Race #8: Texas Motor Speedway (6Dec17)

[Hootius]

 

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Race Length: 84 Laps (Stage 1: 25 Laps/ Stage 2: 59 Laps)
Race Name in Game: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

 

[Hootius]

***Pre-Race Interview***
1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?

2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?

3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?

 

[Hootius]

1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?
It's a lot of fun. Really tricky to hit it just right to hit that blistering lap. Consistency will be the key and I am looking forward to Wednesday.

2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?
I definitely hope so, and I very much hope it will be Larson

3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?rts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?
Honestly, I like how it is. The leader had the advantage and that's how it should be. Like every other aspect of racing, restarts have to be practice and the technique mastered. It's all in the attention to detail and focus.

 

[Meattyloaf]

1. Definitely has a different feel to it this game compared to last. Turns 1 and 2 I feel are going to be the trouble spots due to them being different. I enjoy Texas as it's a pretty fun track just haven't got into my groove yet, but most likely will be come Wednesday.

2. I feel after two straight years of not winning the manufacturer title it has been a wake up call. Will Chevy have the same dominance as Toyota had this season probably not as they are playing catch up, but I feel it will be a tight race for who is the top manufacturer.

3. Leave it as is. Single file restarts are boring and tend to do more harm than good. I feel if there was to be a change it would be adopt a rule similar to short track racing and let drivers decide if they want to start inside or outside. As for the restart zone leave it be as well I feel we do a pretty good job of keeping it pretty consistent and in line with actual zones.

 

[XSYSE]

1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?

It's not bad, I'm just not sure how I want to get through turn 1 and 2.


2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?

Camaro how could they go wrong, they will get back in there.



3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?

Leader has the advantage no matter what and that is good. I would like to see single file just to have a sample. The issue has been one guy not ready and that line is screwed you either back off or go 3 wide, I feel if someone screws up the single file start they get freight trained to the rear. It will cut down on cautions as your line should not be hampered or restricted going into the first corner.

 

[Sean420cali]

1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?

It's more technical you cant just mash the gas, so I like it from that aspect could provide good racing. I have a bad feeling turn 2 is going to cause a lot of wrecks. The outside lane doesn't have much grip so guys may have problems there. But if the guy on the inside hits the bump wrong he will shoot up the track into the outside car causing a caution.

2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?

I think Chevy saw what Toyota did with the aerodynamics on this yr's car and will make big changes to help them out next year. Chevy and Ford are playing catch up right now. But NASCAR will balance it out so one make isn't winning all the races.

3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?

I think regardless the leader will always have the advantage. That's fine I would just like to see a universal restart zone at all the tracks. Listen it can be bigger as Hootie suggested. Something that helped in the past is when Aaron would do a 3,2,1 countdown to green I liked that. Right now as Xy stated we are having issues with one lane having the lead car or someone not ready or knowing when to go. I know it's part of racing and it will never be perfect for everyone. But does the leader really need to have a 8 to 10 car length lead going turn 1?

 

[vWardude]

1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?


I was shocked when I jumped on for practice and actually had to let off the throttle in turns 1 and 2. I love it. Racing is fun here and should be a lot more competitive


2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?

I sure hope so, those rides look sick!


3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?

No need for a change just because less than a handful of drivers can’t go off the leader. If we change to accommodate the less skilled at certain areas, the league will get less competitive. The leader is supposed to have an advantage, it’s the whole point of a restart ZONE not LINE. Personally I’ve never had a problem with a restart from position 2 or 3, just pay attention to the leader. If we went single file, we would have the same problem and cars would just get that much more spread out.

 

[TheNoahcat]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]1. Texas a whole different feel to it than in the first game. How do you like this version of the track?[/font]
I like Texas, it seems like a fast track and should be a lot of fun.
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]2. With the new Camaro, will this be a bounce-back year for Chevy and we will see a Chevy in the Title race in '18?[/font]
I'm a Chevy guy, so I really hope that this new Camaro will bring more Chevy drivers to win.
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]3. Restarts were discussed this week. What would you do if it was your call? Bigger Zone? Smaller? Single file?[/font]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I like how the restarts are right now, but if we had to change it, I would want the start/finish line to be the restart zone.[/font]

 

[ZeKe_h30]

This is going to be a fun race, this texas is way tighter coming off 2, so i we are giong to have problems tonight, that's where it will be. going to fun anyways.

I'm in love with the new camaros. Great move by chevy, and might be a bit of a jump start that nascar needs to get back to what the sport once was. still hoping that more manufacturers jump in soon.

I like our restarts, I just wish we had a clearer set of rules. Like how you are suppose to not change lines whatsoever before the starting line, but we see people dive to the bottom all the time, which are not suppose to do before the line. The problem is, is how to we regulate that. I'm sure hoot and kdawg don't like dishing out penalties, because we are all doing this for fun. I suppose the only thing you could really do to keep it clean would be single file, but that's not exactly fun, but it is by far the fairest way I would think. Easiest to govern also.

 

[Meattyloaf]

Q:10th
Felt I was fast was hoping for a top 5 start, just others were faster.

R:9th
Didn't have the best of races. I was dealing with a frame rate issue not sure if it was the game, internet, or the TV I was on. I know it caused me to get into Sas at one point and luckily it didn't affect him too bad. I was running in 2nd at one point and brushed a wall. This resulted in me getting freight trained, which to me showed how quick some guys were. I ended up falling back to 7th or 8th, can't remember in the ordeal. I ended up getting onto a different pit strategy than the leaders towards the end of the race when I short pitted and was banking on a caution. The caution didn't happen which led to me having to pit a few laps before the leaders on the last pit cycle preventing me from being too risky on the stop regulating me to a 9th place finish. I'll take this finish as it is what I needed after last week's race.

 

[ZeKe_h30]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9K0KOvZSZc&list=PLTw-LwNfsnNZUVp4riPp8XNqzoqsrI5cv&index=8

 

[Hootius]

This week, the Nascar crew hit the newly repaved Texas Motor Speedway for the 3rd time in the League's history. Season 1 winner Charles Sumner (Hootius) is looking to repeat the feat when he snagged his first career win, here at Texas.

Qualifying on these 1.5 mile tracks is always about the draft, and the gap between the cars is always super tight. For the 3rd time this Season, Charles Sumner (Hootius) put down the hot lap and took the inside of Row 1 by 0.131 seconds over Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali). Michael Caterino (vWardude), Rob Besaw (Xsyse), and Nick Michaud (NickMichaud) rounded out the Top 5. For an example of just how close qualifying is, there was only 0.060 seconds separating 2nd through 5th place.

The 25 Lap first Stage was another exciting and almost a caution free one, as the yellow would fly at the very end of the segment, ending it 1 lap early. The fuel didn't come in to play as much as it had in the past few races due to Texas eating up a good amount. Everyone stopped for fuel and tires, and with that we saw Charles make a rare pit road exit mistake that took him out of the bonus points completely for the Stage. After the pit cycle, teammates Nick and Michael stayed hooked up in the draft together to bring home the top bonus points for the Stage. Sean, Adam Zemke (Zeke_H30)  and Rob snagged the rest of the bonus points. After the Stage we would have 2 quick cautions, followed by a long green flag run. During a cycle of green flag pit stops, the caution would come back out in amazing timing for Adam, who just crossed the line exiting pit road and gave him a huge amount of track position compared to where he was before the pit stop. Adam would take full advantage of that and lead the majority of the rest of the race, and held off a super close battle with Sean and Michael at the very end, capturing his 2nd win of the Season by a mere 0.088 seconds over Sean and 0.096 seconds over Michael. By far one of the closest finishes w have ever had involving the Top 3 drivers. Marvin Santival (MarvMilly147) and Rob would round out the Top 5. Michael would also snag a bonus point for running the Fastest Lap during the race for the first time this Season. Adam and Zack Jackson (Action12Jackson) share the Hard Charger Award for Texas, as both driver went +6 on the race.

**Top 10 Finishing order for Texas**
1. Adam Zemke (Zeke_H30) – 2nd Win of the Season; 3rd of his Career
2. Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali) – 7th Top 5 of the Season
3. Michael Caterino (vWardude) – 5th Top 5 of the Season; Tied Charles for the All-Time Record with 26
4. Marvin Santival (MarvMilly147)  – 1st Career Top 5 in the PRL!!
5. Rob Besaw (Xsyse) – 2nd Top 5 this Season
6. Zack Jackson (Action12Jackson) – 15th Career Top 10
7. Charles Sumner (Hootius) 
8. Nick Michaud (NickMichaud)
9. Christopher Johnson (MeattyLoaf)
10. Jake MacLeod (SassaFrass_3)

In the Driver's Championship, Sean Ryan (Sean420Cali) took advantage of Charles Sumner's (Hootius) poor performance at Texas and opened the lead back up to 10 points with 2 races to go. Michael Caterino (vWardude) took possession of 3rd Place in the points after Kyle Spencer's (KDawgHonda777) disconnect at Texas and opened up a 10 point lead as well. Adam Zemke's (Zeke_H30) win jumps him up into 5th Place in the points.

In the Team Championship, One-Two Racing (Michael and Nick) took advantage of Car Ramrod (Charles and Christopher) not receiving any Stage points and opened up a 10 point lead now.  The Bumper Killers (Sean and Noah) are still within striking range in 3rd, 15 points back of One-Two Racing.

Adam now joins Charles as one of the Championship 4 with his Texas win. Sean leads the points of those not clinched, and at minimal can move on with a Podium finish no matter what the other drivers do. Micheal and Rob are currently tied for the final position, with Zack 7 points back. With their current points situations, Brian and Kyle would need to win their way in to the Championship 4 next week.

Next week we go to the desert and tackle Phoenix for the penultimate race of the Season with tons on the line in all 3 Championships. Please join us, and one of our handful of driver who stream their POVs of the race, on Wednesday nights at 9pm Eastern.