Race #3: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (25Oct17)

[Hootius]

 
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Race Length: 78 Laps (Stage 1: 23 Laps/ Stage 2: 55 Laps)​

Race Name in Game: Overton's 301​

 

[Hootius]

**Pre-Race Interview**
1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?

2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see us progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?

3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?

 

[XSYSE]

1.  Just looking to get in a rhythm and be consistent, I don't like the track that much.
2. If we can keep clean and have lots of good battles the more the better, however I just don't think the game can handle it and can we get that many consistent clean racers.

3.  I think Truex is got it, and deserves a title this year.

 

[Hootius]

1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?
Had some good practice over the weekend. Like always, I doubt I will get the pole or fastest lap, but I like my consistency over the long run and looking to have a strong finish like last Season here.

2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see us progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?
As much as I would like to be open to more guys and let everyone have fun racing, doing the manual caution system as we do makes me feel like 16 is the right number. So far I think this season is off to a pretty good start with limiting the number of cautions we have had, so I like were we are heading.

3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?
Truex has never really been too strong at Homestead, so I am heart broken that Larson is out as I feel like he could have won it all this year. I hope no one does take it from Truex, he has had too amazing of a year to not get the trophy.

 

[vWardude]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]**Pre-Race Interview**[/font]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?[/font]

I like this track. They ruined it in Evolution but they seemed to have improved it to a more realistic feel with how flat the track is. I need a top 3 finish here if not a win to get back on track to where I expected to start the season.


[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see us progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?[/font]

16 is just fine. Any more than that is just a hassle to deal with. I liked what we did last year with allowing more than 16 to qualify but only 16(6 not in the top 10) make the race. Although with that, we never got up to 16 again.

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?[/font]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Never count out JJ. I'll be rooting for Truex though. Jobes really turned me on to him, he's become one of my favorite drivers.[/font]

 

[Sassafrass_3]

UPDATE: I have switched to the #72 car

1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?
Can't wait to run it

2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see us progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?
16 seems like a good number right now. With party system for communication it is already difficult to manage all the drivers. Last week there was quite a bit of confusion on restarts, wave arounds, etc depending on which party you were in. Also I called a caution on lap 40 which was deemed by a couple of other drivers to be a one car accident. I got pushed into the wall on the exit of 4, slammed by a couple other cars, car sideways in front of me and I cartwheeled through the infield. I don't understand how that wasn't a caution. 

3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?
I hate it for Larson. Several contenders left but I think Truex deserves it. He'll have to earn it.

 

[Meattyloaf]

1. I haven't raced it in this game last game it was a hit or miss. It was the site of my first top 10 in the league during season 1, but last season it was one of my bad spots. I'm hoping to gain back some of that magic I had at this track in other previous Nascar titles and maybe get out of here with a decent finish.

2. I like the 16 car field as we have only had one 16 car field in a while dating back to last season and that was Daytona of this season, I believe.

3. If not Truex it's either the #24 or #48, if they can make it to the Championship 4. They tend to do pretty well at Homestead and the #24 has probably been the most consistent since the playoffs have started, with a slight hiccup at Talladega.

 

[Sean420cali]

1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?

I feel confident about my race pace being competitive. Not sure where I will qualify, but I got a lot of momentum on my side going back to the preseason races I only raced here in S1 and had a disconnection after 20 laps. But I qualified 2nd and was on CJ's bumper until my internet crapped out lol.

2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see us progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?

Hootie, don't change it lol, 16 it's perfect. More then 16 drivers causes headaches for party chat, cautions and the quality of racing goes down.

3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?

Super bummed for Larson, He grew up near where I live. I felt he was the only one that really would make Truex nervous at Homestead. Anything can happen, but Truex deserves this championship he has had an amazing season.

 

[TheNoahcat]

1. New Hampshire this week. How comfortable do you feel about this track in Heat 2?
I don't really like the track, but I feel like I should be able to race some people pretty well and I might get a good qualifying position.
2. So we limited the field back down to just 16 for the rest of this season. Do you like that number or would you like to see our progress to 20 or 24 drivers at some point in the future?
Keep it at just 16 the racing is great, any more people would lead to more cautions and problems with parties. 
3. Do you feel that Larson getting knocked out of the playoffs just gave Truex the championship? Or do you see someone else getting the steal at Homestead?
I feel like Truex deserves the championship and I feel bad for Larson, I feel like Larson stood a good chance.

 

[ZeKe_h30]

I'm not a fan of the Magic Mile. I never have enough speed here, and it's harder than hell to pass. Track position is going to be crucial. Have a pretty fast 42 car tonight, let's see how it shakes out.

I like 16 player racing right now. The servers in this year seem better (knock on wood), so it's not too hard to imagine a bigger field. If we ever do move to a bigger field, I almost feel like we need to use the auto-caution system, especially for the smaller tracks.

I can't even put into words the disappointment of Larson getting cut. The kid has been running good all season, and deserves better results. 1st blown engine of his career, and it happened at the worst time. With that being said, Truex has a damn good chance at the title, but we all just saw how easily it is too get knocked out with a couple bad races. It's not over till the fat lady sings.

 

[Meattyloaf]

Q:14th
Didn't have much of a qualifying run couldn't keep the car under me.

R:13th
Starting track position was crucial tonight. If you started in the front that's where you ran and if you started in the back that's where you ran. Couldn't get much going and hands down New Hampshire is my worst track I could not get my restarts right or anything and that's the one thing I excel at week in and week out. If we had a couple of cautions I probably could've played strategy but no cautions keep us all on equal footing and somehow I lost 7 seconds to Habob on the last cycle of green flag pit stops. I know I usually don't have the best times entering and leaving pit road as I'm cautious, but seven seconds is a lot. Most of the race I hovered around 11 and 12 but that last round of pit stops killed me and regulated me to 13th

 

[Hootius]

Q: 2nd
Pretty happy with that lap. Best of the week, just fell short of the pole.

R: 5th
Pretty lackluster on my part. The car sucked on a long run, so tried short pitting to make up track position. Seemed like I was running a totally different line than everyone else, so pretty sure my car would have ended up looking like the Kurt Daytona car lol Pretty disappointed with the finish, thought I had a better car than that.

 

[ZeKe_h30]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci1RO61Bsk0&t=7s&list=PLTw-LwNfsnNZUVp4riPp8XNqzoqsrI5cv&index=3

 

[XSYSE]

Q: 9th Surprised wasn't really pushing at all.

R: 7th. First run made some passes and was feeling real good. Stage end lost like 3 or more spots in the pits. On track passes had to be made early but every green flag stop was in the 16 range and I had to play catch up and make the same passes over again.

 

[vWardude]

Q: 3rd

I though I pushed out a pole lap with my low 29.8 and was surprised when I saw myself in 3rd but I'm completely fine with another top 5 qualifying spot.

R: 2nd

I was fast all night and my tires seemed to hold up a little better then the other top 5 drivers. I decided to pit a bit early to gain some track position knowing that I could get away with it and gain a lot of track time from the others that pit 3-6 laps later than me. Once the pit stops we're done(besides kdawg) I came out with the lead over Kyle by about a second. Lap traffic/saving a bit on tires let him catch me and pass me, I was fine with it knowing I would have been able to get back around. Once Kdawg came out of the pits(Took no tires and a splash) with 2 to go, he had about a 1.5 second lead on Kyle and myself but we quickly made it by him and that's where I saw my opportunity for my pass on Kyle. After exiting turn 2 on kyles bumper and with more speed, I dove it into 3 nicely, had the pass all set up and saw the win until Kyle slammed his brakes down on me on a block, I got a little loose and almost lost it but held on for 2nd. The first two races didn't go to plan but I feel I have momentum now going into the next few tracks that I'm strong at.

 

[nickmichaud]

S: 4th
Pretty content with this starting spot 
End of stage: 7th  
Lack of practice the past 3 days and working long hours prevented myself from getting a good rhythm down. Glad I practiced on the weekend and could rely on some setup help from my teammate. I'm getting killed out here in these stages. Last season when I wasn't points racing I would get stage points every week and now that I am points racing not a single point yet. 
F:6th 
I was about the 6th best this week. Not too estactic about that. I had higher expectations for Loudon. Just so hard to complete a pass here.

Sitting 7th in the points I'm expecting better performances in the next few weeks. Looking forward to heading back to the faster tracks. If only they were all intermediates where I excel the most haha. 

 

[Sean420cali]

Q: 6th
I thought I would be able to back up practice pace and be on the front row. I don't know what happened but I sucked lol

R: 4th

Man the start of the that race was stressful I had guys all over me, my car wouldn't turn and was wicked loose on entry I was getting trapped in the middle three wide as guys were trying to pass me early on. I was able to get 4th in the stage and salvage some points. I went back to my old setup at the stage caution, it worked better I wasn't retarded slow lol. I was running a lower line on corner entry then the rest of the top five guys, so I carried a lot of speed in and would slid up a little I didn't have the pace of Kyle or KDwag but I could stay close to them during each pit cycle. Near the end I was in 2nd following Kdwag we were both running are fuel to the end while Hootie, Kyle and Wardude, were on opposite strategy. I decided to pit with 11 to go because My tires were really falling off. A slow pit stop cycled me out back to 6th. I was able to pass Nick and run down Hootie to finish 4th. Not my best night but on the positive good damage control it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Hootius]

This week was Race #3 of the 3rd Season for the PRL's PS4 Hascar Heat league. The crew headed up north to test the patience with the accelerator as they tackled the flat, 1-mile oval of New Hampshire. The league would crown a new New Hampshire winner in the Hall of Fame, as Christopher Herring (CJHerring) was not in attendance for this race, who won both trips the League has taken to New Hampshire in the past.

After pacing several laps to let everyone make their car adjustments, the drivers had only 9 laps to put down their best heater. Kyle Ely (Rocksson2Kyle) captured his 5th career Pole Position, just edging out Charles Sumner (Hootius) by a mere .023 secs. Michael Caterino (vWardude), Nick Michaud (NickMichaud), and Kyle Spencer (KDawgHonda777) rounded out the Top 5 respectively in qualifying. The Top 5 was a very competitive group, as all 5 cars were only separated by .150 secs.

Before I dive into the race recap, I want to give a shout-out to the entire league. This was the first time in 36 races in the league's history that a race ended caution free.There was plenty of battling with 3-wide, and even 1 case of 4-wide racing. So for everyone to race that hard and to keep it green the whole time (minus the Stage break) is a very big accomplishment. The first Stage was chaotic with lots of overtakes, and take-backs as there was a solid 7 drivers fighting for the Stage bonus points. At the end of Lap 23, Kyle S. won his first career Stage, followed by Kyle E., Michael, Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali) and Charles. As everyone pitted to prepare for the final remaining 52 laps, everyone started thinking about the pit strategies. Going 26 laps on one tank of fuel would take lots of patience to make it on just 1 fuel stop, so you had to decided right away if that was your plan of attack. Only 1 driver would attempt that feat, which was Stage winner Kyle S. As the race carried on, Charles was the first of the lead pack to hit pit road each time, electing to keep the tires as fresh as possible as his car's speed fell off earlier than the other front runners, which then lead to the other lead cars pitting within 1 to 2 laps of him, except for Kyle S. of course. As we neared the end of the race, Kyle S. had to abandon the 1 stop strategy as he realized he would fall just one lap short of taking the checkered flag. Kyle S. only took a quick splash of fuel, and still had a 1.5 sec lead as he exited the pits with 2 to go. However Kyle S.' tires where just too worn out at the point and his car would slide too much in the turns, and he could not hold off Kyle E. or Michael. Both drivers completed the pass on Kyle S. and then had a mad dash to the checkered flag. Kyle E. picked up his 2nd career win as he was able to just hold off Michael by a slim .094 seconds. Kyle S., Sean and Charles rounded out the Top 5 for the race. The Hard-Charger award for the week went to Owen Bridges (Habob69), who was able to gain 4 position throughout the race to win the award for the 2nd time this Season.

**Top 10 Finishing order for New Hampshire**
1. Kyle Ely (Rocksson2Kyle) - 2nd Career Win
2. Michael Caterino (vWardude) - 1st Top 5 of the Season
3. Kyle Spencer (KDawgHonda777) - 2nd Top 5 of the Season
4. Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali) - 3rd Top 5 of the Season
5. Charles Sumner (Hootius) - 2nd Top 5 of the Season
6. Nick Michaud (Nickmichaud) - 3rd Top 10 of the Season; 15th career Top 10
7. Rob Besaw (Xsyse) - 3rd Top 10 of the Season
8. Adam Zemke (Zeke_H30) - 2nd Top 10 of the Season
9. Jake MacLeod  (SassaFrass_3) - First Career Top 10
10. Brian Mosser (BrianMosser88) - 2nd Top 10 of the Season; 15th career Top 10

After 3 races,  Kyle Ely (Rocksson2Kyle) took the points lead over from Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali), and turned a 4 point deficit into a 4 point lead. Charles Sumner (Hootius) sits 13 points back of the lead, with Michael Caterino (vWardude) 17 points back, and Nick Michaud (Nickmichaud) 20 points back to round out the Top 5.

For our Team championship, Driving on Adrenaline (Kyle E. and Rob) hold a 19 point lead over One-Two Racing (Michael and Nick).

New Hampshire marked the end of the 1st round of the Playoffs. Here are the 12 drivers moving onward to Round 2: Kyle E, Sean, Charles, Michael, Kyle S, Rob, Owen, Brian, Christopher Johnson (MeattyLoaf), Zack Jackson (Action12Jackson) and Adam,

Next week, the Nascar Heat crew head to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway to tackle the flat, 2.5-mile rectangled-oval. Please join us, and one of our handful of driver who stream their POVs of the race, on Wednesday nights at 9pm Eastern.