- iRacing.com Announces iRacing 2.020,244
- Dave Kaemmer Comes Clean on Dirt13,126
- iRacing.com to create virtual McLaren MP4-12C GT312,080
- Release Notes for 2012 Season 311,418
- Scanning What’s in Store for iRacing with Tony Gardner10,564
- The iRacing.com Protest System – May, 201210,365
- Building the iRacing System 1019,044
- Improving the Sound of iRacing7,627
- iRacing.com to Build Digital Honda for New Super GT Series7,399
- Two New Cars and Two New Tracks Coming to iRacing Soon6,764
- Dave Kaemmer Comes Clean on Dirt 44
- Coming Soon, the iRacing Driving School 41
- iRacing.com Announces iRacing 2.0 41
- Q&A with NiCWS Winner and Pro Road Racing Champion Richard Towler 36
- The iRacing.com Protest System - May, 2012 33
- Bathurst Coming to iRacing! 30
- iRacing's Corvette: Good Enough is Not Good Enough 23
- Scanning What’s in Store for iRacing with Tony Gardner 22
- iRacing Simulation Gives NASCAR Hall of Fame Guests Authentic Driving Experience 17
- US F1 laments summer shutdown 16
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iRacing.com
3080
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David Phillips
Editor and ChiefDavid Phillips is a long-time contributor to print and electronic publications in the U.S. and abroad, including Racer, Autosport, AutoWeek, Motor Sport and SPEEDtv.com, oversees the daily updating of news stories and assigns, edits and contributes feature material for inRacingNews.com.
Chris Hall
iRacing.com Series WriterChris Hall has been writing since the nineties and moved into motorsports reporting in 2005, covering series such as ALMS, British GT, FIA GT, Le Mans and 2CV racing for Full Throttle magazine, Motorsport.com, The-Paddock.net, GTGateway.com, L' Endurance and, of course, inRacingNews. During 2008 and 2009, he worked with the RSS Performance Porsche Carrera Cup Team (and former British GT(C) champions) as a data engineer for a variety of drivers and models of 997s.
Jameson Spies
Contributing Writer19 years old, Jameson Spies lives in Quartz Hill, California. He grew-up surrounded by racing. His mother raced late models throughout Southern California while his father built and setup the car. Not surprisingly, Jameson began racing go-karts at the age of 13, and is now racing Spec Trucks at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He has a passion about all forms of racing and hopes to make a career out of it.
Jason Lofing
iRacing.com Series WriterJason is 21 years old and was born and raised in Elk Grove. California. A big time NASCAR fan, he hasn’t missed a race on Sunday in years. Lofing is also a huge San Fransisco Giants fan and tries to take in at least a couple games a year. Other than sim racing, his biggest (and far more expensive!) hobby is photography. Although he is rather new to sim racing, Lofing has already accomplished some pretty impressive results, qualifying for the 2011 iRacing Oval Pro Series in Season 1, 2011, winning the inaugural Landon Cassill Qualifying Challenge and finishing runner-up in the second one.
David Ifeguni
Contributing WriterI was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1988 and moved to Midland, Michigan when I was two years old. I stayed there until third grade when I moved to Farmington Hills, Michigan and now I currently live in Naperville, IL where I'm attending Metea Valley High School as a 9th grader. In the past, I have participated in soccer and this year I plan on joining swimming or water polo. My family includes my 15 year old sister, a 7 year old sister and my mom and dad. I have been writing since 6th grade and have participated in many writing contests in my school and have received several awards for writing.
My fascination for motorsports began when I was nine. The first NASCAR race I watched on TV was the 2009 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, won by Kasey Kahne. My favorite NASCAR drivers are Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jimmie Johnson. I have watched all the races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series since 2010. I currently have three wins on iRacing, two of them in the Nationwide car at Daytona and one in the Street stocks at Charlotte. My favorite car and type of track on iRacing is the Nationwide Series (B Class) car and superspeedways.
Katier Scott
Contributing WriterI am a veteran sim racer who first started racing way back in 1993 on the SPRTSIMS section of Compuserve with a league who can trace themselves all the way to the present. Within that league I act as Chief Steward and try to bring the unique viewpoint that this experience gives me into my articles.
I have a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Editorial design and have been writing for seven years and currently cover the Lotus 79 CTC and Radical series alongside my freelance work. Living in the UK, as well as motorsports I love Photography, Arts and Crafts and reading.
Dylan Sharman
Contributing WriterI was born in Adelaide and we moved-out for Angle Vale for a few years until I was about 7 years old, when we moved to the Barossa Valley where I live now. I'm 19 years old and currently traveling back and forth weekly as I'm studying for a Diploma of Furniture Design and Technology.
I've always had a love for racing as my close family did some racing and we were always out at the local dirt track. I joined iRacing back in 2010 and slowly but surely got the hang of it as this is my first experience with sim racing and am loving it each time I race. I've won two SK Modified titles (almost had three in a row but finished P2 in 2011 S4), an inRacingNews Challenge championship (2012 S1 Mazda) and was also an AustralAsian Intel GT Series Finalist.
Nathan Aljoe
Contributing WriterNathan's passion for motorsport first began in the late 1980s, captivated by the season in which Aryton Senna won his first F1 title with McLaren. Over the years his interest widened to include the British Touring Car Championship, World Rally Championship, NASCAR and various other forms of motorsport. Nathan began sim-racing in the mid 1990s using games developed by Papyrus. He later moved onto SimBim simulations such as GTR, GTR2 and GTR Evolution and has most recently joined the iRacing community.
When he's not working or sim racing, Nathan enjoys spending time and relaxing with his family. Other hobbies include going to festivals, tinkering with his car and doing up his house.
Austin Hartenfels
Contributing WriterBorn and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, I have always had a serious passion for cars and motorsports. Hoping one day to become an automotive journalist for a magazine, I constantly crave the exciting competition that comes along with racing and sim-racing. Having participated in a mere test session in a Legends car at Old Dominion Speedway, I have not been able to get into any real-life competition . . . yet.
As a sim racer, my interests date back to "GTR Evolution." My goal is to have fun and win some races. I made it to Oval Pro in 2010, but did not become very successful. I enjoy any mixed road racing competition and love racing the Silverados around almost any track.
Jordan Hightower
Contributing WriterJordan began sim-racing in 2005 with the NASCAR Racing 2003 Season sim and then joined the iRacing community in June of 2008. He hails from Fort Smith, Arkansas where he is currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, after which he plans to attend the University of Arkansas to earn his MBA. Although he enjoys watching and playing basketball, most of Jordan's focus is on motorsports, particularly NASCAR: "Anything that burns gas and goes fast, I like."
Scott Kelly
Contributing WriterBorn and raised in the greater St. Louis, Missouri area, Scott Kelly has had a love for motorsports ever since his father did the right thing by introducing auto racing into his life. No longer able to quench his need for speed by spectating NASCAR races on TV and watching dirt track stars slide around local tracks, Kelly eventually picked-up sim racing in his teens, wheeling cars found in Ratbag Games' "Dirt Track Racing" and "World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars" while also becoming introduced into multiple Papyrus sim-racing series. Joining the iRacing ranks in late 2011, Kelly set his sights on the short track racing he was familiar with, focusing on the sprint car, while also driving the Legends and street stock in multiple iRacing.com leagues.
Kelly brings not just his enthusiasm for racing to the highest-rated motorsports simulation, but also his B.A. degree in English; he covers the action seen in the iRacing.com Sprint Car Series, while also placing the spotlight on various leagues within the service. Enjoying his start to a career in motorsports journalism, Kelly also doesn't mind visiting victory lane from time-to-time.
Kenneth O'Keefe
Contributing WriterKenneth was born in Smithville, Ontario on December 23, 1994. A major racing fan, he enjoys competitive kart racing in the Rotax Max category at Mosport International Karting. Kenneth also tunes into Formula One and NASCAR races on those Sundays when he is not at the kart track.
O'Keefe has been sim-racing since 2005, starting on the Live For Speed simulator. After moving to iRacing in 2008, he was able to qualify for the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series (NiPS) in both 2011 and 2012. He will continue to compete and write about the iRacing.com Skip Barber Series throughout the coming year before taking another run at the NiPS in late 2013.
Chris Owens
Contributing WriterI was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1989 and have lived here my entire life. I've been around racing since I was a young kid watching with my dad on Sundays. In 2009 and found my local track, Florence Motor Speedway and started working for them as a PR guy the same year. At the end of that season, I started writing for RACE22.com, a Late Model Stock Car news site. In 2010, I picked up my first DSLR camera and started shooting races. To this day, I've experienced some of the best races from behind the camera.
I've been with the iRacing service since its public beta in 2008, back when the top oval car was the Late Model. I've been in over 500 races on the service with 70+ wins on both oval and road. My favorite car on the service is the Chevrolet Silverado. Darlington Raceway and Concord Speedway are my favorite tracks simply because everybody hates them.
George Wood
Contributing WriterAfter beginning his racing career with go-karts at age seven, George then turned wrenches on street stocks until he could finally turn the wheel. Following the successes of his friends and family, George has since retired from real-world racing, where he is now a science and mathematics faculty member for several local community colleges. When George isn't grading laboratory reports or iRacing, he is performing at bluegrass festivals in the Northeast, making fishing lures, playing golf, and rooting for his beloved Baltimore Orioles.
iRacer Profile: Jeremy Lukaszka
by David Phillips on November 24th, 2012
If you want to meet Jeremy Lukaszka, a good place to start is Iowa Speedway. After all, the resident of nearby Palo hasn’t missed many races there since first passing through its gates for the ARCA race in 2008.
Lukaszka hasn’t always been an Iowan, having been born in Wisconsion. He hasn’t always been a race fan, having first caught the bug while watching the 2003 Daytona 500. Nor has he always been an iRacer, having joined the service in May of last year after many years of sim-racing on NASCAR 2003, among other games.
Almost from the first, however, Lukaszka HAS been a winner in iRacing. He notched his first Legends checkered flag just two days after joining iRacing and his first road racing win (Mazda Cup) a month later. Since then he’s turned into a regular on Victory Lane, coming home P3 in the 2012 Season 3 IZOD IndyCar Oval (Fixed) competition with 14 wins in 35 starts and finishing third overall behind Adam Gilliland and Tyler D Hudson in last season’s NASCAR iRacing.com Class B Series (Fixed) on the strength of 20 wins in 50 starts . . . and with 26 poles to boot.
Season 4 finds the 18 old Lukaszka back in his old stomping grounds – NiCBS and IZOD IndyCar – but also running in Class A and the National Series, where he’s already collected a win in each. Come to think of it, another good place to look for Jeremy Lukaszka is in Victory Lane of just about any race he enters . . .
Jeremy, his sister Kristy and friend.
Q: How long have you been sim racing?
A: I’ve been sim racing since 2003. I remember playing a demo of NASCAR Racing 2002 Season just before NASCAR Racing 2003 Season (NR2003) came out and ever since then I’ve been hooked on it and haven’t been unable to get it out of my blood.
Q: What attracted you to iRacing?
A: The main thing that attracted me to iRacing was the frustration of the online league I was in while playing NR2003. I always talked smack about iRacing and how you had to pay to race back then, but with so many people playing it, and with the help of a convincing friend, I decided to give iRacing a try.
Q: What are favorite iRacing cars/tracks?
A: My favorite car is without a doubt the Chevrolet Impala Class B. For some reason, there’s something about that car that just fits me and I can usually be one of the fastest people on track without much practice, although I never choose to do that. My favorite track is Dover without a doubt. Ever since NR2003, Dover has been my best track. Something about that place just fits me. I don’t know whether it’s the high banking, fast corners, or the transitions, but I really love that place.
With a 23% winning record, Jeremy is a regular in iRacing’s Victory Lane.
Q: What do you like most about iRacing?
A: The thing I like most about iRacing is the competition. When I was racing in a league with NR2003, I was easily one of the fastest people without any practice even in the most “competitive” series.
Q: What would you change about iRacing?
A: If I could change anything about iRacing, it would definitely be to make the Dallara IndyCar an A-class car and give it its own pro divison. Another change I would make would be to make every world tour event split to be set by iRating, not qualifying time.
Q: How many hours a week do you spend on iRacing?
A: Currently, on average I’ll just spend about 3-6 hours on iRacing practicing and racing every week. I used to spend a ton more time on it, but with the new job I’ve started, and my Xbox 360 intriguing me as of late, that number has substantially dropped.
Q: Tell us about the paint schemes on your helmet/car(s).
A: The paint schemes and helmet designs were just something I made because I didn’t want to ask for custom paints being a newbie to the service. I plan to start using custom skins in Season 1 however. Any painters?!
Q: What other sim racing activities (Forza, Gran Turismo, etc.) do you do?
A: None.
Q: What are your favorite video games?
A: I really enjoy playing The Sims 3, as well as Grand Theft Auto IV, and campaign mode on Halo.
“With only one or two cautions and none the last hundred laps I drove my way all the way up to a fifth place finish and even beat Ray Alfalla.”
Q: Do you do any real-world racing? Has iRacing been of any benefit?
A: I have never done any real-world racing.
Q: What is your most memorable iRacing moment?
A: My most memorable moment would be in this year’s top split of the .com Brickyard 400. I qualified fourth, was wrecked about forty laps in, used my one reset, restarted from the back of the pack, and with only one or two cautions and none the last hundred laps I drove my way all the way up to a fifth place finish and even beat Ray Alfalla.
Q: What is the iRacing moment you’d love to forget?
A: Any moment when I make myself look bad when I’m in front of a pro driver. Whenever there’s a big name black striper behind me (King, Alfalla, Hudson, Karlavige) I always choke and knock down the wall or do something completely stupid while trying to impress.
Q: What car/track would you like to see iRacing add to the service?
A: At this time I want to see the DW12 added. As far as tracks, it would be awesome if Long Beach was added, but for right now I’m just waiting for Montreal, Kansas, and Fontana.
When he’s not at the “real” Iowa Speedway, Lukaszka can often be found at the virtual version of his home track.
Q: What person, living or dead do you most admire?
A: I didn’t admire him until it was too late, but definitely Dan Wheldon. I was actually at the Las Vegas race last year and that was the most agonizing two hours I think I’ve ever been through and something I’ll never forget.
Q: What’s your favorite real-world racing series?
A: In 2012, I definitely followed IndyCar more than I did NASCAR. IndyCar provides some of the best racing ever, but with the recent firing of Randy Bernard we’ll see how that affects my decision for 2013.
Q: Name the title of the most recent book you read.
A: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Q: Name of your favorite movie/TV show?
A: I don’t watch too much TV, except for racing, so I don’t really have a favorite TV show. However, some of my all-time favorites movies include V for Vendetta, Marley & Me, and The Dark Knight.
Jeremy already has a win in National series competition in Season 4.
Q: How many of your close friends are iRacing members?
A: I don’t have any friends that live near me that have iRacing, but my brother finally got iRacing in May after I convinced him to get it. Thomas Hitch, who I used to race with on NR2003, has iRacing and I finally met him back at the Indianapolis 500 this year.
Q: Has competing with iRacers all around the world influenced your opinions/outlook on life/world events? How?
A: Without a doubt, absolutely. When you’re in certain positions on the virtual track, you can relate to that when you see drivers in that position on the real track. That being said, whether or not you even like the driver, you still understand what s/he went through and sometimes why they reacted the way they did.