XSLR Season 9 Race 2 USA International race report
Qualified P4 of 16, which put me P2 in heat 2. With little fanfare I was able to hold P2 in my heat and advance directly to the main starting P4. The wheels came off on lap 7 when I was exiting T4 and there was a stopped car up by the wall and I just caught it with the left rear and crashed. I probably should have risked that the car was not too damaged, but I pitted to use a fast repair and came out P14. From there I worked my way into the top 10 fairly quickly, but was unable to make a lot more progress and ended up P8.
CCiS 2025 Season Race 1 Indy race report
Race 1 I did not prep too much since this is one of the most highly attended races of the season. It did not disappoint – with 49 cars taking the start. I managed a decent qualifying time but still ended up only P28.
I ran in a line of cars for a while but the lap times were not as good as I could run by myself. I wanted to pit right away. Since fueling requirements say I can get a 4 tire change for free, and tire grip is definitely an issue, I couldn’t pit super early. At lap 10 I decided I would make the pit.
This paid dividends quite quickly as I had clear track and set my fast lap on lap 13. The only bad part about this strategy is the leaders were closing me down. I was able to stay ahead til lap 17 but they were saving fuel so there was some time lost as they were getting past. Had some back and forth the last several laps, ending up P19. I had a shot at P18, close enough to make a pass into T1 on lap 34. Nick is plenty quick and I didn’t want to try to keep him behind for almost 2 laps. Unfortunately I got quite loose at the end of the back straight and lost a couple seconds, ruining the last lap duel. Anyway it was nice to have a clean race but I expect this will be a drop week.
XSLR Season 9 Race 3 Kokomo race report
Kokomo is a 1/4 mile dirt oval that wears in quickly. Has banking but not enough to run WOT for the most part – it can be done but not sure its the fastest way around
On a fresh track the top line is definitely fastest, but once the lap times up there drop to about 12.0 the lower line is better.
I experimented with a throttle stop – basically not running the car more than about 85% throttle. This really helped reduce tendency to lift the front on corner exits. I set my fast lap in this configuration. With track speeds being low I decided to leave the wing max forward to keep weight forward, figuring the aero was not as important. Also more rear grip means easier to pull the front wheels.
One of the big challenges with dirt oval is we finish practice with a well worn track then only have 2 laps to qualify on a fresh track. The driving line and approach are way different and it usually take me more than 24 seconds to get dialed in. Still managed a P3 qualifying effort in a field of 14.
In the heat race I started P2 and was able to maintain that P2 which put me through to the main – no B main required. I had a moment there as Adam and I made contact early but somehow it didn’t affect my car or my line.
We were expecting a lot of carnage and while we had some, there were only 3 FCY which was pretty good considering 14 cars on this small track and the wide range of skills. From a P3 start I was able to hold my position for 10 laps until second first FCY. Then I had some issues with control, and dropped spots. On the third FCY at lap 15 I decided to do a fast repair since I had already been hit 3 times and came out P11. Quickly moved up to P7 but lost one of those when an accident unfolded in front of me on lap 25. Final restart from P8 I had a good race with Jimmy but he tagged the outside wall on the last lap to move me up one. Adam had a penalty so I finished up P6. I had higher expectations but considering mistakes I made when the field was bunched up I can’t complain.
Running P4 in points at the moment.
Up next is the last dirt oval race of XSLR season 9 at Eldora. This is a super speedway of dirt ovals. Broadcast at 8:10 PM Sunday 3/16:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiuFXm8jiE8