Elvis Rankin Converts Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Results Into Real-World Title Shot

Earlier this year, Indianapolis-based teenager Elvis Rankin impressed sim racing and real-world racing pros alike with a stellar performance in the inaugural Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series. His runner-up finish in that championship gave him the opportunity to compete in this year’s Skip Barber Formula Race Series in the real world, with a half-season scholarship to help him showcase his skills.

Flash forward to this week’s season finale at Circuit of the Americas, and Rankin has done much more than just show up for half the races. It took him just two rounds at his debut event at Lime Rock Park to find the top step of the podium for the first time, and after formalizing a full-season campaign, he enters Rounds 13 and 14 with a 13-point championship advantage.

In total, Rankin boasts six wins and nine podiums across the 12-race schedule, including seven in the past eight races. That performance was buoyed by two doubleheader sweeps in three weekends in late July and early August, with back-to-back wins at both Watkins Glen International and New Jersey Motorsports Park. Most recently, Rankin finished second and first in two races at Sebring International Raceway to assert the lead going into the final event.

Part of the internationally renowned Apex Racing Team, Rankin’s list of successes on iRacing is extensive. Alongside numerous Special Event victories and league championships, he’s represented the United States in VCO Cup of Nations events and won the $5,000 PAX Arena Almost Pro event in 2021. In addition to his virtual successes, Rankin boasts plenty of previous real-world experience in various racing schools and series, including the 2016 USAC .25 Midget national championship.

Competing alongside Rankin in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series is Mikkel Gade, who scored the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series title earlier this season to earn a full scholarship. Gade has had a solid season of his own, sitting fourth in points with four podium finishes including best results of second at New Jersey and Road America.

To follow along with the final rounds of the 2022 Skip Barber Formula Race Series championship, be sure to visit www.skipbarber.com/tsl-live-timing/ on Tuesday, November 29 and Wednesday, November 30!

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