Chris Haldeman Wins for Honda on Season’s Final TCA Weekend

The X-Factor Racing team, running the Honda Civic Si in the SRO Touring Car America TCA class, finished its 2019 campaign in style as Chris Haldeman earned his second win of the season with a strong effort in Saturday’s race in the at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The win marked the second consecutive weekend that Hardeman put his #69 Civic Si in Victory Lane, as he swept into the lead from the second on the starting grid in the opening race of the doubleheader season-finale weekend, and fought off a pack of hard-charging Mini Coopers to claim the victory.

Taylor Hagler led the rest of the four-car X-Factor Civic Si squadron to the flag, finishing sixth, while Cole Ciraulo placed seventh and Stephen Jeu came home in ninth.

Turning the fastest lap in the opening race put Haldeman on the pole for Sunday’s season finale, but he dropped off the pace quickly and had to retire after just two laps with apparent mechanical issues. With Haldeman’s departure, Ciraulo led the Civic Si team with his seventh-place result, while Hagler ran eighth and Jeu rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Haldeman’s victory on Saturday propelled him to fourth in the final TCA driver standings. The Texan scored points in 12 of the season’s 14 races, including seven podium results and a win at Road America in addition to his Las Vegas class triumph.

Hagler used a steady string of results to finish fifth in the season standings. The former competitive horse show jumper tallied points in 13 of her 14 starts, including three podiums, in her first season of professional racing.

Ciraulo used 10 points-paying finishes to place eighth in the standings while Stephen Jeu had a solid second half of the year, tallying points in each of his last seven races to finish 10th and putting four Civic Si drivers in the top 10 of the driver’s championship. The X-Factor Racing team also combined efforts to place fourth in the TCA team championship.

Meanwhile in the TCR class, Victor Gonzalez was caught up in an early race crash in Saturday’s race and retired early with lingering damage in Sunday’s race. The Honda Civic Type R driver did have a pair of wins and four podiums in 2019, and finished fifth in the TCR drivers’ standings.

Social media content and video links from this weekend’s Acura Motorsports activity at Las Vegas are available on HPD’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). 

Quotes
Chris Haldeman (#69 X-Factor Racing Honda Civic Si) TCA class winner in Saturday’s race: “I started ‘P2’, but got a great start and was able to get into the lead. I [opened up] a couple of car lengths, but Mat [Pombo, eventual second-place finisher] made an excellent charge at the end. I think he had a tire strategy in mind, but I just kept my head down and drove,”

John Whiteman (Manager, Commercial Motorsports, Honda Performance Development) on Honda’s Touring Car America 2019 season: “Our TCA Civic Si race cars are an excellent first vehicle for drivers entering the profession racing ladder through touring car racing, while also providing a competitive platform for more experienced racers. We saw great examples of both this season in touring car competition. Along with the Civic Type R TCR, HPD is eager to expand our touring car lineup in 2020 and we want to thank and congratulate all the teams and drivers who raced with us this year!”

SRO Motorsports Touring Car America
Circuit:   Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Weather: Mostly sunny, 77 degrees F Saturday
                 Mostly sunny, 75 degrees F Sunday

Saturday Race Top Four, Honda TCA Results:

Sunday Race Top Four, Honda TCA Results:

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