GTP NASCAR SPRINT CUP S3 Champs: RFLX_Niop, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota

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I noticed a lot of guys struggling with oversteer off the last turn and in turn 1 under power...

Well for me anyway, I was braking late into T1 to carry more speed which resulted in me having to trail brake whilst turning on the exit and in these cars that gives you a little bit of snap oversteer.
 
Well for me anyway, I was braking late into T1 to carry more speed which resulted in me having to trail brake whilst turning on the exit and in these cars that gives you a little bit of snap oversteer.

I altered gears using a combo set ups from Drop and Litchi meaning I only used 3 and 4 for the whole race pretty much, lower revs reduced wheelspin as well...
 
Well I still hate SuzE, but I've come to respect her. When the schedule came out this was the race that I targeted as my bogey track, and with it being in the Chase, I had even more concern. Therefore I've had to spend most of this season when I had spare time working on it to get as used to the track, and my car around it as possible. I'm fully aware of my limitations on road courses and that this race would be all about damage limitation. I'd probably put in excess of 300 test laps in all to get ready for this race, and can say that I am very happy with 6th spot. Special thanks to Niop for all his help around SuzE this season 👍

5th was definately achievable, but with Niop, Joe, Litchi and Mule running I knew that the top four positions were realisticly out of reach. I was right. I could manage a two stop strategy, but I was faster with a three stop. Had my strategy (and alternatives) all set and the most important thing was not having any distractions. Turned off my mic, driver list and timings so all I had to go on was map, position and laps. That seemed to work really well for me. Carb and Tom were also on my mind as drivers who could potentially ruin places for me, but managed to fend them both off.

Had a great battle with Furi in the last stint for 5th spot. I was able to hold him off and felt good about the position, but two slight mistakes (my only two I recall) gave him the gap he need to clinch it, giving me 6th. So a little dissapointed I didn't achieve a top 5 there. 👍

Apologies to Drop for nudging him as he was pitting. If it helps Chqr did exactly the same to me the very next lap, spinning me. Fourtunately he span me facing the pit entry so no real time lost there. :nervous:

Domination by my TO and two time Champ, Niop. Pole, all Laps Led and convincing win. Well done Boss :bowdown:

Great drives also by by Mule, Joe and Litchi 👍

I reckon Drop will be a little dissapointed with his finish, and probaly expected a bit better in the end.

What I would like to champion is the professionalism and driving skills of everyone out there last night. Pace lap was perfect, and the first stint with a long line of cars very close to each other were very very respectful and it really panned out into a real race as the train stretched itself out. When we are all on form, this is an awesome set of drivers to run with. Well done to everyone. :)

So, I am happy with my damage limitation last night but feel like I left one point out there. Saying that, there are now only 9 points seperating the top 5 in the Chase. I believe Niop and Joe are level at the top, with Drop two behind, followed by Mule then myself right behind him. This is far from over and still anyones title here. 👍

Looking forward to watching the replay back.
 
You did force me off early on coming out of 1 Knelly; didn't leave me a lane on the outside but I managed to keep it on track anyway so no matter. I'm guessing you weren't aware of my position relative to you on track.
 
I know exactly where you mean Tom, I came down the inside through T1 and T2. Coming out of 2 and straightening up I was ahead of you and my straigtened. I know if I tried to move back right any more,I would have snapped and we both would have lost out. I was looking back and if you span, I would have waited for you. I also felt you were quite hot coming around T2 as well.

There was another time where I was following you (probably just before the one you are talking about above) where I felt I cut too much of the last corner and got a very good run on you. But because of the cut I just fell back behind and didn't even try to take you at T1, out of respect of me cutting the corner, unintentionally.

Hope we are good with all that mate 👍
 
Apologies to Drop for nudging him as he was pitting. If it helps Chqr did exactly the same to me the very next lap, spinning me. Fourtunately he span me facing the pit entry so no real time lost there. :nervous:

I didn't think you were pitting. I thought we were using the inside lane for Pit road. It all worked itself out anyways.

I believe it was Furi who hit the pit wall like a lemming yesterday. :sly:
 
I didn't think you were pitting. I thought we were using the inside lane for Pit road. It all worked itself out anyways.

I believe it was Furi who hit the pit wall like a lemming yesterday. :sly:

Yes I did clip pit wall.
 
Drop, it looked like you could have one-stopped this race. How were your tyres so good?
I would offer to send you the setup, but I think everyone would kill me if you managed to one-stop next season. :lol: :lol:

I was being pretty conservative on tires, as I wanted to do everything I could to not go off-track, especially later in runs. I knew that I could go a half-second or more faster per lap if I pushed it, but I thought it was better to stay on track and ensure that I could two-stop the race and not lose a big chunk of time sitting in the gravel. My plan was to try to steal a few positions in the finishing order by two-stopping, as I knew most of the field was three-stopping and that passing was very difficult. I got off track twice really early in the race, which meant most people came out of the pits right behind me, and easily passed me with new tires around lap 16.

The end result was discouraging, but I felt like I had good pace, as there were several situations where I ran very well against Mule, even on older tires. When Joe passed me at one point about mid-race, I kept him in my sights for nearly 15 laps. That felt pretty good, but moral victories don't make up for the ass-kicking I took in points yesterday.
 
When are we looking at launching S4? Just so I have a general time-frame to work to with launching Trucks...
 
08-11-12: Preseason Exhibition: - Bud Shootout @ Daytona Superspeedway (50 laps)

08-18-12: 01: Daytona 500 @ Daytona Superspeedway (200 laps) - Grand Slam race 1
08-25-12: 02: FedEx 150 @ SS Route X (8 laps)**
09-01-12: (OFF WEEK - NO RACE) (Labor Day weekend)
09-08-12: 03: Red Bull 175km @ Monza - No Chicanes (30 laps)
09-15-12: 04: Southern 300 @ Motegi Superspeedway (194 laps)** - Grand Slam race 2
09-22-12: 05: Lowes 175 @ Indianapolis Superspeedway (70 Laps)
09-29-12: (OFF WEEK - NO RACE)
10-06-12: 06: Office Depot 135km @ Suzuka East (60 laps)

10-13-12: GTP Sprint All-Star Weekend @ Motegi Superspeedway
(50 lap open qualifier, 50 lap main, 20 lap finale)**

10-20-12: 07: Coca Cola 600 @ SS Route X (32 laps)** - Grand Slam race 3
10-27-12: (OFF WEEK - NO RACE)
11-03-12: 08: Best Buy 125 @ High Speed Ring (50 Laps)
11-10-12: 09: Home Depot 150 @ Motegi Superspeedway (97 laps)**
11-17-12: 10: Brickyard 400 @ Indianapolis Superspeedway (160 Laps) - Grand Slam race 4
11-24-12: (OFF WEEK - NO RACE) (Thanksgiving weekend)


-------BEGIN CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP-------

12-01-12: 11: Amp Energy 250 @ Daytona Superspeedway (100 laps)
12-08-12: 12: Toyota 200 @ Motegi Superspeedway (129 laps)**
12-15-12: 13: Coke Zero 225 @ SS Route X (12 laps)**
12-22-12: (OFF WEEK - NO RACE) (weekend closer to Christmas)
12-29-12: 14: Ford EcoBoost 200 @ Daytona Superspeedway (80 Laps)
01-05-13: 15: Target 200 @ Indianapolis Superspeedway (80 Laps)

**DLC Track
 
What's Labor Day?

Also may I note that Thanksgiving sounds rather pointless, but that's from the viewpoint of an atheist. :D
 
Just to remind, I will be asking the TO's and Host if we can move the Daytona 500 as I am likely to be away on holiday that weekend. To be discussed after this season though I believe.
 
Just to remind, I will be asking the TO's and Host if we can move the Daytona 500 as I am likely to be away on holiday that weekend. To be discussed after this season though I believe.

Probably, you need to have the new TO's to actually discuss it :P
 
That's what I meant. Probably didn't make it clear. Any other race I'm ok with dropping, but the 500 .... nah, can't miss that.
 
I'll be grabbing 2/3 points from 600 miles of SSRX for sure. As for the Daytona 500, I might start, but not finish, and the other two "Grand Slam" races might be finishable as the 400 mile race shouldn't hopefully last over two hours.
 
My nominations for the following categories:

Unluckiest Driver of the Year: Awarded to the driver that exhibits the worst luck, through no fault of his own, over the course of the season.
Last Season's winner: Mudd
Nominations:
TomMcD for ISP issues in Chase
Mule_9242 for always seeming to find the wreck
JoeOfTheFire for losing the championship by a single point after a lag bump separated him from the runaway lead 3-car pack in the final race



Rivalry of the Year: Awarded to the group that has the best rivalry for the season. A good rivalry should involve consistently battling each other for poles, wins, finishing positions, laps led, or team owner/manufacturer points.
Last Season's winner: Crazy_Bassist83 vs Hendrick Motorsports (RFLX/ACDC/Droptop)
Nominations:
SGR vs the field: Taking a 2-car team first in the draft, and daring everyone else to beat them. Frequently employed creative pit strategies, yielding mostly positive results.



Race Battle of the Year: Awarded to the two (or more) drivers that put on the best battle for a position (not necessarily the lead) in a single race. The longer and cleaner the battle, the better.
Last Season's winner: JoeOfTheFire vs Homeslice47 at the Brickyard 500
Nominations:
JGR + HMS vs the field at SSRX in the Coca Cola 600
Joe vs Mule at Monza
Joe vs RFLX at HSR
Mule vs Joe at Suzuka East
Furi vs Knelly at Suzuka East
The last 10 laps at the Daytona 200
The last 20 laps at the Indy 200
The last 3 miles at Indy - RFLX vs Drop - the lead changed 7 times in the last 5 turns, including 3 times on the final straightaway. The win gave Drop the record 5th win in a season, the record for most laps led in a season by a single lap, and proved to be the winning margin in the team owner's championship.



Race Comeback of the Year: Awarded to the driver that overcomes the most difficult setback to post a great finish in a single race. The driver doesn't necessarily have to win the race to be nominated for this award.
Last Season's winner: RFLX_Niop at Monza
Nominations:
GTP_Litchi at Suzuka East - Litchi showed up to the race just 5 minutes before the green flag, with just enough time to put down a single qualifying lap. Litchi worked his way up to 2nd place before having three separate incidents from laps 8-10 that dropped him 20-25 seconds back, and from 2nd place to 12th place. From there, Litchi drove back up through the field, constantly passing in heavy traffic, getting back up as high as 3rd place on lap 42. After his final pit stop, Litchi came back out in 4th place, right behind Mule and Joe. Litchi might have been able to secure second place if not for another off-track excursion that occurred on lap 56 of 61. Considering the circumstances, 4th was still a great finish.



Rookie of the Year: Awarded to the best driver for this season that participated in no more than 4 races last season.
Last Season's winner: M-Stall41
Nominations:
Mule - Almost seems unfair to classify as a rookie, as he started 4 races last season. However, if this is the category he is in, he's the clear winner. He won at Monza, beating Joe. He finished second in the Daytona 500 and at Suzuka East, won the Nationwide Daytona 300, and has been anywhere from 1st through 5th in points the entire season.




Most Improved Driver of the Year: Awarded to the most improved driver for this season that participated in at least 5 races last season.
Last Season's winner: RFLX_Niop
Nominations:
Dowhat - He was having a breakthrough season with four top-6 oval finishes, before he quit.
Furinkazen - Furi is enjoying a personal renaissance. He had just one podium (Sarthe) and two total top-5 finishes (Sarthe, HSR) in all 12 races last season. This year, he's up to 3 top-5s (Indy, Daytona, Suzuka) and a podium (daytona) in just 9 starts. With two of his three top-5s coming at an oval, Furi is showing great improvement in his oval driving.
Droptop2001gt - Went from 1 win in all of season 2 to 5 wins in season 3.




Most feared driver: The driver that, with one lap to go, you absolutely do not want to see in your rear view mirror.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
ACDC, RFLX, Joe



Most respected driver: The driver that everyone most respects for their calm demeanor, steady driving, and clean driving habits.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
TomMcD, RFLX, Joe, Knelly



Best Road Course driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver at Monza, High Speed Ring, and Suzuka East.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
RFLX_Niop - 2 wins in 2 starts
MULE - 1 win and 1 other podium in 3 starts; finished ahead of Joe twice.
Joe - 3 podiums in 3 starts




Best Oval driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver at Daytona, Indy, and SSRX this season.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
Droptop2001gt - 5 wins, 8 podiums, 8 Top-5 finishes, 3.0 average finish in 10 oval starts. Won Coca Cola 600.
ACDCROCKS123 - Won Daytona 500. 2 podiums, 3 Top-5 finishes, 2.67 average finish in 3 oval starts.
RFLX_Niop - 1 win (SSRX), 5 podiums, 6 Top-5 finishes, 3.5 average finish in 8 oval starts.
JoeOfTheFire - Won Brickyard 400. 6 podiums, 8 Top-5 finishes, 4.5 average finish in 10 oval starts.
Knelly - 2 wins (Indy, SSRX), 2 podiums, 6 Top-5 finishes, 4.9 average finish in 10 oval starts.





Best Overall driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver in the GTP NASCAR Sprint Cup, regardless of track type. This doesn't necessarily have to be the overall points champion.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
RFLX, S3 avg finish 3.0 - 3 wins (2 road, 1 oval)
Joe, S3 avg finish 4.0- 1 win (Brickyard 400)
Drop, S3 avg finish 4.6 - 5 wins (5 oval)
Knelly S3 avg finish 5.1 - 2 wins (2 oval)
Mule, S3 avg finish 5.9 - 1 win (1 road)
 
Last edited:
Loving the schedule. I'm hoping I can get a full-time seat in Nationwide as I'm not too keen on doing 600 miles of SSRX. I hope I can get in the 500 but we'll see.

Additionally, will the Trucks points finishers of this new season have a bearing on Ownership Draft Picks after S4 of Sprint Cup?
 
Don't think it should really. Trucks are kinda the oddity, the odd-one out. Also bear ion mind a lot of NW / Sprint drivers won't make Trucks to the unavoidable time zone issue.
 
Time to add a few more recommendations to this list after the race at Suzuka East.

Race Battle : Mule vs Joe at Suzuka East - a great battle over the last 10 laps with Mule driving right in Joe's tracks, waiting for an opening. Mule eventually prevailed, securing 2nd place.

Race Battle : Furi vs Knelly at Suzuka East - another great battle for position that took place over the closing laps. Furi was all over Knelly's back bumper for several laps, constantly looking for an opening. Knelly eventually cracked under the pressure, going off in turn 2, leaving Furi a top-5 finish.

Race Comeback : GTP_Litchi at Suzuka East - Litchi showed up to the race just 5 minutes before the green flag, with just enough time to put down a single qualifying lap. Litchi worked his way up to 2nd place before having three separate incidents from laps 8-10 that dropped him 20-25 seconds back, and from 2nd place to 12th place. From there, Litchi drove back up through the field, constantly passing in heavy traffic, getting back up as high as 3rd place on lap 42. After his final pit stop, Litchi came back out in 4th place, right behind Mule and Joe. Litchi might have been able to secure second place if not for another off-track excursion that occurred on lap 56 of 61. Considering the circumstances, 4th was still a great finish.

Funny, I meant to say before the race, that this may bring up some further Nominations.

Could really do with all previous posts from about a month ago, having the Nominations that we got at that time, put into the OP for The SPRINTS. There were details of previous winners also.

Appreciate time is restrained for you Drop, but when you are bored in work ......

EDIT : Think you hit the nail on the head with the ones you mentioned above. Can't think of any others apart from Niops domination.

I would also like to think I may be considered for 'most improved' in respect of road courses this season, even though I had a poor show at HSR. I was delighted with both Monza and SuzE this season.
 
Additionally, will the Trucks points finishers of this new season have a bearing on Ownership Draft Picks after S4 of Sprint Cup?

The Truck series points positions won't have a corresponding position in the Sprint Cup draft, as there are no league restrictions preventing the Truck series drivers from also joining the Nationwide or Sprint Cup series. In fact, it is highly encouraged for them to do so. I know Furi is expecting that a lot of his Truck series competitors will be Nationwide and Sprint Cup drivers. Any Truck series drivers that aren't already in either series will probably be encouraged to join the NW series if they are interested.
 
As a matter of fact, I might actually have been higher in "traditional" qualifying than any other NW driver this season. :embarrassed:

Well, at least in the shared lead, if anything.
 
Could really do with all previous posts from about a month ago, having the Nominations that we got at that time, put into the OP for The SPRINTS. There were details of previous winners also.

Appreciate time is restrained for you Drop, but when you are bored in work ....

Today qualified as bored at work...

The Sprints Awards:


Unluckiest Driver of the Year: Awarded to the driver that exhibits the worst luck, through no fault of his own, over the course of the season.
Last Season's winner: Mudd
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177708#post7177708
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177831#post7177831
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Driver Rivalry of the Year: Awarded to the drivers that have the best rivalry for the season. A good rivalry should involve consistently battling each other for poles, wins, finishing positions, laps led, or team owner points.
Last Season's winner: Crazy_Bassist83 vs Hendrick Motorsports (RFLX/ACDC/Droptop)
Nominations:



Race Battle of the Year: Awarded to the two (or more) drivers that put on the best battle for a position (not necessarily the lead) in a single race. The longer and cleaner the battle, the better.
Last Season's winner: JoeOfTheFire vs Homeslice47 at the Brickyard 500
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Race Comeback of the Year: Awarded to the driver that overcomes the most difficult setback to post a great finish in a single race. The driver doesn't necessarily have to win the race to be nominated for this award.
Last Season's winner: RFLX_Niop at Monza
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177708#post7177708
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Rookie of the Year: Awarded to the best driver for this season that participated in no more than 4 races last season.
Last Season's winner: M-Stall41
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Most Improved Driver of the Year: Awarded to the most improved driver for this season that participated in at least 5 races last season.
Last Season's winner: RFLX_Niop
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Most feared driver: The driver, that with one lap to go, you absolutely do not want to see in your rear view mirror.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Most respected driver: The driver that everyone most respects for their calm demeanor, steady driving, and clean driving habits.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Best Road Course driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver at Monza, High Speed Ring, and Suzuka East.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Best Oval driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver at Daytona, Indy, and SSRX this season.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7177362#post7177362
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7178124#post7178124



Best Overall driver: The driver that you think is the best all-around driver in the GTP NASCAR Sprint Cup, regardless of track type. This doesn't necessarily have to be the overall points champion.
Last Season's winner: This is the first year of this award category
Nominations:

Revised post on page 1, and added a final award for best overall driver. I edited most respected to driver to be more about clean driving and positive attitude, and less about high finishes. I'm also going to edit my nomination post above before linking to it.
 
Driver rivalry suggestion:

Furi vs everyone :lol:

And do I get a mention for most different cars driven for this season? :lol: I think i've been in the #43, #99, #24, #20, #18 and #11 this season :lol:
 
Well, next week should be relaxing anyway. Drive in a straight line for an hour and a half, then dash to the finish.

Ahhh.
 
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