Ken Block won the battle, but Joni Wiman won the war in Red Bull Global Rallycross Las Vegas at The Linq, the 2014 Red Bull GRC season finale. Block took the overall victory, but Wiman finished second to wrap up the series’ Supercar title in his rookie season—just one year after being crowned GRC Lites champion.
“I don’t believe it,” Wiman said. “It’s just amazing. I haven’t realized it yet. It’s like a dream come true.”
Block, who qualified second, did all he could to take the championship home for himself. He won both of his heat races, gaining two points on Wiman in the process, and beat the Finn head to head in their semifinal. But after Bucky Lasek and Scott Speed battled intensely in the final, Wiman took the joker from fourth to climb to second and clinch the title by five points, or the equivalent of one finishing position over the entire 10-race schedule.
“Every time, coming here and needing a good finish to have a good overall season result has just put the pressure on me,” Block, now a two-time Las Vegas finale winner, said. “The thing was, there was no other result for me here—I had to win everything I could. The team and I worked hard to make that happen, but unfortunately I won the battle and lost the war by one position.
“It is what it is, but it really disappointed me because it goes back to Seattle. I should have won that event, and I threw that away with a tiny mistake. I’m happy to have won, but disappointed at the same time—but that’s racing.”
“After 10 exciting races this season, the championship came down to the wire here in Las Vegas,” said Red Bull GRC CEO Colin Dyne. “It was a great way to wrap up the season. We are incredibly proud of the teams, drivers, sponsors and everyone else involved in the series, and are already gearing up for an incredible 2015.”
In GRC Lites, Mitchell DeJong capped off a dominant 2014 season with his seventh win of the year—a record for either class of Red Bull GRC competition, both in a season and all-time. DeJong, who fell to fourth with a bad start, worked his way past Tyler Benson, Austin Cindric, and international Supercar driver Andreas Bakkerud in succession to take the victory.
“This has been an amazing year,” DeJong said. “Coming out from the first race of the year at X Games and all the way to this one has been so much fun. The cars have always been so great, and I’ve always enjoyed the track. To finish the year with all these wins and the championship is a great feeling.”
Announcements about the 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross season will be put forth in the coming weeks and months.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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