2021 STARS Lowe's International Series Chase

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The 2021 STARS Lowe's International Series Chase was the fifth Chase for the Championship for the STARS Lowe's International Series.

Chase Grid

The following drivers qualified for the 2021 STARS LIS Chase.

Rank Driver Team Eligibility
1 USA.png Sadie McDowell #19 McBrien Racing 4 wins
2 USA.png Daniel Leckliter #10 ATK Motorsports 4 wins
3 JPN.png Maki Nishikino #88 µ's Racing 4 wins
4 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara #21 ATK Motorsports 3 wins
5 JPN.png You Watanabe #54 µ's Racing 2 wins
6 USA.png Casey Lester #92 McBrien Racing 2 wins
7 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami #90 McBrien Racing 1 win
8 ENG.png Ben Atkins #28 ATK Motorsports 1 win
9 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka #55 µ's Racing 1 win
10 CND.png Scott Strickland #20 Team Kwik Fit 1 win
11 USA.png Maddie Anderson #22 Team Kwik Fit 1 win
12 JPN.png Makina Irisu #29 McBrien Racing 1 win
13 JPN.png Nico Yazawa #3 µ's Racing 1 win
14 JPN.png Arisa Ichigaya #96 Ichigaya Sawatari Racing 1 win
15 USA.png Lucia Ohara #2 ATK Motorsports 3rd in points
16 USA.png Grant Macintosh #15 Macintosh Motorsports Inc 4th in points

Rockingham Boeing Challenge (Race 1)

Pole position was won by You Watanabe with Honoka Kousaka on her outside. Watanabe would lead the first 48 laps before Sadie McDowell stopped on track with a mechanical issue. Under the caution, Lucia Ohara's engine failed, causing her to fall out of the race and finish 41st. Yuuji Kazami won the race out of pit road, and led 20 laps before an accident saw Tanner Steele flip down the backstretch after contact with Aurora Sullivan and Bailey Bliss. Under this caution, Scott Strickland and Joe Branch collided when Casey Lester blew up, causing Branch to slow down. Strickland failed to slow down in time, running into Branch.

Kousaka would win the race out of pit road, and would pull away from the pack as Grant Macintosh, Ben Atkins and Yuuji Kazami battled for second, with Atkins eventually beating out Kazami and Macintosh despite interruptions to the battle from AJ Stratton and Sadie McDowell. Kousaka would lead the remaining laps of the race to take home her second win of the season, and an automatic pass into the second round of the chase.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka 134.647mph 42 101
2 ENG.png Ben Atkins -2.26 0 90
3 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami -3.11 20 86
4 USA.png Grant Macintosh -3.37 0 80
5 ENG.png Barney Ward -4.95 0 75
6 USA.png Ruby McBrien -5.10 0 70
7 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara -6.04 0 65
8 USA.png Daniel Leckliter -6.23 0 60
9 JPN.png Maki Nishikino -6.43 0 55
10 JPN.png Mari Ohara -7.03 0 50

Chase Standings after Rockingham

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka WIN 1st
2 ENG.png Ben Atkins +63 2nd
3 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami +59 3rd
4 USA.png Grant Macintosh +48 4th
5 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +48 7th
6 USA.png Daniel Leckliter +48 8th
7 JPN.png Maki Nishikino +43 9th
8 JPN.png You Watanabe +38 12th
9 USA.png Sadie McDowell +16 25th
10 JPN.png Makina Irisu +11 14th
11 USA.png Maddie Anderson +8 15th
12 JPN.png Nico Yazawa +5 16th
Currently Eliminated From Chase
13 CND.png Scott Strickland -5 21st
14 JPN.png Arisa Ichigaya -8 24th
15 USA.png Casey Lester -18 39th
16 USA.png Lucia Ohara -30 41st

STARS Hall of Fame 101 (Race 2 @ Charlotte)

Maki Nishikino boosted her chances of making the next round by scoring the pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with fellow chasers You Watanabe, Makina Irisu and Nico Yazawa also in the top 5 in qualifying. The beginning of the race went without issue, before an accident swept up Maddie Anderson and Arisa Ichigaya on lap 30. During the next green flag run, Grant Macintosh would have his engine expire on him, demoting him to a 35th place finish.

On lap 66, Ben Atkins and Makina Irisu got together in turn 1, sending the latter into the wall, before Irisu was hit hard by Lilly Samson. The race from there went caution free, but Max Winfield caused problems for Lucia Ohara which meant she did not have a good finish. Nishikino would be passed late by Nico Yazawa, who led the last 26 laps of the race to take home her second win of the season, holding off Ruby McBrien and Rockingham winner Honoka Kousaka.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 JPN.png Nico Yazawa 165.220mph 26 101
2 USA.png Ruby McBrien -0.16 0 90
3 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka -0.24 0 85
4 USA.png Dallas Hammond -4.87 9 81
5 USA.png Tanner Steele -5.33 0 75
6 USA.png Sadie McDowell -6.24 0 70
7 USA.png Autumn Collins -6.37 0 65
8 JPN.png You Watanabe -6.58 0 60
9 JPN.png Maki Nishikino -7.26 63 71
10 ENG.png Ben Atkins -7.71 0 50

Chase Standings After Charlotte

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka WIN 3rd
2 JPN.png Nico Yazawa WIN 1st
3 JPN.png Maki Nishikino +91 9th
4 ENG.png Ben Atkins +90 10th
5 JPN.png You Watanabe +75 8th
6 USA.png Daniel Leckliter +69 12th
7 USA.png Sadie McDowell +63 6th
8 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +60 15th
9 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami +58 21st
10 USA.png Grant Macintosh +33 35th
11 USA.png Casey Lester +6 11th
12 CND.png Scott Strickland +2 17th
Currently Eliminated From Chase
13 JPN.png Makina Irisu -2 33rd
14 USA.png Maddie Anderson -11 39th
15 JPN.png Arisa Ichigaya -28 40th
16 USA.png Lucia Ohara -33 23rd

STARS International Short Track Challenge (Race 3 @ Martinsville)

Lucia Ohara started off a do-or-die weekend at Martinsville by scoring the pole for the event; a vital 10 points earned for her. Ohara pulled away early from Maddie Anderson, who was in a similar situation to Ohara. Nico Yazawa had early engine issues, just 13 laps into the race, seeing her finish 41st. The first caution of the race was for Lillie Corden and Joel Eklund getting together.

The rest of the race went surprisingly clean, as the only other caution was for Rosemary Black spinning out Madison Baszler in turn 1. On the restart, Yuuji Kazami passed on the inside before the line, meaning he had to serve a costly drive-through penalty. While the race entered its closing stages, Ohara continued to pull away, but lap traffic closed Sadie McDowell back up to her. Under pressure, Ohara started to make her moves around the lap cars, and ended up being more efficient passing slower traffic. Fuel became an issue for a handful of cars at the end, but Ohara kept her strong lead, leading every lap and completing an epic comeback from the first two races to lock herself into the second round with a win.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 USA.png Lucia Ohara 85.783mph 150 116
2 USA.png Sadie McDowell -5.61 0 90
3 JPN.png Chiyo Minami -5.93 0 85
4 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka -7.91 0 80
5 USA.png Grant Macintosh -8.23 0 75
6 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara -8.49 0 70
7 USA.png Maddie Anderson -8.76 0 65
8 JPN.png Makina Irisu -9.03 0 60
9 USA.png Riko Vance -9.51 0 70
10 USA.png Aurora Sullivan -9.82 0 50

Chase Standings After The First Round

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka WIN 4th
2 JPN.png Nico Yazawa WIN 41st
3 USA.png Lucia Ohara WIN 1st
4 USA.png Sadie McDowell +97 2nd
5 JPN.png Maki Nishikino +76 13th
6 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +74 6th
7 ENG.png Ben Atkins +64 17th
8 USA.png Grant Macintosh +52 5th
9 USA.png Daniel Leckliter +39 19th
10 JPN.png You Watanabe +28 34th
11 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami +10 35th
12 JPN.png Makina Irisu +2 8th
Eliminated From Chase
13 USA.png Maddie Anderson -2 7th
14 USA.png Casey Lester -12 14th
15 CND.png Scott Strickland -19 15th
16 JPN.png Arisa Ichigaya -62 21st

Monster Energy 300 (Race 4 @ Talladega)

Makina Irisu started the weekend off strong by securing the pole position, earning herself an extra 10 points to briefly take the lead of the chase standings. It would not be long for trouble to strike some chase drivers, as You Watanabe and Yuuji Kazami were caught up in an accident with Riko Vance, seeing the latter fall out of the race. Only a few laps after the restart, the big one would strike in turn 1, as Watanabe, Kokoro Tsurumaki and others would collide. Daniel Leckliter would be involved in the accident, but a follow-up accident caused by Rosemary Black would collect Maki Nishikino. Leckliter, Watanabe and Nishikino all fell out of the race.

The rest of the race would go caution free, as dominance of the race would swap between Makina Irisu, Nico Yazawa, Maddie Anderson and Ben Atkins. Early in the run, Kanon Matsubara had a tire go down, which forced an unscheduled pit stop. On lap 69, Honoka Kousaka would suffer from an engine failure, while a slow pit stop for Grant Macintosh would see him lose the pack. On lap 84, Sadie McDowell would have an ignition problem that saw her out of the race, and one lap later, Chiyo Minami would have an engine failure, and would collide with Ben Atkins, giving him front end damage. Atkins would keep going but was off the pace.

The race would come down to fuel strategy, as cars entered the pits with under 5 to go, starting with ATK teammates Joe Branch and Lucia Ohara. Eventually, Nico Yazawa and Autumn Collins were the only two to not enter the pits, and took the white flag battling for the win. Ultimately, Yazawa's car was too strong, and she took home her third win of the season, securing her a place in the third round of the chase.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 JPN.png Nico Yazawa 188.708mph 30 111
2 USA.png Autumn Collins -0.49 1 91
3 USA.png Lacey Starling -36.18 3 86
4 USA.png Maddie Anderson -38.81 20 81
5 USA.png Lucia Ohara -39.25 1 76
6 JPN.png Makina Irisu -39.31 12 76
7 USA.png Joe Branch -39.40 8 66
8 USA.png Elias Sutton -1L 1 61
9 USA.png Madison Baszler -1L 4 56
10 ENG.png Barney Ward -1L 0 50

Chase Standings After Race 4

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Nico Yazawa WIN 1st
2 USA.png Lucia Ohara +69 5th
3 JPN.png Makina Irisu +64 6th
4 USA.png Grant Macintosh +35 11th
5 ENG.png Ben Atkins +27 14th
6 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +23 15th
7 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka +8 29th
8 USA.png Sadie McDowell +4 28th
Currently Eliminated From Chase
9 USA.png Daniel Leckliter -3 35th
10 JPN.png Maki Nishikino -5 37th
11 JPN.png You Watanabe -9 41st
12 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami -10 42nd

Old Spice 200 (Race 5 @ Kansas)

Casey Lester took the pole for the event, but the race was interrupted on lap 2 as an accident involving Honoka Kousaka, Kanon Matsubara and Sadie McDowell occured in turn 2, seeing Kousaka on her side, and on top of other cars. After extensive repairs, Kousaka was able to continue the race, but McDowell and Matsubara were not able to carry on. On lap 21, You Watanabe had an engine failure and was eliminated from the race.

Later in the race, on lap 39, Joe Branch and Lilly Samson collided, sending the former into a barrel roll accident. Branch was injured in the accident, and there was a red flag as he was tended to, and taken to hospital. Maki Nishikino would lose a cylinder during the race, and would limp the car home 1 lap down.

Despite late charges from Grant Macintosh and Chiyo Minami, Casey Lester managed to keep his lead at the end, leading 51 laps to take home his third victory of the season; playing spoiler on the drivers remaining in the chase.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 USA.png Casey Lester 156.610mph 51 116
2 JPN.png Chiyo Minami -0.15 0 90
3 USA.png Grant Macintosh -0.38 7 86
4 USA.png Tanner Steele -0.43 0 80
5 USA.png Tanner Clason -0.51 1 76
6 USA.png AJ Stratton -0.67 0 70
7 USA.png Ruby McBrien -0.84 3 66
8 JPN.png Makina Irisu -0.96 0 60
9 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami -1.50 0 55
10 USA.png Neveah Laughlin -2.79 9 51

Chase Standings After Race 5

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Nico Yazawa WIN 21st
2 JPN.png Makina Irisu +106 8th
3 USA.png Grant Macintosh +103 3rd
4 USA.png Lucia Ohara +60 34th
5 ENG.png Ben Atkins +57 11th
6 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami +27 9th
7 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +9 39th
8 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka +1 32nd
Currently Eliminated From Chase
9 USA.png Daniel Leckliter -1 24th
10 JPN.png Maki Nishikino -7 27th
11 USA.png Sadie McDowell -12 41st
12 JPN.png You Watanabe -21 38th

Girls Dead Monster 100 (Race 6 @ Milwaukee)

Mari Ohara took a surprise pole position, meaning that Makina Irisu was locked into the next round on points as a chase driver did not earn the bonus points. The race was brought to red flag conditions on just lap 2 after Riko Vance was sent into a barrel roll accident down the back stretch after contact with Scott Strickland. On lap 19, another caution was brought out when Aurora Sullivan was spun into the inside wall on the back stretch.

Under this caution, the field pit for tires, but a caution for Ruby Kurosawa spinning around the halfway point of the race saw some drivers pit for a second time, taking tires again. The race went without issues until 11 laps to go, when Daniel Leckliter had a tire issue, and Yuuji Kazami slammed into him, causing a multi-car accident. Honoka Kousaka suffered heavy front end damage in the accident, while Kazami's damage saw him out of the race.

Nico Yazawa took advantage of Rosemary Black having a flat tire after she had lead most of the race to take the lead late on, but the fresher set of tires prevailed for Grant Macintosh, as she held off Scott Strickland, who also had fresher tires, to take home a much needed first victory of the season.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 USA.png Grant Macintosh 97.361mph 5 101
2 CND.png Scott Strickland -0.96 0 90
3 JPN.png Nico Yazawa -1.74 15 86
4 USA.png Evie Vance -1.96 0 80
5 USA.png Maddie Anderson -2.05 0 75
6 JPN.png Mari Ohara -2.96 0 75
7 USA.png Autumn Collins -3.05 0 65
8 JPN.png You Watanabe -3.43 0 60
9 USA.png Sadie McDowell -3.75 0 55
10 USA.png Casey Lester -4.08 0 50

Chase Standings After The Second Round

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 USA.png Grant Macintosh WIN 1st
2 JPN.png Nico Yazawa WIN 3rd
3 JPN.png Makina Irisu +88 21st
4 USA.png Lucia Ohara +52 16th
5 ENG.png Ben Atkins +43 19th
6 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +4 15th
7 USA.png Sadie McDowell +3 9th
8 JPN.png Maki Nishikino +0 11th
Eliminated From Chase
9 JPN.png You Watanabe -1 8th
10 JPN.png Yuuji Kazami -8 38th
11 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka -25 30th
12 USA.png Daniel Leckliter -32 34th

Delta Force 200 (Race 7 @ Indianapolis)

Maddie Anderson scored the pole position for the event, and lead 20 of the first 23 laps before her engine expired while she was leading the race. Team Kwik Fit had brought spec Ford engines for this race which provided more power, but the risk did not pay off for the team, as Scott Strickland brought out the first yellow by stopping on the backstretch with his own engine issues, following his teammate out of the race.

The second caution was brought out on the restart, as AJ Stratton got together with Sadie McDowell into turn one, seeing the two into the wall but not out of the race. Later in the lap Tanner Clason hit the inside wall in the short chute between turns 3 and 4 hard, but was okay. On lap 59, chase driver Makina Irisu got into her teammate Yuuji Kazami and the two crashed exiting turn 4, bringing out the third caution. Kazami caught major air in the accident, but was okay.

On the next restart, AJ Stratton's engine expired. In an attempt to get out of the way, he pulled his car high to let cars pass, but Chiyo Minami was already attempting a pass high. As Minami swerved low, she made contact with Cro Sawatari and Ben Atkins, causing a multi-car pileup, collecting chase drivers Lucia Ohara and Maki Nishikino. The carnage would not be over, as a heavy crash for Grant Macintosh, Sadie McDowell and Dallas Hammond saw Macintosh slap the wall drivers side first, and saw Hammond go on his roof. All drivers were okay, though Macintosh was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

This led to a three lap shootout, and while Ben Atkins was gaining positions late, the laps ran out as Tanner Steele held off Corbin Rhodes and Atkins to win the race.

Top Ten

Position Driver Interval Laps Led Points
1 USA.png Tanner Steele 171.023mph 25 111
2 USA.png Corbin Rhodes -0.08 0 90
3 ENG.png Ben Atkins -0.14 0 85
4 JPN.png Nico Yazawa -0.41 2 81
5 USA.png Daniel Leckliter -0.50 9 76
6 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara -0.57 0 70
7 JPN.png Murasaki Ikoma -0.58 0 65
8 JPN.png Cro Sawatari -0.72 0 60
9 USA.png Rosemary Black -0.79 1 56
10 JPN.png Honoka Kousaka -1.07 7 51

Chase Standings After Race 7

Rank Driver Points Race Result
1 JPN.png Nico Yazawa +54 4th
2 ENG.png Ben Atkins +53 3rd
3 JPN.png Kanon Matsubara +38 6th
4 USA.png Lucia Ohara +6 14th
Currently Eliminated From Chase
5 JPN.png Maki Nishikino -6 19th
6 USA.png Grant Macintosh -11 28th
7 USA.png Sadie McDowell -16 29th
8 JPN.png Makina Irisu -22 37th

See Also