2031 Spotify Empire State 300

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2031 Empire State 300
[[Image:|175px]]
Date February 23rd, 2031
Location Albany Superspeedway
Laps 134
Polesitter JPN.png Makoto Jounouchi
First USA.png Scarlett Sanders
Second USA.png Sophia Brandt
Third USA.png Daniel Leckliter
Fourth FIN.png Matti Koiluva
Fifth PRC.png Alina Navarro
Cautions 3
Race Results

The 2031 Spotify Empire State 300 will be the sixth and final race of Speedweeks, and the first race of 2031 STARS Lowe's Premier Series season. This race was the first Empire State 300 that saw an all-rookie front row, as rookies Makoto Jounouchi and Charlotte Griffiths went first and second in single-car runs.

Single Car Qualifying

Makoto Jounouchi scored her first career pole with a time of 39.361 with an average speed of 207.69 mph. Charlotte Griffiths in her first Lowe's Premier Series attempt put herself on the front row, securing her spot in the race as her entry was outside the top 40 in points. The other driver to secure their spot on speed was Grant Macintosh for Diamond Racing Group.

Full Results

Pos. No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time
1 54 Makoto Jounouchi Branch Racing, Inc. Chevrolet 39.361
2 4 Charlotte Griffiths Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota 39.405
3 27 Lillie Corden ATK Motorsports Toyota 39.443
4 21 Rose Kendrick ATK Motorsports Toyota 39.489
5 0 Connor Gallagher SHO Autosport Honda 39.547
6 31 Aurora Sullivan CB Motorsports Ford 39.571
7 20 Sophia Brandt ATK Motorsports Toyota 39.579
8 79 Grant Macintosh Diamond Racing Group Toyota 39.591
9 37 Rosemary Black CB Motorsports Ford 39.599
10 19 Emmie Hutchinson Vance Autosports Ford 39.606
11 03 Ella Merrick SHO Autosport Honda 39.615
12 91 Harriet Ridley Vance Autosports Ford 39.620
13 8 Bryce Wauters Mid-South Racing Team Chevrolet 39.631
14 38 Wyatt Knox CB Motorsports Ford 39.646
15 65 Austin Watts Kingslayer Racing Nissan 39.655
16 2 Tanner Steele ATK Motorsports Toyota 39.672
17 18 Steve Duggan Branch Racing, Inc. Chevrolet 39.683
18 78 Tara Keller Diamond Racing Group Toyota 39.685
19 77 Matti Koiluva Diamond Racing Group Toyota 39.689
20 15 Aimee Cunningham Macintosh Motorsports Inc. Toyota 39.690
21 12 Eden Collier ATK Motorsports Toyota 39.693
22 99 Jessica Dalton Vance Autosports Ford 39.701
23 51 Kieran Cassidy Macintosh Motorsports Inc. Toyota 39.704
24 88 Scarlett Sanders Team Minami Chevrolet 39.715
25 3 Joe Branch Branch Racing, Inc. Chevrolet 39.717
26 64 Zoey Hamilton Kingslayer Racing Nissan 39.728
27 41 Renee Roberts Macintosh Motorsports Inc. Toyota 39.738
28 1 Maisie Armstrong Vance Autosports Ford 39.762
29 13 Autumn Collins CB Motorsports Ford 39.763
30 44 Tiffany Parker Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota 39.771
31 01 Hanayo Koizumi Leckliter Racing Chevrolet 39.810
32 84 Chloe Renshaw Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota 39.814
33 17 Amy Prowell Westwood Race Team Toyota 39.820
34 36 Tyler Champa CB Motorsports Ford 39.821
35 82 Wallace Turner Mid-South Racing Team Chevrolet 39.829
36 33 Lyra MacNeil SHO Autosport Honda 39.885
37 55 Taiga Sengoku Team Minami Chevrolet 39.894
38 09 Nana Yuki Team Minami Chevrolet 39.900
39 10 Daniel Leckliter Leckliter Racing Chevrolet 39.905
40 32 Sakura Kokubun Phantasm Racing Team Honda 39.910
41 16 Luca Delaney Westwood Race Team Toyota 39.926
42 62 Elly Baszler Kingslayer Racing Nissan 39.935
43 14 Frankie Kowalski Macintosh Motorsports Inc. Toyota 39.938
44 00 Ava Pembroke SHO Autosport Honda 39.943
45 45 Kayla Forrest Macintosh Motorsports Inc. Toyota 39.946
46 11 Haruka Amami Leckliter Racing Chevrolet 39.948
47 9 Tyler Everett Vance Autosports Ford 39.949
48 61 Tara DiLauro Kingslayer Racing Nissan 39.953
49 7 Rina Tennoji Team Minami Chevrolet 39.974
50 63 Madison Baszler Kingslayer Racing Nissan 40.062
51 26 Zayn Dejani Phantasm Racing Team Honda 40.113
52 29 Andy Lambert Dodge Motorsports Team Dodge 40.115
53 30 Alina Navarro SHO Autosport Honda 40.118
54 48 Tanner Mayberry Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota 40.137
55 5 Asuka Harada Blackhawk Motorsports Chevrolet 40.162
56 50 Anthony Griffith Syzygy Engineering Chevrolet 40.367
57 39 Joey Anderson Dodge Motorsports Team Dodge 40.906

Corsair Twin 99 Duel 1

Makoto Jounouchi led the field to the green but lost the lead on the first lap to Rosemary Black. The race went without issue, the lead shuffling between multiple drivers, until lap 13, when Taiga Sengoku's engine expired in the middle of the pack. Despite her best efforts to get out of the pack, Sengoku spun around, collecting Frankie Kowalski, Bryce Wauters and Wallace Turner, while Ella Merrick and Luca Delaney also tangled, hitting each other heavily in the doors. Sengoku hit the banking transition, sending her onto her roof. Everyone was okay in the incident, but Sengoku, Kowalski, Wauters and Turner were all put out of the race due to the crash, meaning Turner was the first confirmed DNQ for the race.

The race restarted on lap 18 with Renee Roberts in the lead. Roberts, Rina Tennoji and Rina Tennoji emerged as the fastest race pace cars, while Ella Merrick's aero damage meant she struggled to keep with the pack, meaning she would have to rely on the results of Duel 2 to make the race. With 2 laps to go, Westwood Race Team's Luca Delaney and Amy Prowell positioned themselves at the front of the pack, putting themselves in prime position to make the Empire State 300, with ATK Motorsports teammates Sophia Brandt and Eden Collier in control coming to the white flag. In turn 1 of the last lap, Collier made her move for the lead with a shove from Matti Koiluva. Koiluva, with a shove from Asuka Harada, faked a move high into turn 3 before moving low on Collier. Despite a run on the high side and a late peek from Harada, Collier was unable to make a charge back at the lead, as Matti Koiluva took the win in Duel 1, securing his spot in the Empire State 300 at the same time. Asuka Harada, who finished third, was the second driver to advance into the 300.

Results

Pos. Grid No. Driver Interval Points Status
1 10 77 Matti Koiluva 180.699 20 Running
2 11 12 Eden Collier -0.03 18 Running
3 28 5 Asuka Harada -0.07 16 Running
4 12 51 Kieran Cassidy -0.13 14 Running
5 4 20 Sophia Brandt -0.15 12 Running
6 9 18 Steve Duggan -0.20 10 Running
7 14 41 Renee Roberts -0.25 8 Running
8 17 17 Amy Prowell -0.26 6 Running
9 5 37 Rosemary Black -0.26 4 Running
10 25 7 Rina Tennoji -0.33 2 Running
11 20 10 Daniel Leckliter -0.33 0 Running
12 23 45 Kayla Forrest -0.33 0 Running
13 13 3 Joe Branch -0.40 0 Running
14 15 13 Autumn Collins -0.43 0 Running
15 3 0 Connor Gallagher -0.47 0 Running
16 6 03 Ella Merrick -0.54 0 Running
17 21 16 Luca Delaney -0.58 0 Running
18 2 27 Lillie Corden -0.62 0 Running
19 16 01 Hanayo Koizumi -0.64 0 Running
20 8 65 Austin Watts -0.65 0 Running
21 27 30 Alina Navarro -0.74 0 Running
22 24 9 Tyler Everett -0.75 0 Running
23 1 54 Makoto Jounouchi -0.81 0 Running
24 29 39 Joey Anderson -9.36 0 Running
25 26 26 Zayn Dejani -1L 0 Running
26 18 82 Wallace Turner -25L 0 Accident
27 7 8 Bryce Wauters -26L 0 Accident
28 22 14 Frankie Kowalski -30L 0 Accident
29 19 55 Taiga Sengoku -31L 0 Accident

Corsair Twin 99 Duel 2

Charlotte Griffiths led the field to the green flag, but was passed immediately by Rose Kendrick, who held the lead until lap 3 when Tara Keller mounted a charge at the lead. Similarly, the field shuffled the lead for most of the early race until lap 7, when the first caution flew. Andy Lambert made an attempt to switch to the outside line from the middle in turn 2, but the gap closed, when Grant Macintosh filled the gap. Lambert and Scarlett Sanders squeezed Macintosh, spinning Lambert into Sanders, who hit the inside wall extremely hard on the back stretch opening. Lambert collected Harriet Ridley and Maisie Armstrong, the latter also hitting the inside wall with Lambert. Everyone except Sanders was able to drive away, with the red flag being flown on lap 9 for repairs to the inside wall where Sanders had hit. There was concerns for Sanders' wellbeing after her crash, but she climbed out of the car with assistance and was released from the infield care centre before the red flag ended. Sanders, Lambert, Armstrong and Ridley all dropped out of the race due to the accident. Although Armstrong and Ridley met minimum speed, Vance Autosports elected to retire both cars in order to complete repairs on the cars.

Sakura Kokubun led the field to the green flag on lap 12, immediately losing the lead to Madison Baszler, who got a better restart. The field continued to shuffle around for the lead, with the driving just as antsy as the first few laps. Grant Macintosh struggled to keep with the pack, spelling bad news for Ella Merrick, who needed either Macintosh or Griffiths to race their way in to rely on her single car qualifying time. Kendrick seemed to have the dominant car at the end, but Tyler Champa and Sakura Kokubun also emerged with very strong race pace cars. Wyatt Knox led the field to the white flag, with Ava Pembroke and Lyra MacNeil, both driving for SHO Autosport in second and third. Pembroke, who was locked into the race, attempted to switch positions with MacNeil, who needed to race her way in, but this was foiled by Chloe Renshaw, who made it three-wide for second, also attempting to race her way into the main event. Renshaw herself was forced high on the backstretch by Haruka Amami, another go-or-go-home driver, but Amami took her run into turn 3, passing Knox for the lead. In the tri-oval coming to the line, Sakura Kokubun with a shove from Tyler Champa made an ambitious three-wide dive for the win, but Amami managed to hold off Knox and Kokubun to win the Duel, with Kokubun also racing her way in. This marked the first time that both Duels were won by drivers who needed to race their way into the Empire State 300.

Results

Pos. Grid No. Driver Interval Points Status
1 23 11 Haruka Amami 180.653 20 Running
2 7 38 Wyatt Knox -0.03 18 Running
3 20 32 Sakura Kokubun -0.04 16 Running
4 17 36 Tyler Champa -0.10 14 Running
5 16 84 Chloe Renshaw -0.12 12 Running
6 19 09 Nana Yuki -0.16 10 Running
7 15 44 Tiffany Parker -0.20 8 Running
8 9 78 Tara Keller -0.23 6 Running
9 18 33 Lyra MacNeil -0.27 4 Running
10 25 63 Madison Baszler -0.29 2 Running
11 13 64 Zoey Hamilton -0.30 0 Running
12 5 19 Emmie Hutchinson -0.34 0 Running
13 10 15 Aimee Cunningham -0.36 0 Running
14 11 99 Jessica Dalton -0.38 0 Running
15 22 00 Ava Pembroke -0.44 0 Running
16 3 31 Aurora Sullivan -0.45 0 Running
17 27 48 Tanner Mayberry -0.49 0 Running
18 21 62 Elly Baszler -0.51 0 Running
19 24 61 Tara DiLauro -0.52 0 Running
20 2 21 Rose Kendrick -0.57 0 Running
21 8 2 Tanner Steele -0.57 0 Running
22 1 4 Charlotte Griffiths -0.65 0 Running
23 28 50 Anthony Griffith -0.68 0 Running
24 4 79 Grant Macintosh -7.94 0 Running
25 6 91 Harriet Ridley -27L 0 Retired
26 14 1 Maisie Armstrong -32L 0 Accident
27 26 29 Andy Lambert -32L 0 Accident
28 12 88 Scarlett Sanders -37L 0 Accident

DNQ List

No. Driver Team Manufacturer
01 Hanayo Koizumi Leckliter Racing Chevrolet
03 Ella Merrick SHO Autosport Honda
16 Luca Delaney Westwood Race Team Toyota
17 Amy Prowell Westwood Race Team Toyota
33 Lyra MacNeil SHO Autosport Honda
39 Joey Anderson Dodge Motorsports Team Dodge
48 Tanner Mayberry Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota
50 Anthony Griffith Syzygy Engineering Chevrolet
78 Tara Keller Diamond Racing Group Toyota
82 Wallace Turner Mid-South Racing Team Chevrolet
84 Chloe Renshaw Sawatari-Toyota Motorsports Toyota

The Race

Makoto Jounouchi started on pole, with the lead shuffling around between several drivers, with Rosemary Black and Renee Roberts emerging as the dominant cars early. The race progressed caution free for the first 40 laps, until Charlotte Griffiths spun out Nana Yuki while trying to exit the pits. Under the caution, Haruka Amami lost control on the apron of turn 3, sliding up the track and slamming into Lillie Corden. Corden did not hit anything but suffered side damage, while Amami made further contact with the outside wall. Griffiths and Amami both went out of the race, Amami was parked and Griffiths due to crash damage.

On the restart, Madison Baszler led the field into the longest green-flag run of the race. Sophia Brandt and Grant Macintosh were the fastest cars during this sprint, while Frankie Kowalski also made herself a factor towards the front, with Matti Koiluva also maintaining a position near the front for most of the run. Green flag pitstops went without issue this time, but the field was broken up into several packs, with a pack led by Scarlett Sanders and Joe Branch charging towards the leaders. The front three packs merged into one battle for the win, with a fourth pack about 7 seconds back also making progress. However, everyone was brought back into the race as Andy Lambert washed up into Rose Kendrick in turn 3, forcing Kendrick and Aimee Cunningham into the wall. This collected Aurora Sullivan and Emmie Hutchinson, with all four drivers dropping out of the race.

The following restart, Frankie Kowalski was in control of the field, but was quickly dethroned by Scarlett Sanders, who alongside Sophia Brandt emerged as the late favourites as they had the strongest cars. With 10 laps to go, Ava Pembroke made an ambitious 4-wide move out of turn 2, but ended up turning herself and Rosemary Black into the inside wall, collecting Wyatt Knox. Tara DiLauro led with Madison Baszler and Nana Yuki on the final restart, but Daniel Leckliter took the lead and was able to maintain it until 3 laps to go. Scarlett Sanders got to the lead with a shove from Kayla Forrest, but Forrest went high to help Leckliter, giving him a chance to stay on the outside of Sanders. Sanders got a push from Sophia Brandt coming to the white flag, clearing Sanders for the lead. Brandt managed to get to the inside of Sanders for the lead on the backstretch, but Maisie Armstrong forced Matti Koiluva to the middle line, breaking up the inside line. Brandt had no help but remainded side-by-side with Sanders, when Leckliter switched lanes exiting turn 4 to help Brandt. However, this was not enough for Brandt to get a run, and Scarlett Sanders won the race by a nose over Brandt.