Keister’s Hot Date

Christian Pedersen (12) leads a group of racers off Turn Four.

The Lady in Black. The Track Too Tough to Tame. Whatever you call it, Darlington Raceway is certainly a very, very unique track on the NASCAR circuit. Its egg-shaped design provides the sim racers with a tough battle as they try to navigate around the 1.366-mile track in just over 28.5 seconds. Even with running one of the most difficult tracks on the iRacing.com service, an astounding 1,608 sim racers took the green flag for at least one event in Week Two of the NASCAR iRacing Class C Fixed Series.

One person who didn’t shy away from the challenges of Darlington Raceway was Kollin Keister (Atlantic). He battled against some heavy hitters as he took the checkered flag in the week’s top Strength of Field event by 0.342 seconds over Michael Guest (Indiana) after leading 26 of the event’s 35 laps. NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship competitor Richard Dusett (New England) finished in the third position after starting from the outside of the front row. Nicholas Goertzen (Canada) was the pole sitter for the event and led the opening nine laps before ultimately dropping back to fourth position as the checkered flag flew. Trey McKinney (Carolina) started from the seventh position and cautiously worked his way up into the top five at the end of the event. Notebales in the race who were not in the top five include NiSWC competitors Michael Conti (New Jersey) and Danny Hansen (Midwest) who finished sixth and 18th respectively in the 4164 SoF.

With a very dominating run in the top SoF event of the week, Keister netted a solid 261 championship points as he looks to make a run at the Season Two championship. Jeremy R Allen (Indiana) did not compete in the week’s top SoF event, but he was able to earn a very respectable 245 points heading into Week Three at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Christian Pedersen (New England) has come on strong as of late and is quickly making a name for himself in the iRacing.com service as a contender each week. Pedersen’s efforts for the week earned him 244 points as he also looks to make a run for the championship. Marcus Lindsey (Indiana) took a break from behind the wheel of his usual ride, the No. 1 Obutto Gaming Cockpits/Main Performance PC Chevrolet SS to get behind the wheel of a Silverado. Lindsey made eight starts throughout the week, earning victories in all eight of those events, and amassing 241 points for his brilliant drive during the week. Malik Ray (Carolina) filled the remaining spot in the top five for the week, earning 240 points after starting three races and earning two top five finishes.

Christian Pedersen (12) battles with Harrison Widelitz (2) and others through Turns One and Two.

NiSWC champion Ray Alfalla (Florida) set the quickest time in qualifying for the week with a blazing fast pace of 28.523 seconds. Pedersen was not far behind as he ended the week in the second position with a 28.555 second lap time. The final podium position went to Anthony Kernich (Australia/NZ) with a time of 28.600 as Goertzen and Lindsey round out the top five who turned times of 28.611 and 28.612, respectively.

After New Hampshire and Darlington, Alfalla currently holds a 19 point lead in the season standings over Keister who was dominate at Darlington. Allen’s solid drive popped him up into the top three in points, just 43 out of the lead heading into Week Three. Brand Buie2 (Atlantic) contiunes a solid effort from New Hampshire into Darlington and leaves in the fourth position, 47 out of the lead as Ray fills the remaining position in the top five, 54 points behind Alfalla. As the season is young, these point standings are not too important as of now, but don’t let that stat fool you as you could easily find yourself way outside looking in when Week 12 rolls around.

With Darlington now in the rearview mirror, the NiCCF heads to one of the most popular tracks on the iRacing service in Charlotte Motor Speedway. Charlotte’s 24 degree banks provide an extreme amount of grip which many drivers love. Although the track does have a great amount of grip, it can also produce the dreaded “hero mode” that some drivers get when racing at these types of track with the Silverado. The fast speeds and draft packs allow many drivers who would not normally be up front at the shorter, less draft intensive tracks to have a shot at the victory come the end of the race, which often leads to extreme amounts of carnage. Check back with inRacingNews in a week’s time to see who was able to master Charlotte Motor Speedway and avoid the carnage that is sure to ensue.

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