iRacing IndyCar fixed oval league.

[Jarhead]

I really like the IndyCar on ovals. It is my favorite series on iRacing and also the one I do best at. Recently a new league series using the IndyCar on ovals with fixed setups just started. I missed the first race at Homestead, but was able to join the 2nd and 3rd races so far.

Last week was 175 laps at Richmond. I started 6th and finished 3rd. Richmond is a very tricky track to drive with the IndyCar and there was a lot of attrition.

Last night was 80 laps at Indianapolis. It was a great race with only 2 cautions very early in the race. I started 4th and finished 7th. I was doing great the first half of the race, even led 10 laps. But I got caught speeding on my pit stop and had to serve a 15 second penalty. That meant I lost contact with the lead group and was never able to catch back up since there were no more cautions.

I'm currently 7th of 21 in the series standings. There are 11 races and they drop your lowest 2.

[Jarhead]

Had our race at Kentucky last night. Kentucky is a very fun track for the IndyCars. There are several lines you can run around the track and the draft plays a big part so there is no way to protect your lead. I have done decent there in the past, but haven't won yet. The race was 125 laps so 2 pit stops were required. To show how good the racing is, there were 15 lead changes and 5 different drivers led the race.

I had a decent qual time and started the race 6th of 15. Got a good start and was running in the top 5 until the first caution on lap 6. After the caution I had a great restart and was running in the top 3 switching positions lap after lap and led 17 laps until lap 48 when the 2nd place driver and me hit and my race was over.

He was complaining that I came up into him, but I believe it was his inexperience with the IndyCar, especially at Kentucky. He was also new to the League and last night was his first race with us. He has a very limited number of races in the IndyCar oval series and most of those are at Indianapolis with the open setup. He only has one race at Kentucky in the past year and that was 2012 season 3 in the open setup race. The IndyCars had a major change at the start of this season with the new tire model and every track runs different now.

So I had the inside line going into turn one and was ahead of him. He could see me, but I couldn't see him because he was in my blind spot. I knew he was outside though so I gave him at least 2 car widths between me and the wall. You have to make a late entry into turn one otherwise you will have to scrub too much speed on exit to avoid the outside wall on exit and you will have to scrub even more speed if someone is on the outside so you don't push up into them. I was heading for my normal turn in point when he decided he wanted to turn in early and hit me. Race over.

It was an extremely disappointing race because I was doing so well and had as good a chance as anyone to win it. The race went caution free after that incident. I ended up finishing 12th.

[zero7159]

Sorry about the crash Troy. That is part of my reticence to running too much multiplayer open wheel racing. One good whack and your car is done. I am currently running the Star Mazda series and this week its at Charlotte oval. Yes, I said oval. Several folks over at iRacing are bugged by that, since the oval racing is so tight and car damage is so much more likely. I have set ups for it but have not practiced or raced yet. It should be interesting.

[Jarhead]

Be very careful in those Star Mazda oval races. Most of the guys there know nothing about oval racing. Last season the Star Mazda oval race was at Phoenix and it was a disaster. If you can make it to the end on the lead lap, you will most likely be in the top 5 or better.

[zero7159]

Cool, sounds like qualifying is essential.

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