2019 TM Master Cup Series | Round 8: Round of Russia

The Front Row, Saul Fischel and Liv Eklund
Golden opportunities to score tons of points wasted through a combination of baffling rookie errors and lack of pace.

Dilks steps out of the 68 Team Timothy car, and just leans against it, as he has a large smile.on his face, as crew walk over to congratulate him on a strong run, "POINTS! OH MY GOODNESS! POINTS!" Dilks said, as he looked at the reporter, "I don't know what happened. If it was the team, the boos from thw fans, I don't know, but I felt like today was a good day and boy was it! Started 19th, finished 6th. That's a good day." Dilks gets a bottle.of water from the crew, "Congrats to Kuzie. I was still pretty mad about the whole deal but I got to thinking and I went and I apologized to him. What I said was...heat of the moment stuff. We all have those reactions and hot takes when we get out of the car and mics are put in your face. I thought we had a decent enough car to contend for a top 10 or 20, but that wreck just, in my eyes, felt a bit unnecessary.
But it's behind us, and he got a win, and I got 6th." Dilks takes another drink. "The Cotnam Farms Team Timothy #68 was just so good. The pit crew did fantastic and the strategy was near perfect. We weren't gonna win, not with Kuzie's car, but we weren't too far off. This Gesler loved the straights, and just had power for days. If we can control that and turn it I to something with better handling, we can be in the points each week. I'm confident we can be. I love this group."

Dilks did make his way to victory lane to congratulate Kuzie on his win, and handshake and smile, then the two parted.

Kuznetsov Scores Maiden Win - Finally - Amidst Party Atmosphere

Yevgeny Kuznetsov has finally won a TM Master Cup race. It's an achievement which has avoided him for so long, but one that he's pursued with such dogged determination.

As much as some people had hoped, Kuzzie's first win wasn't going to just be a walk in the park.

After coming so close so many times, there were several points during the 2019 TM Master Cup Round of Russia where it looked like Kuznetsov had it locked up, but the competition refused to let him earn it the easy way. After starting third, Kuznetsov was able to get around Liv Eklund and polesitter Saul Fischel with ease, with Fischel taking damage on the first lap. Kuznetsov would fall back to second after a pass by Eklund's Lynxe Racing teammate Ingrid Haddeland, but Haddeland would have her own issues - a flat right rear tire - just one lap later. Now back in the lead, Kuznetsov was able to hold and extend, aided by a stellar performance from his New Liberty Racing pit crew. However, during the last stint he was caught by a hard-charging Arto Kekkonen, who was determined to spoil Kuznetsov's, and the home crowd's, party. Kuznetsov was able to hold him off - barely - but it was enough to secure the Russian's maiden TM Master Cup Series win in front of his home crowd.

Amidst a party atmosphere that sparked all the good memories from Arto Kekkonen's two Karjala Grand Prix wins, Kuznetsov's win was accompanied by a track riot and festival atmosphere, with fans streaming onto the track following the end of the race. His podium celebration was equally as joyous, with a euphonious crowd joining in singing the Russian national anthem, then chanting "УРА!" as Kuznetsov was awarded the winner's trophy.

From Kuznetsov's standpoint, it was almost surreal.

"I cannot believe it! This must be best dream I've ever had, someone please pinch me!" Kuznetsov said, amidst laughs and chants of "KUZZIE!" from the crowd. "When I saw Kekkonen with such good run on last stint, I had such a worry that may be we would not win this race. But! We had just enough speed to make sure he finish second. What a race! To be honest, in the last lap it was very difficult to see because I was having such a cry! This win is for you, Russia!" said Kuznetsov as he turned towards the crowd, to a raucous response. "There are very many people I need to thank, first of all my pit crew for doing such good job in pit road. Without them, I think we would not be up here right now! Big thanks to mister Tony Durbin for having belief in me, New Liberty, Ivan Katzev, old Team Boss Vitaly, Kirill, my sponsors, my family, and most importantly, all my fans everywhere! This win; you wait with me for so long, so patient, and I finally do it! I hope, you will remember this win as much as I will be remembering. Now, let us have some fun!"

Immediately after his interview, Kuznetsov grabbed two bottles of vodka and left to celebrate with his crew.