Fletcher crowned VIR king with fourth Virginian MX-5 Cup win in a row

Sunday’s Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin race was a near repeat of Saturday’s, with Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) taking the win behind the safety car. Securing his fourth straight win at VIRginia International Raceway propelled Fletcher into the championship lead.

Like Saturday’s race, a rookie started from pole: Helio Meza (No. 27 BSI Racing). The previous day’s polesitter, Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing), started from last after swapping to a backup car.

Fletcher had a tremendous start and was able to take over the lead on lap two, while Meza was busy trying to hold off Ethan Goulart (No. 29 Saito Motorsport Group).

Fletcher had to hang on through two restarts from yellow, but was saved by the last full-course yellow, which brought the race to an end behind the safety car.

“Sweeping the weekend for the second time was definitely a nice feeling,” Fletcher said. “I can't thank Dalton Dow enough for being on the radio with me, and he got me both these wins today, calling these cautions. I want to thank the entire McCumbee McAleer Racing crew. They've given me the fastest car all year, and I just got to turn the steering wheel and hit the brake pedal sometimes. I’m super thankful for all of them. This means a lot to me, especially getting the points lead.

“I definitely owe Gresham [Wagner],” Fletcher added. “He should have probably won that race. He had the pace.”

With only two more races to go, Fletcher now leads the points championship by 150 points and is that much closer to winning the $250,000 prize from Mazda.