VRW S2: Pit Strategy Pays Dividends in Charlotte
- Published ()
- Virtual Racing World
Many of the VRW teams left Richmond with a large damage bill and a hurt pride. This past week the series returned to form with three outstanding night races in Charlotte. The VRW fans were treated to some great moves both on the track and in the pitlane.
Welch Waits and Wins in Sportsman
TDR Racing's Keith Welch was determined to keeping Shawn Kimball from taking yet another VRW Sportsman win. Welch, who started in the 4th position for the race, passed Kimball in turn 1 with less than 20 laps remaining in the event. While Thomas McKie did challenge him for the lead Welch's biggest challenge came not by a fellow competitor but by the pace car itself.
As Welch was leading the Sportsman 250 event he must have been excited to see the yellow lights come on just as he passed the start finish line with 3 to go. What was not apparent was that he took the yellow flag at that moment, not on the next lap by the starter stand. Welch did the right thing however and literally stopped on the back straight and waited for the pace car and field to come around and pass him so he could take his first career VRW win.
The event featured 15 lead changes among 8 drivers. Pole sitter Wade Hermes of LikeReal Racing led the most laps of the event, staying at the front for 44 laps of the 160 lap race.
Gottschalk Conserves Tires For First GN Victory
Steven Gottschalk conserved his tires on the long green flag run in the second half of the GN 250 to bring home his first VRW win. As the field began green flag pit stops the Telemotive/Best Buy #28 team decided to stay out for as long as possible. The move worked when the final yellow flag came out and trapped a good portion of the field behind the pace car after they had gone a lap down in the pits. The Rebel Racing driver led the final 19 laps of the event after starting in the 12th position.
The race was a competitive one, with 9 drivers leading at least a lap. Among those drivers were Scott Paton, Michael Crane, Brett Rupert, Tony LaGrene, Joao Vaz, Jason E. Davis, Al Sena, and Andrew White.
While pole sitter Vaz and Davis both led over 50 laps, both drivers experienced problems in the final quarter of the race that relegated them to 14th and 15th on the lead lap. Vas was in the lead before the round of green flag stops but got involved in an incident that brought out the yellow flag that Gottschalk capitalized on. The #66 Patricio Rey Racing entry of Davis lost control of his car exiting turn 4 while challenging Gottschalk for the win with only 4 laps to go. Davis did gather the car back up in the first dog leg only to be tapped by The #4 of Tim Hammer, who finished 3th.
Lescault Racing's Matt Sentell brought the FoxSports.com #3 home in 2nd after starting in the 6th position.
DeadWrinkle Racing Takes One-Two Finish In Cup
TDRacin' driver Tyler Hudson took the pole for the 200 lap main event at Lowe's. The #00 Oakley entry was put on the pole with a blistering fast lap of 30.548 seconds around the 1.5 mile oval. Hudson, who has proven to be the man to beat in qualifying, beat Dustin McGrew in the #4 Team Cyclone entry by .039 seconds to grab the top spot.
Weidner Racing's Mike Blackstock came home in the 5th position after starting in 4th. Blackstock ran in the top 5 for most of the event, leading a total of 36 laps. In the second half of the race Blackstock fell back to the rear end of the lead lap, but was able to fight his was back to the front for a strong finish.
Mike Bonoffski drove from a provisional start and showed that it is possible to move from the back of the field to the front with patience and good timing. The Long Pedal Racing driver capitalized on the yellow flags and slowly moved to the front of the field while avoiding trouble on the way. In the last quarter of the race he made a strong move to the front that resulted in a 3rd place finish. The #59 Dodge driver led one lap early on, staying out when the rest of the field pitted under the first yellow. He promptly came in for service before the race went green again.
Team Cyclone's Dustin McGrew was dominant force in the event, leading the most laps of anyone with a total of 58 trips around the circuit at the front. The #4 driver had a strong chance to win but ultimately got passed by the #1 and #2 cars of DeadWrinkle Racing.
Josh Smathers started up front and remained there for most of the race, only falling back in the field during green flag pit stops. While the #2 ProSeat driver never made it to the front of the field he hung out in the top 10 all night and drove from the 8th postion to come home in 2nd place behind his teammate. in final quarter of the race
Jeff Fritsher's race nearly ended on lap 19 when he and Ostrow Racing's Jeff Eiland got together in turn 1. Despite some hood damage and being restarted in the back of the field, Fritscher used great pit strategy to emerge at the front of the pack after the leaders made green flag stops around lap 124. The #1 driver stayed out and was rewarded when the yellow flag flew on lap 129. Fritcher, who earns a reported $61,000 a race salary from DeadWrinkle Racing, stayed up front in the closing laps and motored by McGrew to lead the final 20 laps of the event for his first career VRW win.
The cup event featured a monstrous 36 lead changes among 13 drivers and only 9 cautions for 35 of the 200 lap event.
The VRW heads out of the south to visit one of sim racing's newest facilities in Chicago. It should be an excellent weekend of racing.