and force me to drive aggressive in this race. I was really just trying to hold on to the spot and avoid DNFs down the stretch. Probably should've taken a chance or two to grab an extra couple points, but it worked out."

This came after Wheeler passed Sergey Staruhin on the approach to the white flag, securing 4th on the stage and a 2-point advantage over Pituch for the third step on the overall podium.

Wheeler has noted Pituch as a common enemy in past media appearances, most notably at his return following his emphatic retirement announcement last season. Heading into week 9, Wheeler was holding a 42-point advantage, which in just 4 weeks dwindled to 2. Wheeler and Pituch finished within 3 positions of each other every week in that stretch, but it included 2 victories from Pituch, which ultimately forced Wheeler to defend just a 15-point advantage into the final stage, where Pituch was on the grid at P2, and Wheeler was at P5.

Going into the race, an unusually nervous Wheeler said "If everything stays as is, we're good. He's going to be bidding for that win, and if he manages to find P1, I just need to advance one spot. Neither of us can afford any mistakes today."

As the lap count dwindled, Wheeler found himself in exactly the position he predicted. Pituch was clear of the field, and only a DNF would stop him from winning. Wheeler, on the other hand, was in 5th looking at a 2-second gap to Paolo Gil Villanova. A fortunate mistake with 6 to go from P3 gave Villanova an easy pass, and dropped Sergey Staruhin to Wheeler's nose.

"When Staruhin fell back to me, I locked in on his wing and told myself I wouldn't lose him for anything. I'll hold him for 2-3 laps and then I'll start looking." An almost season-ending mistake with 4 to go gave Wheeler fans a big scare, as he slid wide in an attempt to drive hard through the 45-degree Turn 10. "I thought we were all done. I had no idea what was going on behind me. I thought for sure I'd see a nose wing after that miss." As it turned out, Wheeler at a 33-second advantage over P6, even after the mistake, so his tail was clear.

"I just drove like hell from there. I actually made a mistake on the next lap, too, but I was able to nail my line from there and by the time we came to '2 to go' I was on his tail and locked in for a pass. As soon as we crossed the line, he just took a crazy line. I have no idea what he did there, but turn 1 is a weird place to be making a mistake like that. I looked in my mirror before turn 2 and he was way back already. At that point I just hit my spots and I was fine."

The Wheeler/Pituch rivalry may have been a little nontraditional in that they very rarely saw time nose to tail, but the fans of both were shaking with anticipation for the final stages as the two played their part in an incredible drama that ended the podium race for the HamrHedz Cup.