From Japan to Delaware

Racing into Turn One.

After spending Week Three in the Mecca of NASCAR, the NASCAR iRacing Class A Fixed Series heads across the Pacific Ocean towards Japan for Week Four and back to the United States for Week Five. Week Four brought sim racers from all over the world to the virtual Twin Ring Motegi circuit for 50 laps of action at the 1.549 mile speedway located in Motegi, Japan while Week Five saw 55 laps at the 1 mile concrete monster known as Dover International Speedway.

Twin Ring Motegi (Top Strength of Field)

After leading 40 of the event’s 50 laps, Chris J Miller (Carolina) took his No. 1 Toyota Camry from the race track into Motegi’s famed victory lane. Even though Miller started from the fifth position, he quickly found himself in the lead and never looked back as he cruised to a 1.991 second margin of victory over second place William R Harris (Plains) who led the opening six laps after starting from the pole position in his No. 4 Ford Fusion. The final spot on the podium was occupied by JC Nobrega (Brazil) who started from the sixth position in his No. 2 Chevrolet SS and worked his way into the top three by the fall of the checkered flag. The remaining spots in the top five were filled by John Clark4 (West) and Pedro Mega (Brazil). The 2618 strength of field was slowed four times for caution for a total of 13 laps and saw three lead changes among three drivers.

Dover (Top Strength of Field)

It doesn’t matter how good you are at the beginning of the race if you can’t finish it with the same intensity. One driver who took that saying and proved it was French sim racer Julien Oligo who started from the eighth position in the No. 2 Chevrolet SS and led 31 laps en route to an 11.832 second margin of victory. Second place on the day was earned by Josh Skroupa (Atlantic) who started from the ninth position in the No. 3 Ford Fusion. The third spot was held down by Tom Giannini (New York) who drove his No. 7 Chevrolet SS from the seventh starting spot to finish solidly in the top five. Spots four and five were filled by Marko Kiikka (Finland) and Pennsylvania native Gary Powell who each started inside the top five and held on to finish there as well. The 3055 strength of field was slowed twice for caution for a total of six laps and saw one lead change among two drivers.

Frontstretch at Dover.

Twin Ring Motegi (Weekly Standings)

By taking the victory in the week’s top strength of field event, Miller was able to net 160 championship points for his efforts during the week. The second position was filled by Connor Anton. Even though he did not compete in the week’s top strength of field event, he was able to earn 147 points for a win in another race. Harris’ efforts in the top strength of field were enough to earn him 145 points for the week, which placed him solidly in the third spot in the weekly standings. The fourth and fifth spots in the standings were occupied by Timothy Wick (Canada) and Sergio Roda Junior (Brazil) who accumulated 138 and 131 points, respectively.

Dover (Weekly Standings)

With the victory in the week’s top strength of field event, Oligo was able to net the most championship points for the week with 186. Second place finisher in the week’s top strength of field event also accumulated the second most points for the week with 167. The third spot in the standings was held down by Eric Hoggarth (Plains) who made three starts and recorded two victories en route to a point addition of 165 to his season total. The final two spots were occupied by Gonzolo Romero (DE-AT-CH) and Kevin Gram (West) who each earned 163 points for their efforts during the week.

Twin Ring Motegi (Qualifying)

NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Nick Ottinger (Carolina) took a break from his normal duties behind the wheel of the No. 05 Rheem Toyota Camry in order to run some qualifying laps at Twin Ring Motegi. As to be expected Ottinger put up the quickest time for the week as he was the only driver in the 34 second bracket with a time of 34.972 seconds. The second quickest time of the week was turned in by Roda Jr with a time of 35.062 seconds. The remainder of the top five saw Hoggarth, Josh Weinrich (Plains), and Jason Martin3 (Australia/NZ).

Dover (Qualifying)

Also a NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor, Matt Bussa (Illinois) took a break from his normal duties behind the wheel of the No. 34 Toyota Camry in order to set the quickest time for the week. With a time of 22.782 seconds around the one mile concrete oval, Bussa was the only driver in the 22.7 second bracket for the week. The second place driver for the week was Anthony Kernich (Australia/NZ), who ended the week with a time of 22.839. The remainder of the top five was occupied by Benjamin Truflandier (France), Weinrich, and Jeremy Lukaszka (Midwest).

With trips to Japan and Delaware now in the rearview mirror, the NASCAR iRacing Class A Fixed Series will head to the Tricky Triangle for 35 laps of action at one of the most difficult oval circuits in all of the world. Check back next week for a full recap of the action from Pocono Raceway.

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