Stofer Wins Kansas Photo Finish Thriller

Chris Stofer earns his first career Lionheart victory “by a nose” – literally — over Joe Hassert.

Any sim racer who wins a race in the Lionheart Indycar Series presented by First Medical Equipment can usually long recall the details of their first victory. For Chris Stofer, his first career win at Wednesday night’s Lehmann’s Landing 200 will be particularly memorable because it was also one of the closest finishes in league history.

Stofer took the checkered flag by just 0.011s over “Big Joe” Hassert in a finish so tight that even the league’s veteran broadcast team was initially unsure who had won the race. The two sim racers battled side-by-side for four laps following a late-race restart. Hassert initially got the jump on Stofer and defended the bottom line throughout the final run. However, it was after Hassert dove down to the apron with the finish line in sight that Stofer pulled ahead by a nose.

“It was definitely a tough race, that’s for sure,” said Stofer in victory lane. “It could have gone either way at the line. I had no idea how close it was. That was a lot of fun!”

The Adrenaline Motorsports driver expressed surprise that he was able to secure the win while running in the higher line.

“I wanted to follow him down there as much as I could so he didn’t have as much of an advantage,” said Stofer of Hassert’s last-lap dive to the apron.

The final battle between Stofer and Hassert was reminiscent of the league’s season-opener at Homestead, where Hassert ultimately took the win. Neither driver had been as close to victory lane since the Miami opener – a fact that was not lost on a dejected Hassert after the race.

“I don’t know why he passed me,” said Hassert. “I wasn’t sliding at all; I didn’t scrub any speed. He just got a hell of a run, I guess.”

For Hassert, the tight finish was equally frustrating after he lost the pole position by an even-smaller margin to teammate Jake Wright.

“I tied for pole, and I lose the race by a hundredth. What else can you say about the night?” said Hassert, who managed to find something positive about his evening. “Hopefully I gave everybody a good show!  We’re just getting ready for Auto Club. I want to win that race by ten seconds!”

Dave Barber and James Krahula have their hopes for victory dashed after late-race contact sends both sim racers into the grass.

The late-race caution was caused by an incident at the front of the field. After light contact between Stofer and then-leader Hassert, a major check-up occurred that ultimately collected Dave Barber and defending race winner James Krahula, both of whom had been solid front-runners all evening. Barber and Krahula finished a disappointing 17th and 19th respectively.

Dan Geren rounded-out the podium, moving into second place in the overall championship standings with the solid result. Unfortunately for Geren, points leader Jake Wright finished right behind him in fourth, which officially eliminated Geren from the championship hunt and crowned Wright as the two-time series champion.

“Congratulations to Jake,” said Geren after the race. “He’s pretty much wrapped this thing up now; there’s no way I can catch him.” Geren promised an even closer battle for the league championship in 2017. “You deserve this win, but next year I’m coming after you!”

Jake Wright officially secured his position as two-time league champion thanks to a fourth-place finish at Kansas.

Stofer’s teammate Tony Showen came home fifth, tying his season-best finish. Race sponsor Trevor Bissett guided his Lehmann’s Landing Dallara DW12 to a sixth-place finish after dedicating the race to his mother who had fallen ill earlier in the week. Rounding-out the top ten were Brian Yaczik, Kansas-native Chris Gutierrez, Ron Hacker and Jorge Anzaldo.

The race was slowed by five cautions for 20 laps. Only eight of the 34 starters failed to finish, and bine different sim racers led laps with 30 lead changes taking place during the event.  Stofer’s 0.011s MoV was the second-closest finish in league history, behind only a Season One race at Indianapolis.

The series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next week for the American Cancer Society Race for the Cure 200. Jason Robarge is the defending race winner, and Pete Edwins is the race sponsor. The event will be broadcast live on the Global SimRacing Channel (GSRC) and iRacingLive on Wednesday, October 26th, beginning at 10:35PM ET.

For more information about the Lionheart Indycar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, please visit www.lionheartracingseries.com

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