Race 03: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (03Mar17)

[jeromef1]

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Race Length: 67 Laps
Race Name in Game: Kobalt 400

Pre-Race Interview:
1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?

2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)

3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution?

 

[jeromef1]

Sponsor image added to the original post!

 

[Meattyloaf]

1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?

I honestly don't know how to feel about Las Vegas. I've not put much time into the track. However, I do know that it will be a fast track and have a couple of setups I would like to try to see if I have found some speed, unlike last week where it seemed I could not find anything, from a decent setup to a line. I'm definitely going to put in more practice this week to get used to the preferred lane and dial in a setup at Las Vegas.

2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)

I feel that the new rules worked pretty well at Daytona and I enjoyed the various strategies. The repair clock is probably my favorite rule change. It keeps cars that shouldn't be on the track off of it. I mean you all can fact check me on this, but there were zero debris cautions and there wasn't 20+ damaged cars on the track just trying to log laps. Instead, there were only 24 cars to finish the race and in reality only 14 of those were in contention to win. In my book that's a lot better than having 30+ cars on the track and only 14 are racing to win.

3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution?

I tend to play a wide variety of games from turn based strategy, such as Civilization, to RPGs, such as Fallout. I think it would be easier to make a list of the games I have recently played. I have and am currently playing on a regular to occasional basis Dishonored, Dishonored 2, GTAV, Madden 17, Minecraft, Fallout 4, Civilization V, Pokemon Sun, Battlefield 1and a few others

 

[Hootius]

1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?
It is the 2nd slowest of the 1.5 milers, just in front of Kentucky, so I do enjoy that this will be the first real test on driver consistency and hitting marks, more so than relying on the draft. I haven't been happy so far with the few testing sessions that I have had (AI hasn't been helping either lol), but there are still several days left to fall into the grove and be ready for when Friday rolls around.

2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)
Daytona was a whole other monster when it came to stage strategy, so I am looking forward to how Atlanta plays out. I think I will enjoy the the stages as time goes on, but they need to figure out the pace laps between stages. I want to say there were 7 or 8 pace laps in between stages, that's too much. As for the damage clock, I understand the need but personally not a fan of it. If they want to limit it to just 5 minutes, so be it... but only count the time in the pit box. Driving down pit road should not eat into the timer. I would like to see that changes. Also... GO KURT!!!!

3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution?
Currently, all I do is race. Outside of Heat, it is Project Cars and F1 2016. Still love me some Rocket League though. Before I started this racing bender, I was playing Smite, but the community in that game wore heavily down on me. Not a fan of COD/BF type shooters. I played Destiny for a long time, Dragon Age, ESO, Fallout 4, but I tend to get heavily lost inside of RPGs. So with the new baby around, I will be avoiding them lol... Dat Mass Effect though....

 

[vWardude]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?[/font]
I feel a top 5 car this week is well in hand but I'm pushing for a top 3. Consistency is key in this league and my goal this season is to keep a top 5 pace all season. This track is a tough one so practice is key, tonight I'll run about 100 laps to get where I want for tomorrow.

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)[/font]

I like the changes. I was skeptical at first but it certainly makes the racing more interesting. The repair clock I'm still iffy on. With stages I see very competitive racing throughout the entire race, I'm excited to see how atlanta goes with this new style.

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution?[/font]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I just recently bought Call of Duty Remastered. I'm getting back into playing that game on a competitve level after not playing for a while because I couldn't stand what they did with the past couple games. I like boots to the ground type of warfare games, not flying in space. Other that that I mainly play sports games.[/font]

 

[XSYSE]

1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?

Hard telling with this competition, I feel a little faster here than Atlanta.  I've put in a ton of practice I feel stable here, but haven't had a break through.


2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)

I'm undecided with these changes,  I need to see at least a few races to see how it settles out.


3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution?

I stick with sports games, Madden 17 and 2K17.  If they do a reboot on the COD, I'll probably jump back into that.  I'm not really exceptional at any of these, but now and then I'll beat someone I shouldn't, and that is well worth it.

 

[cjherring]

1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?

I'm not a huge fan of Las Vegas in this game. I feel like I have a competitive setup and should be able to be a contender for the win.

2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)

The Daytona 500 was more exciting than in previous years (excluding the ending) largely, in my belief, to the stage racing. Giving the drivers an incentive to race hard throughout the entire race made for a more enjoyable product for the fans to watch. As for the repair clock, I like what NASCAR has done for two reasons. The first reason is for the drivers themselves, there's now no one forcing the teams and drivers to go ride around on broken equipment without any chance of competing (aka sponsors). The second reason is I think it will greatly reduce the amount of cautions that occur due to debris and blown tires that seemed to happen multiple times each week due to a badly damaged car running around the track.

3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution

Right now besides NHE I play a lot of Madden and NBA 2K. I occasionally play Call of Duty but in recent years I haven't enjoyed the jet pack gameplay and I'm looking forward to this years release of a boots on the ground Call of Duty.

 

[L33iZzle]

1. We visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway next, a track we haven't raced yet. Do you like the track and how do you feel about your pace here?

I love Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a track I have a circled as a track I can win at. My setup is very strong on all phases of the run, Short run, long run and in between.  I'm very confident I can win tonight, and if it's not me in Victory Lane, I'm confident it will be a fellow Forward Byte Team Member.

2. We just watched a crazy Daytona 500, how do you like the new rules changes? (ie. stage racing and repair clock)

The Daytona 500 was insane, but it was an overall amazing race from start to finish. The stages provided the intensity needed to get the drivers ramped up during the race and race to get the bonus point at the end of the stage. The stages were what NASCAR needed to make the Daytona 500 exciting again as we all witnessed by the many multi-car accidents during the race. I believe it was one of the best Daytona 500's in recent years. I'm also a huge fan of the 5:00 minute repair clock. The drivers involved in crashes do not need to be out on track with half their car taped up and ripped off competing.  

3. What other games do you like to play besides Nascar Heat Evolution

Besides NASCAR Heat Evolution, I don't really play any games. I dabble into Project Cars and Rocket League, but as I'm such a big fan of NASCAR, that is my main focus. Project Cars, I feel is an overall great game to play and fun game and challenging game to play so I like to race in PRL's Project Cars league. Rocket League is just an overall enjoyment game, that anyone can ply to have fun.

 

[Meattyloaf]

Q: 12th (5th in Heat 2)
All I can say is that I got lucky. Kdawg DC helped a lot because I was running 6th at the time then I think the 10 getting loose out of turn four in the closing laps helped me lock down 5th and the transfer spot. Fastest lap I ran all week was a 30.909 with pit adjustments, but managed to put in some time in with the default that helped a bunch in the heats.

R: 7th
Again luck was on my side after blowing a tire on the first green flag pit stops and having to coast around the bottom of the track. This helped my pit strategy out in the long run with it forcing me to pit with about 38 to go. With this it allowed me to pit with 18 or 19 to go putting me to the good on fuel by about 3 laps. With being good on fuel I noticed that just about, if not, everyone was going to be short since they pitted 2-4 laps before me, how short I didn't know. I felt confident about my chances of stealing a race in a car that I felt wouldn't make the main with how bad my speed was at the track. I, however, needed probably just one extra lap to complete the upset as my thinking was right and everyone in front of me ran out of fuel on the last couple of laps. I did get a 7th place finish that I am extremely happy about it, especially after being in 16th and \flying by everyone as they ran out of fuel on the last couple of laps. So far I have scored my best finish on two of my least favorite tracks in the game Phoenix and Las Vegas.

 

[AaronWebb85]

Q: 8th (1st in Heat 2)
Didn't get a chance to put in a good lap in quali and was about 2 tenths slower than I'd shown all week. Was running 2nd in the Heat race, when KDawg unfortunately DC'd from 1st. Danny was pressuring me the last few laps, but didn't force the issue as we just wanted to avoid the LCQ.
R: 14th
Worst finish in a race I didn't DC so far. Extremely disappointed as it was my own mistake that cost me tonight. My tires were falling off and when I was going to drop into the pits, I didn't realize that Jobes had gotten underneath me. When I went to turn down, it was right into him. I don't think it affected him to much thankfully, but I spun and missed the pits. The time lost put me a lap down and in 15th place. I hoped for a caution to get back on the lead lap, but it stayed green to the finish and I finished 14th.
My dumb incident that shows how much of a crappy driver I am!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl8Y-Qfwhy0

 

[Hootius]

Qualified: 7th; Heat A: 2nd
Never found the top speed all week. I was pretty much in 30.7 purgatory every practice session I had and the .6 in qualifying was my first. I was really expecting to be around 10th at best, so I as pretty happy with getting a good starting position for the Heat. As for the Heat, starting inside row-2 I benefited from the high line having a poor start and snuck into  2nd place right off the bat. I took a good 5 laps for the tires to come in and for me to feel comfortable with the car. I was constantly getting challenged for 2nd early, but I was able to carry high side momentum to hold the position. Once guys started racing each other behind me, I opened up a pretty comfy gap and cruised the rest of the Heat for 2nd, and a good Main starting position.

Race: 4th
Pretty much cruised around the entire race in the 6th-8th positions. I got extremely lucky on the final pit stop without realizing it at first. Leaving the pit, I saw the estimated fuel was 20 laps, with 20 laps to go. We all know that estimated fuel gauge sucks, so once I got back on the track, I immediately went into fuel saving mode. I should have saved a little bit more, because I ran out of fuel on the backstretch of the final lap. I was able to coast my way into 2nd place until Danny and Xsyse came flying by on the front stretch at full power. I was very happy to walk away with with a Top 5 since I know I wasn't a Top 5 car.

Big congrats to Xsyse on his first Top 5, and Huge Congrats to Danny for putting my #41 right where she belongs lol Easily the best race of the season so far boys, lets keep it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AXk6U7RKF8&t=1548s

 

[vWardude]

Q: Screw DMR

 

[XSYSE]

Q: 15 (LCQ 3)

Just couldn't get a handle on it in the heats, tight tight tight.

R: 3

Hovered anywhere from 8-12 most of the race. The set-up was really loose on the starts but towards the end of the runs I was catching people and making passes. Having a late running car and green flag racing really maxed out my fuel mileage and as Danny did, I pitted about a lap or two after everyone else. A little backwards but 3rd is 3rd, I'll take it!!

 

[danny102897]

Qualified: 10th Heat B: 2nd
Had what was our best setup that we could find with our team, just couldn't get the draft off of other cars to get faster. In the heats I was running behind Aaron for most of the race and finished 2nd after Kdawg DC'ed

Race: 1ST!!!!!!!!!!!
I was the cause of the first caution after hitting the wall coming off of four, then survived the next caution a few laps later. When lap 47 came around and everone started to pit, I knew they were not going to make it since the calculations were off, so I made another lap and ran out on the backstretch and coasted in with 20 to go. I was running 6 with two to go when everyone else started to sputter, then as I came into turn 1 on the final lap I brushed the wall a bit. If i hit that wall a bit harder, Jobes would have won that one. Overall, this was an exciting race and now I have my first career win.

 

[AaronWebb85]

Congrats again Danny!

 

[cjherring]

Q: 3rd (1st Heat 1)
I had a very strong car in qualifying along with the rest of forward byte who took 1-6 in qualifying
R: 10th  
I made my way into 1st in the first 20 laps of the race. From there on I had the dominant car pulling out to a 7 second lead, but unfortunately I was 2 laps short on fuel. I pitted with 4 to go and was hoping those in front of me would run out. Luckily i was able to pass 2 cars on the final lap to salvage a top 10. I'm disappointed in the outcome of the race but it was a lack of awareness on my part to not realize the race would be close on fuel mileage prior to my first green flag pit stop. Hopefully I can have a similarly dominant car in Phoenix this week and try to redeem myself from what i feel was a wasted effort.