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Post by Jarhead on Apr 22, 2013 8:18:39 GMT -8
I learned Iowa from a fast friend of mine. You really need to run a high line there. Once I got the line right, nobody was able to pass me on the inside. It is the only track I ever won a truck race at. If you would like to practice with me next time Iowa comes up for any of the series you run, let me know.
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Post by zero7159 on Apr 22, 2013 8:21:10 GMT -8
Thanks Jarhead. I will take you up on the offer. What you say makes sense, the fast guys seemed reticent to passing me on the inside. Rather, they would run up to my bumper and wait for a second or two, as if I was going to all of the sudden go low to allow them by.
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Post by zero7159 on May 11, 2013 10:56:15 GMT -8
Forgot to post last week. Since I last updated you guys, I have done two races in the NASCAR iRacing series, 90 laps at Talladega last week and 133 laps at Darlington this morning. Troy Eddy was kind enough to crew chief for me during both races and he has made a huge difference. We got 6th last Saturday at Talladega, with no incidents, and we got 10th this morning at Darlington, also with no incidents. The key has been strategy, in particular keeping the car in one piece and avoiding the wrecks. Troy seems to be having a ball with his beer and crew chief duties and I am able to concentrate on racing and avoiding wrecks.
We have the week off next week and then we have Charlotte on May 25. That should be fun, its one of my best tracks.
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Post by Jarhead on May 30, 2013 4:18:04 GMT -8
Had a great race in the GT Challenge series last night. The track this week is Brands Hatch. I really like that track. I don't know if it's the new build or all the time I have spent in the Corvette, probably both, because my lap times have dropped by over a second from last season. Last night the race was one split of 26 cars with a good mix. 8 Corvettes, 12 McLarens, and 6 Ford GTs. I was in a Corvette of course. I was qualified for 2nd on the grid, less than a tenth behind 1st. For some reason the 1st place driver never gridded for the race which gave me the pole. I took advantage of it too and hauled ass just as soon as I saw the pace car heading for the pits. I have been run over too many times in these races by faster drivers who don't like to qualify. My strategy worked and I had a 3 second lead by the end of the first lap. There were a couple of fast guys behind me though and they were working their way through the pack. I still need to work on the first section of the track because that is where they were gaining the most on me. I have the middle to end sections figured out though, because I was actually gaining time there. I had one spin on lap 12. The second place driver made it past me, but then he ran off the track and must have hit something, because he pitted. Besides that, I only had 2 minor off tracks which didn't slow me down much. I had a couple of problems with some Ford GTs that didn't want to move over for the blue flag. I even had to push my nose in on one of them. I didn't make contact and held my line, but it must have scared him because he ran off the track, didn't hit anything though. I was able to hold everyone off for the win. There were only 3 other Vettes and 1 McLaren left on the lead lap. I also had the fastest lap time of the race, so I would call it a legitimate win.  |
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Post by zero7159 on May 30, 2013 7:48:00 GMT -8
Nice win Troy. That was a favorable split for you and your strategy paid off.
I had two official series races last night, one good, one not so good. The good one was the Global Challenge race at Oran Park in the Caddy. Its the first non-Cadillac Cup track we have done in the series and its quite the challenge. My goal was simply to avoid crashing or spinning and I was successful. I only got 3rd out of 4 Caddys, but I was OK with that since the two guys ahead of me were total aliens, with ridiculously high iRatings. I really enjoy that track.
The not so good race was the Class B Fixed Nationwide race at Dover. I started off well, with a top 10 grid position and was able to stick in the top 10 for more than half the race. The problem was that we only had one caution on lap 4 or 5 and I did not pit. I must have burnt up my tires because I had difficulty getting speed out of the turns after the halfway point of the race. I ended up finishing 15th, behind at least 4 or 5 damaged cars that had pitted and gotten fresh tires. I was able to avoid any incidents and so I got a nice SR bump.
My plan for tonight after the kids go to bed is to get in some practice with the Star Mazda at Road America and to do the Class A fixed at Dover. I need the practice for Saturday morning's NASCAR iRacing series race, which is also at Dover.
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 5, 2013 3:05:35 GMT -8
I had 2 more wins in the IndyCar at Texas last night. I am currently have the #1 qualifying time in the world for this week so of course I started on the pole for both races. It doesn't mean the races were easy though. My biggest fear at Texas is spinning on the start and re-starts which I did 4 times last season when on the pole.
Once I get going the real work begins protecting the inside line. Texas is a conga line track for the IndyCars. You can run wide open and hold the bottom line all the way around the track and it's nearly impossible to pass the 1st place driver on the outside. So as the leader, I had to maintain serious concentration through the corners and especially on corner exit because everyone who was behind me kept trying to stick their nose on the inside to force a pass. One guy even went down on the apron exiting turn 2 and made contact with my left rear tire. It was a 0x and didn't affect my car, but it bent his wing and he fell back after that.
I was able to hold everyone off though. I made a comment during one race that they would never see daylight between me and the white line so they could stop looking for it. At the end of the race one of the guys called me Troy "no daylight" Eddy.
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 7, 2013 3:11:02 GMT -8
2 more wins last night at Texas with the IndyCar. I still hold the #1 qualifying time in the world for this week, so I know going into every race that I will have the pole position. My greatest fear is still spinning on the restarts. I have been practicing restarts a lot and haven't spun one yet while on the pole. Every time we get a caution I practice the start on almost every lap by hanging back a little from the pace car as we are coming out of turn 4, then as we get to the normal restart area I will accelerate hard in 1st just to see what I can get away with. So far it has worked. I still hold 1st place in my division for the series championship and have moved up to 4th overall. My iRating also went over 3500 last night. Now I'm looking to get it over 4000 before next season. Here are the top 10 qualifying drivers so far this week:  |
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Post by Kelly G on Jun 7, 2013 3:52:59 GMT -8
Those are some tight times!
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 7, 2013 6:03:42 GMT -8
It's always like that in the IndyCar fixed oval series. Everyone has the exact same setup and there is usually only one good line around an oval track for qualifying. This week the difference between the top 100 qual times is less than .1 second.
Get an IndyCar and come out and try it sometime. You might like it.
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Post by zero7159 on Jun 7, 2013 6:35:14 GMT -8
I had a rough night last night. I started with the Class A fixed race in the Chevy cup car at Pocono. It was fun racing, but I got caught up early in a wreck and thus I had damage the rest of the way. I stuck with the race and did not rage quit. That was a mistake. On lap 32 or so, a frustrated 4000 plus iRating guy decided I was running too slow and he completely demolished me on the final turn. I ended up with 8 incident points. But, I did not call it good and go to bed. Rather, things only got worse. I then did a Class C fixed race in the truck at Texas. It was a total wreck fest. Early on, I got a couple of phantom 4xs when I grazed spinning trucks I was trying to avoid. OK, I took no damage and was running top 5 most of the race. I had a great rivalry going with the 14 truck, a totally cool Aussie. But, he went into the wall just before the last turn and then he came across the track directly into me on lap 32. Engine blown, I ended up with a 7th place finish. For the night I took more than a 1.0 SR hit. Yikes.....
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Post by oldslowfred on Jun 7, 2013 14:22:22 GMT -8
Troy, that is very impressive indeed #1 qual spot ! congrats  But perhaps almost as impressive is the gap you have to #2  |
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 7, 2013 17:05:09 GMT -8
Well, my time at the top came to an end in the 5:45 qual session when someone ran a 24.378 to beat my time by .001!!!  So I went out and did some practice and signed up for the 6:45 qual session. I ran a 24.371 and was feeling on top of the world again. Then a few seconds later another guy in the room ran a 24.368 to beat me by .003!!!  I have been practicing and ran 2 qual sessions since then. I have run a 24.357 in practice, but I can't repeat it when it counts.  I have one more shot before the 10:00 race. |
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 7, 2013 17:07:31 GMT -8
I had a rough night last night. I started with the Class A fixed race in the Chevy cup car at Pocono. It was fun racing, but I got caught up early in a wreck and thus I had damage the rest of the way. I stuck with the race and did not rage quit. That was a mistake. On lap 32 or so, a frustrated 4000 plus iRating guy decided I was running too slow and he completely demolished me on the final turn. I ended up with 8 incident points. But, I did not call it good and go to bed. Rather, things only got worse. I then did a Class C fixed race in the truck at Texas. It was a total wreck fest. Early on, I got a couple of phantom 4xs when I grazed spinning trucks I was trying to avoid. OK, I took no damage and was running top 5 most of the race. I had a great rivalry going with the 14 truck, a totally cool Aussie. But, he went into the wall just before the last turn and then he came across the track directly into me on lap 32. Engine blown, I ended up with a 7th place finish. For the night I took more than a 1.0 SR hit. Yikes..... Don't worry Craig, tomorrow you will have your beer drinkin crew chief for the race that counts. We are gonna get you at least a top 10 and I'm really pushing for a top 5.  |
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Post by Jarhead on Jun 8, 2013 11:11:47 GMT -8
I'm back on top of the world!!! I was finally able to run the fast lap when it counts and got a 24.367 in the qual session. I am now ahead of #2 by .001 second.   |
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Post by zero7159 on Jun 10, 2013 12:03:45 GMT -8
I rebounded nicely after last Thursday's disastrous two races. I did ten official races between Friday and Sunday. In 9 of them, I got a top 10 finish, with 6 top 5 finishes. The only race where I did not get a top 10 was the NASCAR iRacing series at Pocono, where I placed 23rd. But, that had nothing to do with me or anyone else on track. Around lap 60, iRacing disconnected me from the race. I can confidently say it was iRacing, because Troy and I were on Teamspeak the whole time (he was acting as my crew chief for the race), and we never got cut off, nor did our signal degrade in any way. My Internet never went down. By the time I got re-connected to the race, I was several laps down and could not make up the difference.
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