SARA vs CARS All-Star Invitational Slated for May 19

The Sim Auto Racing Association and Can-Am Racing Series, two sim-racing leagues on the iRacing service, announced this week a special league vs league event scheduled for May 19th. The SARA vs CARS All-Star Invitational race will feature each league’s top 12 Late Model drivers competing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for what has become one of the biggest prize purses in iRacing hosted race history.

The event, which will be broadcast live by E-TV at 9:45 PM on May 19, will include a two-segment 75-lap feature race as well as two “win and you’re in” showdown races around New Hampshire’s Cup oval.

The event is only open to regular competitors of the SARA Matt Rolfe Designs Outlaw Late Model Series and Can-Am’s M.Rolfe Designs Late Model Tour who will be competing for over $375 worth of prizes.

Through the efforts of Matt Rolfe, whose design firm M. Rolfe Designs is the naming sponsor for both divisions, the winner of the race will be awarded two tickets to the July NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. The ticket package, which includes Global Rallycross, Whelen Modifieds, the Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup’s New England 300, is valued at $250. First place will also win a trophy and a custom paint job for an iRacing oval car.

“To steal a line from Bull Durham, we’re going to announce our presence with authority.” – SARA Promoter Paul Miles

Three other contingency awards have been announced, including tickets to the Southern Super Series 125 at Montgomery Motor Speedway in Montgomery, AL, a case of XS Energy drinks from GotXSEnergy.com and a t-shirt from M. Rolfe Designs.

“Matt (Rolfe) has put together a fantastic event on behalf of the SARA & Can-Am organizations. The show was his idea, and the race is his format. Greg (Netherwood, CARS’ administrator) and I both had input, but this is Matt’s baby,” said SARA promoter Paul Miles.

“This is going to be a great show,” he continued. “I believe we have some of the best short trackers in sim-racing, and this will be an opportunity for us to show the sim-racing community what we’re made of. To steal a line from Bull Durham, we’re going to announce our presence with authority.”

“While this race falls outside of our norm of fixed setups, that won’t stop us from dominating.” -CARS co-founder Greg Netherwood

After a testy negotiation regarding race format, Can-Am co-founder and driver of the MacAttack Taxidermy #57 Pure Stock at New York’s Canadaigua Motorsports Park Greg Netherwood said, “We truly believe our Late Model tour has some of the best short track drivers iRacing has to offer, and while this race falls outside of our norm of fixed setups, that won’t stop us from dominating.”

To prevent interlopers and ringers from running in this first-of-its-kind event, qualifying rules were drafted.

For the SARA, drivers must have competed in seven of last season’s 10 races, or five races through Week Seven of the current season. CARS drivers must have nine races scored from last season or four races in the current season. The top 10 drivers in each series’ point standings earn an automatic entry to the race, and are locked-in to the top 20 spots on the grid. Row 11 will be decided by a pair of showdown races. 25 lap sprints with no cautions and no fast repairs. Row 12 will feature two Promoters’ Provisionals. Each organization can name a driver who did not qualify to participate.

Late Model bragging rights will be on the line at NHMS on May 19.

Qualifying for the main show will have the added twist of lane choice for the league. The driver who qualifies on pole gets lane choice, and his series will line up behind him. For example, if SARA MRD Outlaws defending champion Chris Roberts qualifies on pole and chooses the inside lane, all SARA drivers will start on the inside. If Can-Am’s Mike King qualifies on pole and chooses the outside lane, all Can-Am drivers will start from the outside. Besides lane choice, drivers will line up in qualfiying order, second fastest SARA driver will be on Row Two, third fastest Can-Am driver will be in Row Three, etc.

An additional twist, cooked up by Rolfe, is the two segment format. The feature will start with a 25 lap sprint followed by a competition yellow, during which there will be an invert. The number of cars to be inverted has yet to be determined, and will not be announced prior to the competition yellow. The second segment is a 50 lap race to the checkers for all the glory.

Drivers from both organizations are excited to be part of an outstanding sim racing event, and are looking forward to putting on a show for ETV viewers.

For more information on either organization visit their websites.

Sim Auto Racing Association:

http://www.simautoracingassociation.com

http://www.facebook.com/simautoracingassociation

http://www.twitter.com/SARAsimRacing

http://members.iracing.com/membersite/member/LeagueView.do?league=363

Can-Am Racing Series:

http://canamracingseries.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CanAmRacingSeries

http://members.iracing.com/membersite/member/LeagueView.do?league=35

Event sponsor links:

http://www.mrolfedesigns.com