BRASELTON, GA – As the drivers and crew members of the Can-Am first stepped foot onto the grounds of the Road Atlanta racing facility, a sense of newness filled the air. The grass had been freshly manicured, the grandstands gleamed in the sun, and the tarmac felt soft to the touch. After all, the land where the winding roads cut through the woods had been nothing more than 750 acres of farmland in Northern Georgia.

Unfortunately, for some, none of this newness seemed to reach the podium.

 Nightmare x24x and his #24 Castrol/MBI McLaren crossed the line first in another dominant performance, taking his third straight victory in as many races. A second place by Bloodtypr0wdy and a third by Murphys Laaawl would also ensure another MBI podium sweep.

 The race began with drivers having issues before the green flag even dropped, with DeadAtm Tzar, driver of the #42 Ardent Racing McLaren, colliding with GRD 4 3L and Manuel CR exiting the esses on the pace lap. With three cars damaged, a second pace lap would be put into use to allow the wounded cars to pit.  When the green flag finally fell, it was polesitter Nightmare who rocketed away and disappeared into the afternoon.

 While uneventful at the front, an exciting battle for third developed after MBI driver TheDamnHippie dropped out due to a mechanical issue on lap 6. The #97 McLaren of Murphys Laaawl was able to squeak by the #71 of BCKracer71 for the spot, before losing control in the esses and giving it back. This chain of events put 3 ^rd-5 ^th within inches of each other. However, the position would be settled anti-climactically when the #71 locked the brakes going into turn 10A, leading the trailing #17 Lola of TopSoCalledGear with him into the dirt.

 Positions would remain largely static for most of the race, with most drivers fighting their cars rather than each other. However, contact between TopSoCalled Gear and Manuel CR would send the latter into the turn 12 wall and into the pits with only a few laps remaining. BCKracer71 and GRD 4 3L were able to capitalize on this mistake to take home 5 ^th and 6 ^th in the end results.

 With 5 rounds left in the championship, it seems that it will take nothing short of a miracle to stop Nightmare x24x, who now commands a 38 point lead in the points and a one race cushion. However, it is a sure bet that the rest of the field will continue to set him in their sights for the rest of the season.

"Awesome effort by the entire MBI team this weekend bringing us some really quick McLarens." said winner Nightmare. "Being able to take the top three spots in qualifying is a testament to all the hard work our guys are doing at the shop. I was thrilled to see that same speed carry over into the race as we had a dominate performance from start to finish. It was also nice to see Trey (Blood) be able to take home second for the team. It's unfortunate Luke had that engine failure early on, but I'm sure they'll be able to bounce back next race." 

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup will return in two weeks (February 19 ^th) at 12:00 PM EST for Round #4 on the streets of Long Beach.

Results:

1. #24 Nightmare - McLaren

2. #18 Blood - McLaren

3. #97 Murphy - McLaren

4. #17 TopGear - Lola

5. #71 BCK - Lola

6. #67 GRD - Nissan

7 #40 Manuel - Lola

8. #42 DeadArm - McLaren

9 #88 Hippie - McLaren

Points:

1.#24 Nightmare - 96

2. #18 Blood - 58

3. #71 BCK - 52

4. #40 Manuel - 48

5. #88 Hippie - 47

6. #67 GRD - 46

7. #42 Deadarm - 37

8. #97 Murphy - 37

9. #17 TopGear - 31

10. #5 Blonde - 24

10. #2 Colton - 24

12. #91 Dakinca - 13