Bricks and Championships
July 23rd, 2014 by Jaime Baker
When it comes to winning races, every driver will say winning at any track is special, but when it comes to the truly special ones, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is often at the top of the list. Of the 447 sim racers who took the green flag for at least one event during the week, nearly all of them did so with the mindset that they could drive their car into victory lane at the end of 35 laps.
After starting from the sixth position and leading a total of 13 laps, Cullen Brown (Texas) drove his No. 1 Toyota Camry into Indy’s famed victory lane after besting pole sitter John Reed (West) by 0.503 seconds. The final spot on the podium was filled by Paul McCullough (Texas) who started from the third position in the No. 7 Toyota Camry. The fourth and fifth positions were occupied by a pair of Chevrolet SS race cars, with Braden Boulos (Indiana) and Leandro Morissawa (Asia) filling the seats of those respective rides. The 2957 strength of field was slowed twice for caution for a total of eight laps and saw one lead change among two drivers.
By taking the victory in the week’s top strength of field event, Brown was able to accumulate the most championship points for the week with a total of 185. The second place point earner was NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Danny Hansen (Midwest). Hansen made four starts during the week, having three result in a trip to victory lane and the accumulation of 183 championship points. The third place point earner for the week is probably best known by his day job as owner of Main Performance PC, but he also takes time out of his busy schedule to hit the virtual pavement. Main’s efforts during the week included one start and a third place finish which earned him 164 championship points. The fourth and fifth positions in the weekly standings were held down by William R Harris (Plains) and Adam Jackson (Carolina), who earned 163 and 162 points, respectively.
Navigating the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a timely fashion is normally one of the most difficult tasks an oval racing driver will face all season. With four different turns, it truly takes a perfect effort around the entire track to set the quick time. Dennis Hirschka (DE-AT-CH) was able to master the qualifying lap at Indianapolis during the week as he was the only driver in the 50.0 second bracket. With a time of 50.087 seconds, he was able to best second place qualifier Anthony Kernich (Australia/NZ) by 0.033 seconds. The third positon for the week was held down by NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series driver Brian Schoenburg (California) who ended the week with a time of 50.136 seconds. The final two spots in the top five were occupied by Josh Weinrich (Plains) and Michael Abrams (New York) with times of 50.165 and 50.188 seconds, respectively.
After competing for 12 long weeks, a champion is ready to be crowned for 2014 Season Two. With a total of 1365 championship points, 18 wins, and 33 top five finishes in 35 starts, NASCAR iRacing Pro Series competitor Brandon Chubirko (Carolina) is the champion. Coming just 40 points shy of the top spot was Robert Perles (Pennsylvania). Perles season included 85 starts, 21 wins, and 50 top five finishes and the accumulation of 1325 points. The final spot on the podium was filled by Willaim R Harris (Plains). Harris’ season saw him take the green flag in 60 events, which included nine trips to victory lane, 26 top five finishes, and the net of 1305 points. Dylan Fitzpatrick, the fourth place finisher on the season, was also the proud owner of 1305 championship points as the checkered flag flew at the final event of 2014 Season Two. Fitzpatrick’s efforts during the season included 59 starts, 11 victories, and 31 top five finishes. The final spot in the top five was filled by Connor Anton (Canada). Anton’s season included 17 starts, eight victories, 16 top five finishes, and the accumulation of 1304 points.
With 2014 Season Two now in the iRacing history servers, Season Three will begin next week with trip to Pocono Raceway for 35 laps of action.