Florian rolls to third straight victory
Published 10:18 pm Friday, March 28, 2014
![Olivia Florian of Suffolk shows off her AAmco/Bluewater Yacht Sales/Precon Marine-sponsored No. 03 with her trophy after her third straight victory in the 30-lap Rainbow Station/Camp Blue Sky Youth Series race at the Arena Racing USA 200 sponsored by Ukrop’s Dress Express at Richmond Coliseum on March 21. (Bill Carr/MotorSports Photo News Service)](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2014/03/Florian.jpg)
Olivia Florian of Suffolk shows off her AAmco/Bluewater Yacht Sales/Precon Marine-sponsored No. 03 with her trophy after her third straight victory in the 30-lap Rainbow Station/Camp Blue Sky Youth Series race at the Arena Racing USA 200 sponsored by Ukrop’s Dress Express at Richmond Coliseum on March 21. (Bill Carr/MotorSports Photo News Service)
Olivia Florian of Suffolk snagged the top spot on lap 19 and rolled to her third straight victory in a 30-lapper for the Rainbow Station/Camp Blue Sky Youth Series on March 21.
Chase Burrow started on the pole, sharing the front row with Florian. The first three attempts at getting the race under way went awry, however, and the field was finally placed in single-file formation. That did the trick as Burrow, Florian, Mini Tyrrell and Garrett Manes bolted in a tight, nose-to-tail pack.
The Youth Series version of “The Big One” took place on lap 6 when Logan Jones and Autumn Weaver tangled at the flagstand, collecting Florian, Tyrrell and Manes. Just when it appeared that the dust was settling, Jay Seward piled into the melee to bring the final count to six out of the seven cars that remained in the race. Four more laps were completed before a spin by Manes in Turn 2 prompted another caution flag.
Back under green, Burrow, Florian and Tyrrell resumed their tussle, with Florian sneaking occasional peeks to the inside of the leader. On lap 18, she went after the lead in earnest, driving under Burrow into Turn 1. With slower traffic looming ahead, Florian motored into the lead on lap 19. A lap later, Burrow and Weaver locked horns on the backstretch to bring out the last caution flag.
On the final restart, with two laps to go, Florian quickly fashioned a two-length edge over Tyrrell and held that margin to the finish. Manes was third to the line, while Jones and Burrow rounded out the top five. Weaver and Seward were sixth and seventh, in that order. Aubrey Hill was scratched from the lineup after problems on the starting grid. He was credited with eighth place.