The Road to Pro, PT II
June 26th, 2013 by Jaime Baker
At the two-third mark of 2013 Season 2, the crunch of making pro lingers as four more weeks are needed for NASCAR iRacing.com Class A Series drivers to clinch a spot in the 2013 NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series.
This season there are eleven spots open for the Pro Series as opposed to the usual ten. As with the last few seasons, though, just because there is an extra spot does not mean there won’t be drama when it is all said and done.
Proof of this is that every driver in the top 50 in points still has a shot to get into the Elite Eleven.
As it sits right now the Magic Number to get in is 2655 and the championship Magic Number is 2868. Both of these number will go down as the season finishes-up but, as of right now, these are the points total sim-racers should be targeting.
ALMOST SAFE
POS | NAME | PNTS | DROP | CLINCH# | ELIM |
1 | Simon Crochart | 2369 | 0 | 296 | IN |
Simon Crochart is almost there. He can clinch with a finish of 296 points this week. Missing a week at the beginning of the season has not phased Simon as he has not missed a beat and is about to clinch his spot into NiPS.
THERE BUT NOT THERE YET
POS | NAME | PNTS | DROP | CLINCH# | ELIM |
2 | Randy Hockaday | 2262 | 84 | 487 | IN |
3 | Tom Moustakas | 2229 | 131 | 567 | IN |
4 | Charlie Foster | 2218 | 171 | 618 | IN |
8 | Brandon Hauck | 2048 | 0 | 617 | IN |
This is setup week for these guys. Although none of them can clinch this week, a solid run and they can setup for a clinching run next week at Daytona International Speedway.
I am putting Brandon Hauck in this category because he has missed a week and is eligible for full points this week, so he could use this week as a setup week as well
ON THE BUBBLE
6 | Kwame Adjei | 2089 | 163 | 739 | IN |
7 | Nicholas Morse | 2076 | 55 | 644 | IN |
9 | Armando Vargas | 2025 | 114 | 754 | IN |
10 | Kyle Wicka | 2015 | 160 | 810 | IN |
11 | Sascha Wesler | 2007 | 92 | 750 | IN |
These guys are the bubble guys. Good weeks and they could solidify their place in the Elite Eleven. Interesting to note that Nicholas Morse and Sascha Wesler both have low drop weeks and can make significant gains this week.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
POS | NAME | PNTS | DROP | CLINCH# | ELIM |
12 | Dwayne Vincent | 1995 | 202 | 872 | IN |
13 | Brandon Hauff | 1991 | 194 | 868 | IN |
14 | Nicholas Goertzen | 1923 | 135 | 877 | IN |
15 | Kory Henry | 1923 | 156 | 898 | IN |
16 | Brandon Coppinger | 1906 | 155 | 914 | IN |
17 | Benjamin Burmeister | 1858 | 0 | 807 | IN |
18 | Chris Overland | 1816 | 21 | 870 | IN |
These are your guys that still have a shot of getting to the Elite Eleven. They are there but need solid finishes. In this group Benjamin Burmeister and Chris Overland both have very low drop weeks and could gain points going into week 10.
LIVING ON A PRAYER
19 | Mitchell Hunt | 1815 | 0 | 850 | IN |
20 | Nolan Scott | 1799 | 0 | 866 | IN |
21 | Alex Scribner | 1750 | 0 | 915 | IN |
22 | John Bunton | 1674 | 182 | 1173 | IN |
23 | Matt Spangler | 1654 | 101 | 1112 | IN |
24 | Steven Eszenyi | 1628 | 18 | 1055 | IN |
25 | Ashley Miller | 1621 | 0 | 1044 | IN |
These guys are in it but still have a ways to go. John Button is in trouble here as his consistent finishes have his drop week score very high. He needs a strong week here to help him get towards the bubble.
DROP WEEK STANDINGS
DROP WEEK STANDINGS AFTER 8 WEEKS – w/2 drops | |||||
P | NAME | ACT POS | DROP | PNTS | ACC POS |
7 | Benjamin Burmeister | 19 | 59 | 1799 | -286 |
8 | Armando Vargas | 10 | 181 | 1730 | -355 |
9 | Steven Gilbert | 6 | 218 | 1718 | -367 |
10 | Sascha Wesler | 12 | 204 | 1711 | -374 |
11 | Kwame Adjei | 7 | 230 | 1696 | -389 |
12 | Nolan Scott | 22 | 134 | 1665 | -420 |
13 | Mitchell Hunt | 21 | 158 | 1657 | -428 |
14 | Kyle Wicka | 11 | 202 | 1653 | -432 |
15 | Nicholas Goertzen | 15 | 153 | 1635 | -450 |
16 | Chris Overland | 20 | 183 | 1612 | -473 |
This is, in my opinion, a table to scrutinize. These standings showing “bubble” and “outside looking in guys” with a driver’s two worst weeks being taken out. These standings show that drivers who have missed weeks like Nolan Scott and Mitchell Hunt are still in the hunt. Take note also because Benjamin Burmeister also missed a week he is in the top 10 when drop weeks come into account.
Good luck to the drivers at Kentucky Speedway and everyone trying to make the NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series.