Jon Adams Masters Michigan
July 23rd, 2013 by Jaime Baker
The final week of Season Two of the NASCAR iRacing Class C Fixed Series heads to one of the most popular tracks on the iRacing service in Michigan International Speedway. While the 2-mile oval packs just 18 degrees of banking, its long straights and sweeping turns make it a favorite among many racers in the iRacing community. 2,141 sim racers took the green flag for at least one race during the week, all with one goal in mind—get to the checkered flag first and drive into victory lane and be showered with virtual champagne which is located in the frontstretch grass.
Someone who is no stranger to being soaked in champagne (virtual or real) is NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship competitor Jon Adams (Georgia) who was able to make a trip to Michigan’s victory lane during the week’s top Strength of Field event which took place on July 19th. Adams rolled his No. 5 Silverado into victory lane after starting from the 12th position and leading 11 of the event’s 25 laps. Fellow NiSWC competitor Richard Dusett (New England) ended the event in the second position after battling his way up through the field from the 15th starting position. Completing the podium is Brodie Kostecki (Carolina) who also started beyond mid-pack, but carefully worked his way into the top five at the end of 25 laps. Jason Karlavige (Pennsylvania) is another NiSWC competitor in the event as he finished in the fourth position after starting 9th in the No. 1 machine. Rounding out the top five was Tracy Glenn (Plains) who drove his No. 18 Silverado into the top five after starting eighth. The 4659 SoF was slowed four times for ten laps and saw six lead changes among five drivers.
With the victory in the week’s top SoF event, Adams earned an amazing 292 championship points for his efforts. Although he did not have the result he was looking for in the week’s top SoF event, Lee Herron (Carolina) made seven more starts during the week which included three wins and allowed him to earn 287 points for the week. Michael Guest (Indiana) made four starts during the week, earning the victory in two and netting 286 valuable championship points. Kenneth O’Keefe (Canada) ended the final week in the fourth position after starting three races and amassing 285 points. Brad Patton (Carolina) filled the remaining spot in the top five for Week 12 by making just one start and earning 271 points.
For the second week in a row, Kostecki is on top of the qualifying chart at the end of the week. Kostecki’s time of 40.985 seconds was just 11 thousandths of a second faster than second placer driver Jarl Teien (Scandinavia) who turned a time of 40.996. Jason Jacoby (Georgia) is always one to expect near the front of the qualifying chart and he did not disappoint this week as he turned in the third fastest time. The final spots in the top five go to G Allen Lewis (Mid-South) and Mark Jorgensen (Texas) who turned times of 41.020 and 41.023, respectively.
2013 Season Two has now officially come to a close and we have a new champion to crown. Michael Guest has won the championship by a slim margin of 50 points over Kenneth O’Keefe who made a late season charge to jump into contention for the championship. Guest’s season included 103 starts, 71 top five finishes, 16 poles, and 25 wins to go along with the 1880 points he collected throughout the season. The final position on the podium goes to Christian Pedersen (New England) who ended the season 135 points behind Guest. JR Motorsports late model driver Josh Berry (Mid-South) had a great season as well, earning ten wins in 24 starts. Although those are impressive stats, he fell short by 164 points in the final standings. Completing the top five for 2013 Season Two is Wes Weidman (Plains). Weidman was a top five contender all throughout the season which is proven by his stats which included 30 top five finishes in 34 races, but he came up 173 points short as the checkered flag flew at the conclusion of Week 12.
As Season Two comes to a close, some members look back on the season with a good feeling that they gave it their all and just came up a bit short while others feel they have room for improvement. Either way, Season Two has been a great success as nearly 6,300 individuals competed in at least one race during the season. The drivers will get a one week break before action returns at Pocono Raceway on July 30th GMT for 20 laps at Pocono Raceway.