Rights and a Few Lefts

Anthony Kernich (3) and Joshua Chin (4) race up the esses.

After spending the first week of the season making only left turns, the NASCAR iRacing Class B Fixed Series brought 1,231 sim racers from all around the world to the virtual Watkins Glen International circuit for 15 laps of road racing action. Regarded as the oval of road racing, Watkins Glen drew many of the top oval racing drivers in the iRacing.com service outside of their typical scenery into a somewhat more difficult one. Even though Watkins Glen is one of the less difficult road courses in the world, it still poses a severe challenge to those drivers take the circuit lightly.

Michael Conti (New Jersey) was not one to take Watkins Glen lightly. The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor started from the seventh position in the No. 1 Camaro and quickly marched his way to the front. After taking over the top spot on lap seven, Conti quickly pulled away from second place finisher Cullen Brown (Texas) who started from the pole and led the opening six laps. After making the pass for the lead, Conti was able to pull almost seven and a half seconds on Brown by the fall of the checkered flag. The third place finisher in the event was Ethan Lane (Carolina). Lane started from the second position and was able to complete the event without recording any incidents, a feat that is not easily accomplishable at Watkins Glen. The fourth and fifth spots went to a pair of Mustangs with NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Danny Hansen (Midwest) and Marc Melcher (DE-AT-CH) behind the wheel of their respective cars. The 4823 strength of field saw no cautions and one lead change among two drivers.

Adam Gilliland (2) and Anthony Kernich (3) race side-by-side into Turn One.

By taking the victory in the week’s top strength of field event, Conti was able to earn the most championship points for the week with 275. Although he scored 305 for the victory in the top strength of field event, Conti ran a total of seven races during the week, but did go to victory lane in all seven. The second place point earner on the week is also a competitor in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series. Adam Gilliland (Texas) made four starts during the week, having one result in a trip to victory lane and the accumulation of 255 championship points. The third spot for the week went to Melcher, whose efforts in the top strength of field event earned him 244 points. The final two spots in the top five were occupied by Ian Hann (Mid-South) and Brown, who earned 242 and 241 spots, respectively.

Unfortunately for Conti, he wasn’t able to do the triple crown of week-to-week iRacing (win the top strength of field, earn the most championship points, and set the quickest speed in qualifying). Jarrad Filsell (Australia/NZ) took the top honors for qualifying during Week Two with a blistering lap of 1:14.138 around the 2.45-mile road course. The second spot on the week belonged to Conti, who just narrowly missed out of the top spot with a time of 1:14.171. The final three spots in the top five were filled by NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Matt Bussa (Illinois), Anthony Kernich (Australia/NZ), and Nick DelCampo (New York).

For those sim racers who aren’t fans of road racing, Week Three will not be any less painful for you. After spending Week Two in the northern portion of New York, the NASCAR iRacing Class B Fixed Series heads to Ohio for 15 laps around the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Check back in a few days for a full recap of the action!

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