Race 7 Recap!! Sim Racer's Edge Alpha IR18 Series Season 4 Presented by Ecency.com!!

(Swearingen leads the field to green)

The seventh race of the Sim Racer's Edge Alpha IR18 Series Season 4 presented by Ecency.com was held at World Wide Technology Speedway, also known as Gateway. The track measuring 1.25 miles in length. The design of the track is reminiscent of Darlington, with both ends of the track having vastly different turns. Turns 1 and 2 are banked but tight, while turns 3 and 4 are flat but wide. Fast laps around the odd-shaped track would be in the low 25-second range, with the odd chance of a really fast lap clocking in under the 25-second mark. Fuel stints would be between 36 to 38 laps, with a pit stop delta in the 37 second range. Pit entry and exit are treacherous at this track and could play a major role, especially during green flag pit stops.

(Into the tricky banked turn 1)

Qualifying would be tight, with Lyle Swearingen beating Chris Simard to pole position by a .084 of second, with a lap of 25.271 seconds. Behind Simard would be Jari Bruppacher and Chad Simpson in row 2, Jake Walsh and Jeffrey Rollette in row 3, Jeff Hollingsworth and Dan Brasington in row 4, with Butch Davis and Nate Siefker in row 5 to round out the top 10. Bentley Glaser and Kris Walker would start from row 6, Jeffrey Bogan and Tim Bates in row 7, Ryan Cruze and Mike Grandy in row 8, Ernie Ludwig, the last driver to qualify on time, and Paul Krumrei in row 9, with Jose Viguera and Kevin Young in row 10 to round out the top 20. Ron Hollifield and Kevin O'Brien would start from row 11, with Shane Loveridge and Brett Beasley starting from the final row. Brett Beasley would opt to not start the race, while Bentley Glaser would opt to start from pit lane.

(Gateway is gorgeous at night, but treacherous)

Swearingen brought the field to green and jumped out to a sizeable lead exiting turn 2, with Simard slotting into P2 after a failed attack by Bruppacher. Behind the leaders, contact between Walker and Bogan would send both drivers into the outside wall, with Walker careening down the track into the path of Ludwig, who luckily sustained minimal damage. Sadly, Walker's race was over before it really got started, with the damage too severe to allow him to continue. Viguera lost control while slowing for the yellow flag, slamming into the outside wall in turn 3, sustaining major damage to his car and losing several laps while repairs were made.

(Lap 1 carnage collects Walker, Bogan, and Ludwig)

At the restart on lap 5, Swearingen would lead Simard to the green flag, with Bruppacher, Simpson, and Walsh rounding out the top 5. Rollette would restart in P6, with Hollingsworth in P7, Brasington in P8, Siefker in P9, and Davis P10. Bates was up three spots from his starting position and was now P11, with Cruze, Grandy, Ludwig, and Hollifield finishing out the top 15. Krumrei was P16, Loveridge P17, O'Brien P18, Young P19, and Glaser P20 after his pit road start. Bruppacher got a horrible restart, mistakenly being in the wrong gear, which allowed Simpson to get around him for P3. Krumrei was on the move forward, slotting up to P14 by the start of lap 9. Davis was also on the move, having gotten around both Siefker and Brasington to slot into P8. O'Brien had a major moment coming out of turn 2 on lap 9, doing a masterful job of keeping the car from spinning out but losing several places in the process. Glaser also began to methodically make his way forward, now running P16 by the end of lap 9. By lap 20, drivers were settling in and finding their places in the field. The top 5 remained the same, but a few drivers were continuing their marches to the front. Davis was now up to 6th place, Siefker up to 8th, Krumrei up to P13, and Glaser up to 14th, the four biggest movers of the race to this point. Davis moved into P5 on lap 25 while Siefker moved up to P7. On lap 30, Davis moved to the inside of Hollifield entering turn 1, but bobbled on the bottom lane and slid up a bit. Hollifield reacted by moving higher to allow the lead lap car of Davis extra room, but in doing so, upset the handling of his car and spun as he exited turn 2. Bruppacher, O'Brien, Bates, and Rollette all were involved in the aftermath. It would be an unceremonious end to the race for both Bates and Hollifield, and an unfortunate omen of things to come.

(Hollfield spins and collects Bruppacher, Bates, and Rollette)

The restart on lap 35 would see Swearingen leading the field to green, followed by Simpson in P2, Walsh P3, Davis P4, and Siefker P5. Hollingsworth was now up to P6, followed by Brasington in P7, Grandy P8, Krumrei P9, and Glaser rounding out the top 10. Young was now P11, Bruppacher P12, Rollette P13, Simard P14, and Cruze P15. Loveridge was P16, the last car on the lead lap, with Ludwig P17 and O'Brien P18, both 1 lap down. Bruppacher and Simard were on the move, slotting into P11 and P12 respectively by lap 39, with Davis also moving up one position to P3. On lap 40, Cruze dove to the bottom of turn 1 trying to pass Rollette for P14 when the rookie lost the back end, doing a complete 360 and avoiding any contact but bringing out the yellow flag. While under caution and not quite down to pace speed yet, Young looped his machine in turn 1, collecting Rollette in the process. Only a handful of drivers decided to head to pit lane, with the top 10 opting to stay on track to maintain track position.

(Cruze loses it in the background between turns 1 and 2)

The lap 45 restart saw Swearingen again lead the field to green as he rocketed to a substantial lead over Simpson and Davis. Davis moved to the inside of Simpson on the back straight on lap 47, completing the pass and moving up to P2. On lap 52, Young got loose exiting turn 2, drove across the grass and slammed the inside wall. The damage would be too much for the crew to repair, and Young's race was over. Pit road would be busy this time around, with half of the field opting to come to pit road for fuel and tires, led by Hollingsworth. At the lap 57 restart, Swearingen led with Davis in P2, Simpson P3, Walsh P4, and Siefker P5. Brasington was now P6, followed by Grandy in P7, Simard in P8, Cruze in P9, and Hollingsworth in P10. Glaser was P11, Krumrei P12, Bruppacher P13, Ludwig P14, and O'Brien P15, the last car on the lead lap. Rollette was P16, 3 laps down to the leader and the last car running. Bruppacher quickly moved around Krumrei after the restart to jump to P12. Lap 59 saw Simard get around Grandy for P7 with a move to the inside after exiting turn 2. Hollingsworth was working harder than anyone on track as he kept trying to pry P9 away from Cruze, finally completing the pass through turns 3 and 4 on lap 61. As the cluster of drivers consisting of Hollingsworth, Bruppacher, Cruze, and Glaser entered turn 1 on lap 62, Cruze bobbled and lost the back end of the car. He was somehow able to save the car from spinning, but Glaser spun himself to avoid contact, able to keep himself from hitting anything. Cruze grazed the outside wall, but the damage was enough to end the night for the young rookie, another hard lesson in a long and tough season. This yellow flag would be an opportunity for the field to come to pit lane and regroup with the restart coming just before the halfway point of the race. Several drivers opted to play strategy, staying on track to improve their track position.

(Young's night meets an early end)

The lap 67 restart would see Siefker lead Hollingsworth in P2, Bruppacher P3, and Krumrei P4 to the green flag. Behind them, Swearingen would be P5, leading the remaining field of drivers who stopped under the yellow flag. Siefker quickly stretched his lead over Hollingsworth on the restart, opening up a 2-second gap by the end of lap 69. On lap 70, Davis got to the inside of Swearingen as the teammates approached turn 1, with Swearingen backing out early to avoid being two-wide in the corner. Davis lost control of the car, spinning in front of Swearingen and slamming the outside wall with the left side of the car. With a delayed yellow flag, Grandy didn't get the warning early enough to avoid the incident as he too spun in turn 1, sliding into the stopped car of Davis against the wall. Grandy was able to drive away from the incident to get to pit lane and make repairs, but Davis had major damage. Davis limped back to the pits, but spun before reaching his stall. Technical issues paired with the repair time forced Davis to lose 8 laps in the process.

(Cruze gets loose and Glaser spins himself to avoid contact)

The lap 75 restart would see Bruppacher leading the field to green this time, with Swearingen close behind in P2. Walsh was having a phenomenal race, now sitting in P3, with Simpson in P4 and Brasington in P5. Simard was now P6, with Siefker P7, Hollingsworth P8, Krumrei P9, and Glaser rounding out the top 10. Ludwig was P11, with Grandy P12, and O'Brien P13 and the last car on the lead lap. Rollette was P14, 1 lap down to the leaders, and Davis P15 still sitting in the pits getting repairs and dealing with technical issues. Swearingen was continuing to struggle in traffic, with Walsh moving up to P2 on lap 76. Glaser moved around Krumrei to take over P9 on lap 76 as well. Ludwig was falling back, having been passed Grandy and O'Brien, moving him back to P13. On lap 81, Hollingsworth got sideways exiting turn 2 but had an amazing save, keeping the car heading in the right direction and avoiding bringing out the yellow flag. The slide moved Hollingsworth from P8 to P11, having to take it easy for a few laps to make sure his overheated tires didn't cause a bigger slide. Up front, Bruppacher continued to lead, though Walsh was beginning to slowly eat into that lead, bringing Swearingen and Simpson along with him. Simard got around Brasington for P5 on lap 88, with Brasington making a couple of attempts to get back around Simard, though unable to complete the pass. After letting his tires cool off a bit, Hollingsworth moved back into the top 10 on lap 87 as he moved around Grandy. Siefker took advantage of Brasington's attempted passes on Simard to make a pass of his own, moving around Brasington on lap 89 to move up to P6. On lap 90, Walsh was pushing a little too hard, sliding high on the exit of turn 2 and smacking the wall with the right side of the car. He was able to keep the car straight and moved to the bottom of the track to head to pit lane. As he got on the brakes to slow for the access road, the damage had affected his braking and he wasn't able to slow enough to stay on the access road. As he drove through the grass, he lost the rear of the car and spun out, bringing out the yellow flag. The field would once again head to pit road for fuel and tires.

(Davis and Grandy trying to trying to get going again)

The lap 96 restart saw Swearingen back in the lead where he spent much of the early part of the race. Behind him were Simpson in P2, Siefker P3, Brasington P4, and Grandy P5. Bruppacher was now P6, Simard P7, Glaser P8, Krumrei P9, and Hollingsworth P10. Ludwig was P11 and O'Brien P12, the last car on the lead lap. Rollette was P13 and Walsh P14, both 1 lap down, and Davis was P15, 9 laps down. Simard worked quickly to get around Bruppacher and moved into P5 on the backstraight after the restart. Hollingsworth moved around Krumrei on the next lap, slotting into P9. Lapped traffic quickly became an issue for the lead lap cars, especially with both Davis and Walsh off-pace with damaged cars. Brasington jumped to pit lane at the end of lap 109, giving up P4 to do so. Grandy would be the next driver in, choosing to pit at the end of lap 111 and giving up P9. Swearingen pitted from the lead on lap 112, handing that lead over to Simpson. Simpson pitted from the lead on lap 115, handing the lead to Siefker. Ludwig would pit on lap 116, followed by Siefker on lap 117. This handed the lead to Simard, who stayed on track until lap 120 when he made his pit stop. Simard would be followed down pit lane by O'Brien on lap 120, handing the lead to Bruppacher. Glaser passed Bruppacher on lap 122 to take the lead, but fuel would be a concern for the top 3, as Hollingsworth closed in on the back of Bruppacher. Behind the top 3, Swearingen was P4 with Siefker closing the gap each lap. Swearingen was still having massive difficulties in traffic where Siefker was not. Siefker made a bold move to the bottom of turn 1 on lap 128, blasting past Swearingen. On the exit of turn 2, Hollingsworth again got sideways and again made a phenomenal save, losing positions to both Siefker and Swearingen in the process. Krumrei jumped to pit lane at the end of lap 130, handing P3 to Siefker. With 10 laps to go, Glaser held a commanding lead over Bruppacher in P2, Siefker in P3, Swearingen in P4, and Simpson in P5. Neither Glaser or Bruppacher were able to save enough fuel to make it to the end of the race, with both drivers hitting pit road on lap 135 and giving up P1 and P2. With only 5 laps to go, Siefker now had a 10 car length lead over Swearingen in P2, with Simpson closing the gap in P3. As the checkered flag flew, no one would be able to catch Siefker, as he crossed the line just a little over a second ahead of Swearingen in P2. Simpson was only half a second behind in P3, completing the podium for the night.

(Walsh had a career night going and pushed too hard)

Siefker's win solidifies his claim to the top spot in the standings, especially with Davis' accident making the gap even larger. Swearingen and Simpson joined Siefker on the podium, with Simard and Bruppacher rounding out the top 5, a much needed showing for both drivers who have had difficulties this season. Glaser had a strong run after starting the race from the pit lane to finish 6th, sadly missing out on a potential victory by having to make the late race stop for fuel. Brasington's 7th place finish was a solid and clean effort. Grandy came home in 8th, a much needed solid finish. Hollingsworth finished in 9th, the last car on the lead lap and an awesome result considering his two scary moments on the exit of turn 2. Krumrei finished 10th, the only car 1 lap down to the leaders, but a strong effort still. Rollette would finish in 11th place after running the majority of the race with damage, with O'Brien coming home in 12th and Ludwig in 13th, all finishing 3 laps down to the leader. Davis was 14th, with Walsh 15th, the last cars running at the finish, though both more than 10 laps down to the race winner. Cruze was classified in 16, Young 17th, Loveridge 18th, Bates 19, Hollifield 20th, Bogan 21st, Viguera 22nd, Walker 23rd, all failing to make it to the checkered flag. Beasley would be classified 24th, but did not start the event.

(Siefker collects another checkered flag)