Marcus Grönholm finished ahead of Tanner Foust at the Global RallyCross race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday in a grueling final that saw two red flags, three separate starts, and multiple cars pulling off the course due to mechanical issues.
Dave Mirra landed hard off a jump in practice and was unable to get his car started to race in Round One. Travis Pastrana had to stop in the middle of the Last Chance Qualifier due to a dislocated shoulder and failed to make the Final. Toomas Heikkinen mistakenly took the shortcut on his first lap in the LCQ and was disqualified, while Bucky Lasek went off the side of a jump and couldn't finish the race. Sverre Isachsen stalled on a jump in the Final, causing the first red flag and restart. Andy Scott was pushed off course by Samuel Hubinette and ran into the tire barrier, forcing the second red flag. Meanwhile, Ken Block had to pull off the course due to mechanical difficulties.
While Foust, Grönholm and Brian Deegan all traded the lead in the first two Final attempts, on the third go, Grönholm took the lead early and held it for the entire race. "We had so many starts," said Grönholm after the race. "Everything is so hot in the car, it's like a Finnish sauna inside." Grönholm is now two-for-two in the GRC series. The top 15 drivers in the Global RallyCross 2012 overall points list after this race will get invites to X Games Los Angeles 2012.