Neben/Laughton Conquer Chicago

Kenny Humpe (1) leads a group of eager racers through the tri-oval.

As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end”. After twelve weeks of online racing, Season Four 2012 comes to a conclusion as the checkered flag falls at Chicagoland Speedway. Opening in 2001, Chicagoland Speedway has played host to many races in the top three series throughout its history. Names such as Gordon, Stewart, Earnhardt, and Keselowski have all made visits to victory lane at Chicago. Over 1,000 sim racers tried to add their name to the list of winners, but a few familiar faces visited the winner’s circle during the final week of action in the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series (open setup).

Nick Neben (Plains) put his Silverado in the right place at the right time during this week’s high Strength of Field, which ended with him taking the checkered flag by 0.338 seconds over Carl Taylor (Mid-South) after leading just eight laps in the 3739 SoF. Neben’s teammate Kenny Humpe (Ohio) finished in the third position after leading an incredible 82 of the race’s 90 laps. Brandon Hauck (Eastern Canada) ended the race in the fourth position after starting from the outside of the front row. Rounding out the top five was Kwame Adjei (New York) who started from the 13th position.

A field of 19 Silverados battle early in the race.

Even though Neben won this week’s Strength of Field event, he did not score the most championship points for the week due to running 11 races. The best 25% of a driver’s race performances (based on points scored) in a given race week will be averaged at the conclusion of each race during the week. The final average at the conclusion of the week will be the driver’s point total and count towards the season championship. Chad J Laughton (Carolina) had a successful week of online racing. In his three starts, he was able to capture two victories and three top five finishes, and earn 224 championship points. Dustin Montgomery (Mid-South) finished off the week in the second position, earning 218 points. Cameron Higgins (Midwest) ended the week in the third position, amassing 211 points for his efforts. Neben finished in the fourth position, adding 210 points to his season total. Humpe also had an incredible week; making 15 starts and taking the checkers first in 11 of those. His efforts for the week earned him 208 points.

Keith Elliott (Western Canada) was the fastest man in Chicago during the week as he laid down the top overall qualifying time of 30.756 seconds. Humpe finished the week in the second position with a final time of 30.793 seconds. Brian Viola (Mid-South) was the first driver in the 30.8-second bracket with a time of 30.820 seconds. Ray Schroder (Australia/NZ) and Hauck filled the remaining spots in the top five.

Season Four 2012 is in the books and that means a new champion will be crowned. Humpe had a spectacular season, earning 68 wins in his 90 starts throughout the twelve weeks of action. Humpe’s 1578 championship points placed him in position one over Taylor, who was 115 points back. Corey A Wolf (New York) ended a succussful season the final podium spot, earning 1408 points. Finnish sim racer Jukka Savolainen finished in the fourth position with 1396 points. Maxx Harris filled the remaining spot in the top five, earning 1390 points for his season-long efforts.

After a short break from the action, Season One of 2013 will begin at Kentucky Speedway. Will Kenny Humpe repeat as champion or will somebody else rise to the challenge? Stayed tuned to inRacingNews for the latest sim racing headlines.

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