Race 6 Recap!! Sim Racer's Edge Alpha IR18 Series Season 4 Presented by Ecency.com!!

(Barber Motorsports Park)

After a week off, the sixth race of the Sim Racer's Edge Alpha IR18 Series Season 4 presented by Ecency.com was held on the twists and turns of Barber Motorsports Park, a track as famous for it's layout with tight corners and elevation changes as it is for the trackside architecture, including a world-class motorsports museum, and the many large-scale sculptures that grace the landscape. The 2.3-mile long track is both fast and extremely technical, requiring a driver to be wholly committed through several blind corners during the lap.

(And the green flag is out! Siefker leads the field to green!)

Road course ace Nate Siefker would be the odds-on favorite to both take the pole position and the race win before the event, renowned for his prowess behind the wheel of any vehicle when it comes to road and street courses. Nate would back up those odds by setting a pole position winning lap of 1:07.977, the only driver to run a lap under the 1:08 mark. Joining Nate on the front row would be Chad Simpson in P2 with a lap of 1:08.388. Kris Walker would qualify P3 with a time of 1:08.724, and alongside him would be series points leader Butch Davis, who set a time of 1:08.853. Row 3 would see Lyle Swearingen starting in P5, the final driver to set a time under the 1:09 mark with a lap of 1:08.859, a mere .006 off of Davis' time. Starting alongside Swearingen would be Bentley Glaser in P6, who set a time of 1:09.336. Starting in row 4 would be Chris Simard in P7 alongside Jari Bruppacher in P8. Row 5 would see Jeffrey Rollette grid up in P9 alongside Dale Weiser in P10. Kevin O'Brien would start P11, followed by Jeff Hollingsworth in P12. Ernie Ludwig would start P13, next to Mike Grandy in P14. Ryan Cruze would roll off in P15, next to Dan Brasington in P16. Grandy, Cruze, and Brasington all elected to not set qualifying times, choosing to start from the rear of the field to avoid any potential turn 1 carnage that the track is known for.

(Simard loses control on the opening corner of the opening lap)

At the drop of the green flag, Siefker jumped out to a decent lead into turn 1, followed by Simpson and Davis. O'Brien moved to the left of the front straight as the green flew to drop to the rear. Walker got off to a very slow start, and entering turn 1, slowed more than expected causing Simard to jump hard on the brakes to avoid contact. Simard spun to the outside of turn 1, with Weiser taking to the grass to avoid contact dropping him from P8 to P10. The rest of the field was able to get by without incident, which is amazing considering the difficulty of turn 1 on cold tires. Swearingen, Glaser, and Cruze all opted to start from the pit lane and would join the field at the back as they exited. Bruppacher got to the inside of Walker into turn 2, taking over P4. Davis dove to the inside of Simpson at the entry of turn 5, claiming P2. Weiser began his climb up through the field after his off-track excursion, passing Grandy on the exit of turn 5. Brasington would be the next to get around Grandy, this time at the entry of turn 15. At the end of lap 1, Siefker maintained the lead ahead of Davis, Simpson, Bruppacher, and Walker completing the top 5. Rollette was now P6, Hollingsworth P7, Ludwig P8, Weiser P9, and Brasington P10. Grandy was now demoted to P11, with Glaser and Swearingen hot on his heels in P12 and P13. O'Brien was still taking it easy in P14, with Simard recovering in P15. Cruze, the young rookie with not much experience in open-wheeled cars, was a distant P16. Weiser made a great late-braking pass on Ludwig into turn 1 on lap 2, moving himself back up to P8. Both Glaser and Swearingen were able to get around Grandy through turns 2 and 3, moving them each up a position to now P11 and P12. Loveridge and Simard would be next to get by Grandy, passing him on the straight leading into the turns 7/8/9 complex. Unfortunately for O'Brien, the position gained was short-lived as he looped the car as he got on the brakes for turn 7. Hollingsworth moved over to allow Weiser to get through for P7 in turn 2, a classy move by a driver still getting comfortable in these open-wheeled machines. Simard's day would continue to unravel, as he ran into the back of Swearingen through the turns 7/8/9 complex, losing the left front wing in the process. Brasington got to the inside of Ludwig down the front straight on lap 4, making the pass and putting Ludwig on the outside line for turn 1, leaving the door open for Glaser to follow him through. Swearingen was the next to come through on Ludwig as he got a great run out of turn 2 and blasted past Ludwig to pick up P11. Simard would be next to pounce on Ludwig, making the pass for P12 on the run up to turn 10. Glaser made a small mistake coming through turn 12, sliding off-track and losing a lot of time and positions in the process. Further back, O'Brien was still recovering from his spin, now having caught Cruze and getting around the rookie driver on lap 5 as they approached turn 7. Back towards the front of the field, Walker was making up for his bad start and finally moved back up to P4 as he passed Bruppacher around the outside of turn 16.

(Down into the hairpin they go)

At the front of the field, Davis continued to hang onto the rear wing of Siefker, even having a look up the inside of turn 15 on a few occasions, but nothing materialized. The top 2 continued to stretch the advantage over the rest of the field, as the action seemed to cool down for a bit and drivers found their rhythm. Glaser was pushing to make up for lost time, regaining several positions as he worked past Grandy, Ludwig, Simard, and Hollingsworth over the next 6 laps. Weiser worked his way around Rollette to claim P6 on lap 11 as they exited the hairpin at turn 5. Simard's race would come to an unceremonious end on lap 12 as the driver experienced technical issues and was forced to retire the car. Swearingen and Glaser both moved up a position on lap 16 as they continued their march back towards the front. With tires getting worn and the fuel loads getting low, drivers began prepping for their pit stops, hoping to keep it clean on both pit entry and pit exit, both very tricky spots at Barber. Ludwig was the first driver to flinch, pitting at the end of lap 17. On lap 19, Walker would be the first of the leaders to make the decision to come to pit lane. Unfortunately for Walker, on the run between turns 13 and 14 just before pit entry, he ran a little wide, dipping the left side tires into the grass and half-spinning the car, but managing to keep the car out of the armco barriers and without losing too much time overall. Grandy would follow Walker into the pits, though he was now P13 and a lap down to the leaders. Weiser also jumped to pit lane, giving up P6 in the process. Glaser was next in on lap 19, giving up P9. On lap 20, Siefker picked up the pace in an effort to create a gap to Davis before they made their pit stops, opening up a 1.5 second lead. Bruppacher pitted at the end of lap 20, giving up P4 to do so. Hollingsworth also pitted at the end of lap 20, giving up P11. Davis dove into the pit lane at the end of lap 21, handing P2 over to Simpson. As Davis exited pit lane, he spun the car and drifted into the gravel and grass, making contact with the armco barrier in what seemed like a harmless tap. Davis righted the car and set off to regain lost time. Meanwhile, Rollette and Brasington would both come to pit lane at the end of lap 21 as well, having uneventful stops. Siefker and Simpson both pitted at the end of lap 22, with Swearingen following suit. Davis was struggling mightily after his spin, now left fighting a car that was absolutely treacherous to drive, especially through right-handed corners. With obvious damage, Davis dove back into the pits at the end of lap 23 to make repairs, a tremendous blow to the points leader. After the pit stop cycle, Siefker now had a massive lead over Simpson in P2, with Walker P3, Bruppacher P4, and Swearingen P5. Weiser was now P6, Glaser P7, Rollette P8, Brasington P9, and Davis round out the top 10. Hollingsworth was now P11 and the first car 1 lap down to the leaders, O'Brien was P12, Ludwig P13, Grandy P14, and Cruze P15 and 2 laps down to the leaders.

(Walker slides through the grass at pit entry)

The field once again settled down a bit with the drivers having a bit of spacing between them. The closest battle on track was for P4, with Bruppacher holding a narrow lead over Swearingen in P5. It wasn't until the start of lap 28 that we saw the next pass for position, as Davis generated a great run out of the final corner to move around Brasington for P9. Just behind, Ludwig was passed by Grandy for P13, with Ludwig then running off-track on the exit of turn 1, spinning to the left of the track, but avoiding any damage. Davis would next make a pass on Rollette on the lap 29 to move to P8. At the front, Siefker continued to stretch his lead over Simpson, with the gap now growing to 5 seconds. Walker was also closing in on Simpson and was now within a second of the Season 3 champion. Lap 34 saw Brasington move around Rollette for P9. Once again, pit stops would be crucial as the race was beyond the halfway point. Cruze had the first of several spins on lap 37, with the young rookie struggling to find grip and consistency. Swearingen would have his own incident with Cruze, this time spinning himself out to avoid contact with Cruze on lap 42. With the second round of pit stops now completed, the big winners were Glaser and Davis, both of whom took advantage of the cycle to gain positions. Siefker maintained his healthy lead over Simpson, with Walker losing a chunk of time on his stop but still maintaining P3. Bruppacher was still showing strong in P4, with Glaser now P5 after leap-frogging Swearingen who was now P6 after his spin. Davis was now up to P7, with Weiser staying steady in a very strong P8. Brasington was now P9 and the first car 1 lap down to the leader, with Rollette rounding out the top 10. O'Brien was quietly having a decent run in P11, with Hollingsworth not far behind in P12. Grandy was P13 and Ludwig P14, both 2 laps down to the leader. Cruze was P15, 3 laps down but determined to see the checkered flag.

(Davis make a costly mistake)

On lap 47, things got crazy as Cruze once again lost control, this time going off at the top of the hill on turn 13. The contact with the outside tire barriers sent the young driver back to pit road for repairs. Lap 47 also saw Ludwig lose control as he began to crest the top of the hill at turn 13, spinning the car to the right and making substantial contact with the armco barriers. On lap 50, Bruppacher lost control of the car as he got a bit too wide exiting turn 15, clipping the grass and spinning out. Miraculously, he avoided contact with the barriers and was able to soldier on. The spin catapulted Swearingen into P4 with Davis less than half a second behind in P5. Swearingen then quickly moved aside to allow Davis through on the short straight leading to the turn 5 hairpin, putting Davis in P4. Only a few laps later on lap 55, Grandy also went off-track, this time exiting pit lane on the outside of turn 2 as he was trying to give extra room to the leaders, most notably Davis and Swearingen. With 10 laps remaining, Siefker held the lead over Simpson in P2, Walker P3, Davis P4, Swearingen P5, and Bruppacher in P6 and the last car on the lead lap. P7 was Glaser, with Brasington P8, Weiser in P9, and Rollette P10. Hollingsworth was now P11, O'Brien P12, Grandy P13, Ludwig P14, and Cruze P15.

(Through the corkscrew)

Walker's early pit stop came back to bite him, as he was forced to pit on lap 57 from P3 for fuel and tires. This brought Davis back into a podium position in P3 and Swearingen not far behind in P4, demoting Walker to P5. With the laps winding down, Weiser was the man on a mission. Pushing hard on fresh tires after his final pit stop on lap 52, he reeled in Brasington in P8, making the pass on lap 57 as the drivers exited turn 5. Hollingsworth made a late dive to pit lane on lap 57 as he didn't have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race. Hollingsworth then received a drive-through penalty on his exit lap for exceeding track limits, handing P11 over to O'Brien who had made his last pit stop on lap 53. Cruze had yet another massive moment on lap 61, this time making contact with the wall hard enough to warrant towing the car back to pit lane. On lap 63, Rollette would make the same exact mistake that bit Bruppacher on lap 50, clipping the grass at the exit of turn 15 and looping the car around. With the white flag in the air, Siefker was well on his way to victory.

(Through the esses)

Siefker would grab his third checkered flag of the season, adding to Nashville and Watkins Glen, and closes the points gap significantly to championship leader Davis. Simpson's 2nd place finish continues his trend of making the most of races when the win is out of reach. Davis' 3rd place finish helps him maintain his points lead, but that gap continues to shrink and Davis cannot afford to continue making the mistakes that cost him valuable points at both Iowa and Barber. Rounding out the top 5 were Swearingen in P4 and Walker in P5, both continuing to push through mistakes, whether their own or that of others, to secure top 5 finishes. Bruppacher finished P6 after his late-race spin, the first car 1 lap down to the leaders. Glaser came home with a solid P7, though expectations were higher considering his pace in practice. Weiser had a relatively quiet race and finished P8, but has impressed with his improvement on the road courses so far this season. Brasington finished P9, a solid day for the driver who also continues to show improvements on road courses. Rollette held on to finish P10, with O'Brien just behind in P11, both drivers 2 laps down to the leaders. Hollingsworth finished P12, a respectable run for a top-tier driver still learning the IR18. Grandy would come home in P13, Ludwig in P14, and Cruze in P15. Simard would be classified as finishing in P16, with the driver being undone by the lap 1 incident and then technical gremlins early in the race.

(Siefker takes the checkered flag)

The field should be back to a larger count as racing returns to an oval on Thursday night at the short track in St. Louis, World Wide Technology Speedway, otherwise known as "Gateway". See you then!!