2017 Dash Cup Spa GP

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2017 Spa GP
[[Image:|175px]]
Date
Location
Laps
Polesitter Amber Claggett
First Patrick O'Hannagan
Second
Third
Cautions 0
Race Results

The 2017 Dash Cup Spa Grand Prix was the 10th stop of the 2017 season. It was the 19th annual running of the event.

Pre-race[edit | edit source]

Over 100 cars attempted to make the race. The qualifying sessions saw rain, which caused many title contenders to miss the field, including defending race winner Kellan Rogers-Ashby, making an already poor season by her standards worse.

At the other end of the field, pole position was taken by Amber Claggett, this being the high point of her season so far, despite being consistently up in front, she has yet to win a single race.

Race[edit | edit source]

When the green flag dropped, Claggett gave way to Ben Atkins, the 2007 winner. Patrick O'Hannagan, who started fifth, sounded abnormal on the radio, speaking incongruent messages to his team, yet he was one of the fastest drivers on track.

He would eventually work his way up to second place behind 2014 FARC champion Ryan Matthews. However, as the race entered its halfway point, O'Hannagan got into the back of race leader Matthews, sending him off the track and into the La Source retaining wall. Matthews would be done for the day, and O'Hannagan was slapped with a 30-second time penalty.

O'Hannagan would later wreck a pair of lapped cars, causing further controversy. But, by virtue of his 34-second on-track lead over Atkins, O'Hannagan would outrace the penalty and win the Spa Grand Prix. An observably altered O'Hannagan (some reported he looked to be high) celebrated on top of the podium.