Gomez Gallops at Charlotte

Ray Alfalla (1) leads Jordan Hightower (2) and others.

With two weeks under their belts, the drivers of the NASCAR iRacing Class A Fixed Series brought their Generation-6 Cup cars to the 24-degree banks of Charlotte Motor Speedway for 50 laps of action under the lights. With nearly 900 sim racers attempting at least one race during the week, there were plenty of eager bodies ready to hit the ground running with a shot at earning the top spot for the week at the 1.5-mile speedway.

After leading just nine of the event’s 50 laps, Mark Gomez (New Jersey) pulled his No. 8 Chevrolet SS into Charlotte Motor Speedway’s victory lane after a hard fought battle with NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Brandon Hauff (New York). Gomez was able to beat Hauff across the start/finish line by just 0.049 seconds to claim the victory after starting from the sixth position. Dwayne Vincent (Mid-South) started from the pole position in his No. 2 Toyota Camry and was able to lead a total of four laps before being relegated to third place at the drop of the checkered flag. The remainder of the top five was occupied by a pair of Virginas Club members in Joshua Williams and Matthew Largen who drove their Chevrolet SS and Ford Fusion from the 18^th and fourth positions, respectively. The 3793 strength of field was slowed five times for caution for a total of 17 laps and saw six lead changes among four drivers.

By earning the victory in the week’s top strength of field event, Gomez was able to net 242 championship points for his efforts. After finishing second behind Gomez, Hauff was able to accumulate 231 points after making just one start during the week. Pedro Mojica (Texas) capped off a successful week in the third position after making five starts and recording three victories to go along with the accrual of 227 points. After making three starts during the week and recording one victory, Chris J Miller (Carolina) accrued 223 points for his efforts during the week, which places him in the fourth spot overall for the week. The final spot in the top five weekly standings was held down by two-time NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series champion Ray Alfalla (Florida) who made five starts during the week and recorded four victories.

Intense racing through Turn One.

To go along with his fifth place effort in the weekly standings, Alfalla also set the fastest time in qualifying for the week with a time of 27.355 seconds. The second position for the week was occupied by Anthony Kernich (Australia/NZ) who turned a fast time of 27.381 seconds. The final spot on the podium was filled by Shelton, who navigated the 1.5-mile speedway in 27.388 seconds. The remainder of the top five was held down by NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series competitor Mitchell Hunt (Carolina) and Kris Kelley (Virginias), turning times of 27.409 and 27.414 seconds, respectively.

After trips to Talladega, Kansas, and Charlotte, Robert Perles (Pennsylvania) holds a one point margin in the season standings over second place Connor Anton (Canada). The third position is currently occupied by Mid-South Club member Dylan Fitzpatrick is just three points out of the top spot heading into Week Four at Twin Ring Motegi. The fourth spot is currently held down by French sim racer Kevin Pommier who is only four points behind leader Perles. The final spot in the top five is occupied by Nick Shelton (Mid-South) who is currently seven points out of the lead.

With Charlotte now in their rearview mirrors, the drivers of the NASCAR iRacing Class A Fixed Series heads to Japan for 50 laps of action at one of the most unique oval circuits in the world in Twin Ring Motegi. The 1.549-mile oval, located in Motegi, Japan, previously held a NASCAR exhibition event, but an official NASCAR sanctioned race hasn’t been held at the speedway since that day in 1998 where Mike Skinner took the victory in the No. 31 Lowe’s Chevrolet.

You may also like...

Recommended

JD Brown scores elusive World of Outlaws Pro Series victory at Williams Grove

Recommended

iRacings Black Friday Sale is Live NOW!

Recommended

This Week in iRacing: November 26-December 2, 2024

Recommended

2024-25 World of Outlaws Pro Series | Race Preview | Race 3: Williams Grove