As we began our eighth season of ARC competition, it was apparent that the battles were going to be closer than ever.
Many drivers broke out in the month of January, with CD Mangrum taking his first ARC victory at Daytona, Gabriel Dahari winning his first race at Auto Club, and Luis Ramirez winning his first ARC championship in the ARC Karting World Championship.
Despite their performances, there was nobody better than AJ Knickle once again.
What makes ARC so great is the diversity in racing we have, and AJ Knickle found speed in various series!
A podium in the ARC NASCAR Heat Truck Series to start the year was just a sign of what he was capable of, as just 4 days later, he was victorious in the first leg of the ARC Dakar Rally SSV class, using great navigation skills through the treacherous hills.
His dominance in the Dakar Rally would continue, as his main competitors faltered, he won 6 of 9 legs, and winning the SSV class ahead of teammate Matei Popusoi.
Knickle's speed carried over to the ARC GT3 Challenge, as we expected.
The 11x GT3 champion entered the Dubai Autodrome with his eyes on his 12th straight championship, as he bested his teammate Mathew Dailey in both the sprint and the feature.
This unreal pace would continue, as he swept the Sprint and Feature at Laguna Seca and the Daytona Road Course, winning the first 6 rounds of the season.
Knickle exited January with a 44 point lead ahead of teammate Mathew Dailey, as SLP Team 44 Racing has been the team to beat this season.
This wasn't all the winning he had in store, as he fought Luis Ramirez head to head for the ARC Karting World Championship, winning 3 races and coming up just short of the first ARC championship of the calendar year.
Dominance like this is unprecedent in ARC, as we haven't seen this many wins in a month since the inception of the Driver of the Month award.
And we aren't sure if his dominance is over yet.
January statistics for AJ Knickle:
39 starts, 2 poles, 14 wins, and 24 podiums.
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