The Midwest Tour

Racing into Turn One.

After spending Week Five in NASCAR’s backyard, the NASCAR iRacing Class C Fixed Series heads to the Midwest-America for stops at Iowa Speedway for Week Six and Chicagoland Speedway for Week Seven of Season Four. A combined total of 4,057 sim racers took the green flag for at least one event during the previous two weeks of online racing.

Iowa (Strength of Field)

Christopher Bell (Plains) drove his No. 19 Silverado into Iowa Speedway’s victory lane after leading 26 of the event’s 45 laps after starting from the second position. The second position went to Steven Eszenyi (New England) who led a total of 11 laps after starting from the fourth spot. Position number three was filled by Tom Moustakas (New York) after starting from the 13^th position in the No. 2 Silverado. Nathan McGuire (Carolina) started from the number one spot but was quickly shuffled out of the lead after leading the opening four circuits. Justin Fuller (New York) completed the top five. Fuller started from the third spot in the No. 7 machine and led a total of four laps during the 4912 Strength of Field event.

Close racing in Turn Three.

Chicagoland (Strength of Field)

NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship competitor Matt Bussa (Illinois) took the checkered flag after leading 12 of the event’s 35 laps en route to a 0.536 second margin of victory over two-time NiSWC champion Ray Alfalla (Florida). Alfalla led the most laps during the event with 19 but Bussa proved to be too much for Alfalla to handle in the closing laps. Jason Jacoby (Georgia) started from the pole position, but was only able to lead four laps before being relegated to a third place finish. Zachary Phillips (Atlantic) drove his No. 8 Silverado from the 12^th starting position to finish fourth in the event. NASCAR iRacing Pro Series competitor Landon Harrison (Plains) rounded out the top five after starting from the eighth position in his No. 4 Sonic Drive-In Silverado. The 4636 SoF was slowed three times for caution for a total of nine laps and saw four lead changes among three drivers.

Iowa (Weekly Standings)

Although Moustakas did not earn the victory in the week’s top SoF event, he did, however, earn the most championship points for the week with 274. McGuire’s efforts during the week were sufficient to earn him 257 points and end the week second overall in the standings. The third spot was held down by Eszenyi who made seven starts during the week and recorded five top five finishes en route to a 255 point outing. Sean Robbins (Carolina) made just one start during the week, but he was able to make it count as he took the victory and netted 251 points. The remaining position in the top five is filled by SoF winner Bell as he made an incredible 37 starts during the week, which included 28 top five finishes as well as 24 victories.

Accidents happen!

Chicagoland (Weekly Standings)

With the victory in the week’s top SoF event, Bussa netted 290 championship points after making four starts and recording three victories. Brandon Kettelle (Florida) also made four starts during the week, but he was able to take the checkered flag first in all of those events, leading to a point total of 272 for the week. Alfalla made one start during the week, which was a second place finish and netted 271 points. Robbins continued his streak from last week as he made just one start which resulted in a victory and the accumulation of 260 championship points. The final spot in the top five went to Jacoby who made three starts and finished in the top five in all three all while earning 253 points.

Iowa (Qualifying)

Eric Hoggarth (Plains) was the fastest man in Iowa as he turned the fastest time of the week with 22.565 second lap time around the 0.875-mile speedway. Heath Hindman (Mid-South) ended the week in the second position overall with a time of 22.579. Chase Raudman (California) concluded the week in the third position with a final time of 22.592. Fuller and Teddy Gibala (Pennsylvania) round out the remainder of the top five with times of 22.599 and 22.601 seconds, respectively.

Side-by-side action in the middle of Turns One and Two.

Chicagoland (Qualifying)

Frequent top qualifier Jacoby was on top of the qualifying charts once again as he set the top time for the week with a 31.474 second lap time around the 1.5-mile speedway. California native David Krikorian completed the week in the second position overall with a time of 31.482 seconds. Corey Vincent (Mid-South) finished out the week in the third position with a time of 31.496. Blade Whitt (Carolina) and Ryan Lowe (Virginias) fill the remaining spots in the top five, each turning a time of 31.499.

Iowa (Season Standings)

1. Paul Kusheba 1514
2. Nathan McGuire 1444 (-70)
3. Justin Fuller 1374 (-140)
4. Chris J Miller 1328 (-186)
5. Jordy Lopez Jr 1301 (-213)

Chicagoland (Season Standings)

1. Paul Kusheba 1758
2. Nathan McGuire 1666 (-92)
3. Justin Fuller 1581 (-177)
4. Sean Robbins 1555 (-203)
5. Jordy Lopez Jr 1533 (-225)

With weeks six and seven now in the books, the NiCCF Series heads to one of the most historic racetracks in the world—Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For some racers, Indianapolis is the Mecca of auto racing and winning there means everything. Check back in a week’s time for a full recap of the action from Indianapolis!

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