Salvatore Opens Three-Peat Bid at New Smyrna
February 9th, 2012 by DavidP
Brandon Salvatore kicked-off his 2012 Season One NASCAR iRacing.com Tour Modified Series (NiTMS) season with a convincing win at the New Smyrna Speedway, a new venue for the series. Salvatore picked-up right where he left off in 2011, after winning the final two Tour Modified championships to close out the 2011 season.
The victory which clinched the week for Salvatore came during a 3718 Strength of Field (SoF) race on Thursday in which the defending champ led all 100 laps of the event. Wide Open Racing teammate Giovanni Mungin was second followed by Untamed Motorsports sim racer and Tour Modified veteran Paul Wisniewski. Derrick Cormier2 and Ray Farlow completed the top five. Six cautions slowed the pace of the race for just over a quarter (27) of the completed laps. The win was worth 229 points to Salvatore, while Mungin (209) and Paul Wisniewski (190) earned second and fourth overall for the week based on their performance in this race.
Salvaotre also took home the second highest rated race of the week two hours prior to Thursday’s biggest win. This tilt was rated at 3268 SoF and saw 17 NiTMS drivers take the green. After starting from pole, Salvatore led all but one lap to take the victory over Taylor Meyn, Mungin, Cormier2 and Trent Hullum. Seven cautions slowed the event and only the top four finished on the lead lap. Meyn’s 191 points put him third for the week at the Florida short track out of 85 drivers who took a green flag during the week.
Cormier2 had quite the week at the helm of his Tour Modified. Combined with his two finishes in the top rated events of the week, he went on to win three races in a total of six starts to complete the week in fifth with 164 points. Cormier2, along with Salvatore, were the only two to take multiple wins on the week. They were joined in victory lane by singleton winners Marc Pilon, Samuel Dick, David Chmura, Shane Kline, James Schofield and James Hearns.
Divisional leaders from Divisions One to Eight after Week One include Salvatore, Hullum, Noel Parker, William Kabela, Adam Strawmeyer, John Weisenauer, Bill Rowlands and James Falcon Pratt. Divisions are skill-matched at the beginning at the season by iRacing.
Next up for the NASCAR iRacing.com Tour Modified Series is Richmond International Raceway. Herb Engelhart took the win last time the series visited the Virginia race track. Can the former Tour Modified champ top “two-time” in Week Two? Find out here, next week at inRacingNews.
Until then, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!