GTP NASCAR Nationwide Series // Season Report/Points // Champions!

[cgr-10]

GTP IndyCar Series Link

It's Indy 500 week and we want as many people involved as possible. There's two shorter races during the week we'd love you to participate in and you can even attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 race which will take place on Friday night. For more info on the Fight Before The 500, The Freedom 100, Indy 500 qualifying and the Indianapolis 500, check out the link above and post in the thread. All are welcome!

Thanks to Chqr for the plug.

Indy 500 Week Schedule

Tuesday - Fight Before The 500 40 + 1 laps (Room up - 22:30BST | Quali - 23:00BST | Green Flag - 23:30BST
Wednesday/Thursday - Qualifying Sessions (Rooms open from 22:00BST - 00:00BST)
Friday - Indy Lights Firestone Freedom 100 - 40 + 1 laps (Room up - 19:00BST | Green Flag - 20:00BST)
Friday - Final Qualifying (Room open from 21:00BST - 22:00BST)
Friday - Indianapolis 500 Mile Race 200 laps (Free Practice - 22:30BST | Green Flag - 23:30BST)​

 

[MustangRyan]

GTP NASCAR Power Rankings:

1. RFLX_Niop - The 2-time defending GTP Sprint Cup champion is on a roll, setting up his run for a third straight Sprint Cup title. Niop started his weekend by pushing TRYNOR88 to victory in the Nationwide race at Daytona, joining a parade of 3 SGR cars on the podium with excellent pit strategy and execution. Niop followed that up by doing his best Kevin Harvick impersonation in the Sprint Cup race, laying back all day and jumping to the front just in time to win the race at the end, going 188 miles without stopping for fuel or tires at SSRX and claiming his second Sprint Cup victory in a row.
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2. TRYNOR88 - TRYNOR took command of the Nationwide series points lead this weekend, taking Carbonox out of first place for the first time in seven weeks. TRYNOR got his third Nationwide win of the season this past weekend at Daytona, leading a pack of SGR cars to the top 3 finishing positions. Heading into the season finale at Indy, he's the heavy favorite to win the title, especially if Niop shows up to team up with him again.
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3. JoeOfTheFire - Joe continues his strong-and-steady march to the Chase, racking up his 3rd runner-up position this season in the Sprint Cup race at SS Route X. Joe has also dominated in the NW, when he has participated. He has 2 wins and 5 total podiums in his 6 starts. Yes, Joe is so steady, that I merely copied and pasted last week's bit and updated the number of 2nd place finishes from 2 to 3.
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4. Droptop2001gt - The current Sprint Cup points leader saw his fortunes improve greatly from last week, leading the most laps and finishing 3rd at SS Route X. Drop is the current Sprint Cup points leader with only one race to go, but is now tied with Niop at 2 race victories each. Unless one of these two win at Indy, they will start the Chase as co-leaders in the standings. You can expect that both drivers will go all out to win in an attempt to take the Pre-Chase lead in points.
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5. MULE_9242 - Mule had a bad day for himself at Daytona in the Nationwide race, but watched his Red Bull team post a solid 4th and 5th behind the SGR team that simply outpaced the field for the top 3 spots. In the Cup race, Mule's fortunes reversed, as a late wreck vaulted him in to the top 5 of the finishing order, solidifying his Chase spot for season 3.
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6. Carbonox - The long-time Nationwide points leader picked a bad week to have his worst race result of the Nationwide season. Carb got passed for the points lead this week by TRYNOR at Daytona. Carb's steady attendance for the entire season paid off though, as he was able to drop his result from Daytona, helping to keep the title in his sights in next week's finale at Indy. Carb made up for his rough Nationwide outing by posting a solid 6th place finish at SS Route X in relief of Mudd in the Sprint Cup race.
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7. GTP_Litchi - Litchi continued to show good pace in this weekend's Nationwide Race, carrying the banner for Red Bull Racing with a 4th place finish at Daytona. One can only wonder how the Nationwide Championship battle might look today had Litchi joined the series in time for the first race of the season. He's 5th in the Nationwide points, despite carrying three results of 0 points.
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8. Knelly - Knelly had a great outing at SS Route X, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the final results. Knelly finished outside of the top 10 due to an accident in the last turn while racing for the lead with RedPartyHat. This was Knelly's second straight race where he definitely left without as many points as he deserved. However, Knelly has accumulated enough points that he has still secured his own spot in the Chase. Knelly has had a very solid regular season, highlighted by HIS PODIUM FINISH AT MONZA IN WEEK THREE! His race victory at Indy earlier this season should give him high hopes as the series returns for the regular season finale in the Brickyard 400.
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9. RedPartyHat - RedPartyHat showed a lot of promise in the Bud Shootout, posting a third place finish that should have been a top 2, if not for an unnecessary tangle with Dexterwhite5150. Since then, RedpartyHat has not shown the same flash, pairing good runs with finishes that didn't reflect his actual talent. With Dowhat and Mudd employing substitute drivers this past weekend, RedPartyHat saw his opportunity to close the gap on the drivers ahead of him and took advantage in a big way. He finished 4th, which was a slight disappointment, considering he was running door-to-door with Knelly for the race lead going into turn 4 on the last lap. His 4th place was his best finish in a points race this season, and vaulted him into the Top 7 in points for the first time this season. You can expect that RPH and Tom are going to have a great battle for the 7th and final Chase position at Indy this weekend.
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10. ACDCROCKS123 - ACDC won the pre-season Bud Shootout, the Daytona 500, pushed Droptop to victory in week 2 at Indy, and recorded a top 5 in the Coca Cola 600 that could have been a top 2 had he not crashed with a few laps left in the race. Since then, his biggest accomplishment is creating a frenzied discussion among the drivers about the relative merits of the current wild card system. There's no doubt that ACDC is good enough to win the Sprint Cup Championship. The real question is, will he show up to try?
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Also considered: Tom_97_COD, Nater_Racing21, D4LVY_, smuffyatfcp

 

[The Bman]

Just so you guys know I will be running for RWR in the 2011 #43 Best Buy car. Hoping for the best finish possible.

I do have a little bit of trouble when it comes to steering. I'm not using an official PS3 DS3 controller or a wheel, so I might get too tight or loose. I'll do my best.

 

[nate11x]

just have to run a lot of laps with car to get it the way you want it to handle.

 

[MustangRyan]

I think team owners, drivers and Drop would be in favour of this but I'm going to use the team names for the Sprint Cup in the Nationwide Season 2. That would help clear up any confusion new drivers may have and would make things linear.

I don't care how the teams are named, but Nationwide team names are OK with me. They could use better alignment though.

It would make more sense if Hendrick Motorsports was Jr Motorsports, as Dale's NW JRM car is also #88. Also, JRM gets their engines from Hendrick.

There is no real parallel with our fictional Stewart-Ganassi Racing team and the real-life RCR, other than the fact that EGR (#1 and #42) and RCR both use ECR engines. However, as the major Chevy team in NW (Sadler & Dillon), they need to be represented.

The more likely Ford team name would be Roush-Fenway.

JGR could stay as JGR, as they are a major team in the Nationwide Series, and even use the same three car numbers: 11, 18, and 20.

Red Bull could stay Red Bull, or you could pretend that Red Bull was Monster Energy Drink, and call them Kyle Busch Motorsports for the Nationwide Series. It's even better since KB doesn't drive the #18 or for JGR in the Nationwide Series.

 

[cgr-10]

KB Motorsports would be a good name for the RBR Nationwide team 👍

Also Drop, I've wondered in the past why 'Ford Racing' isn't called 'Roush Fenway' in the Sprint Cup?

 

[MustangRyan]

KB Motorsports would be a good name for the RBR Nationwide team 👍

Also Drop, I've wondered in the past why 'Ford Racing' isn't called 'Roush Fenway' in the Sprint Cup?

As a three-car team (in the past, and the near future, just not right now) in our leage, the team consists of two RPM #43 cars and one Roush-Fenway #99 car. In the real Sprint Cup, those two teams (Roush and Petty) basically comprise the entire competitive field for the Ford Racing brand, hence the name.

 

[cgr-10]

As a three-car team (in the past, and the near future, just not right now) in our leage, the team consists of 2/3 RPM and 1/3 Roush-Fenway cars with two #43s and one #99 car. In the real Sprint Cup, those two teams (Roush and Petty) basically comprise the entire competitive field for the Ford Racing brand, hence the name.

Ah I see 👍

 

[Müle]

KB Motorsports would be a good name for the RBR Nationwide team 👍

Hell no

 

[MustangRyan]

Hell no

For NEXT season.

 

[The Bman]

I've been running some laps in my lobby. My highest lap times are in the 53.xxx range and while my tires are worn I run low 54.xxx's. My tires seem to wear out around lap 21-22.

What are your lap times and how long do your tires seem to last?

 

[cgr-10]

For NEXT season.

 

[nate11x]

I've been running some laps in my lobby. My highest lap times are in the 53.xxx range and while my tires are worn I run low 54.xxx's. My tires seem to wear out around lap 21-22.

What are your lap times and how long do your tires seem to last?

Check with your teammates. No freebies being delivered here.

 

[The Bman]

Check with your teammates. No freebies being delivered here.

Just tried to trick you guys...

 

[Matty]

I've been running 35's and lasting 70 laps.

 

[Carbonox]

I've been running 35's and lasting 70 laps.

In IndyCar.

With tire wear off.

 

[nate11x]

lol

 

[Matty]

In IndyCar.

With tire wear off.

Actually you could run 70 laps with tyre wear on (Comfort Hards ), but fuel only lasts about 35 laps

And laptimes are around the 41 mark

 

[DrifterJoe]

Actually you could run 70 laps with tyre wear on (Comfort Hards ), but fuel only lasts about 35 laps

Yeah you can run a ton of laps on tyres in IndyCar. 70 laps would probably just about wear the tyres halfway.

I wasn't in the last nationwide Indy race, stormtrooper. You'll have to check with tom or racefan about laps.

 

[Chqr]

After much discussion with droptop on this issue.

Team Owners are banned from participating in this week's Finale. This stance is taken upon as we have Carbonox and TRYNOR going head-to-head for this year's Championship and pulling in Cup Drivers in place of Nationwide Drivers who may or may not were planning to race on Saturday would not be fair on their respective parts or to the rest of the field.

If a Team Owner were to race to only push the future Champion to victory, that surely does not seem to right.

This initative represents the first in scaling back 'Team Owner' participation in Nationwide with plans to make Nationwide a fully-integrated series of Nationwide Drivers and Part-Time Cup Drivers.

As a result the following drivers are excluded from Saturday's Proceedings:

JoeOfTheFire
RFLX_Niop
MStall
MULE_9242

--

I hope Team Owners can co-operate with us on this decision and fill their Nationwide Seats with Nationwide drivers or S2 Nationwide drivers who have shown interest in joining such as:

Stormtrooper217 - Stormtrooper2178 (New Driver)
gorsad / gorsad (New Driver)
rap129 / rap129 (New Driver)
FrasierCrane / rustyMercedes (New Driver)

--

Good Luck, Saturday!

 

[Furinkazen]

There is a tiny chance I can make saturday. But tiny at most.

 

[Müle]

If it means Carb gets a fair chance, I'm all for it.

But since Mstall isn't racing and Drop pretty much runs JGR, is he being excluded too?

 

[kenkwilinski]

Me too? I only raced 4 cup races, 1 NW race and both preseason races. That makes me part time cup. And smuffy 99% sure he can't race and I had made plans with the wife (which means I got in an argument) so I could race this week with you all.

 

[MustangRyan]

My stance was that the Nationwide drivers should all fight it out for themselves in the final race, with no full-time Sprint Cup drivers participating, which would eliminate myself, ACDC, Joe, Tom, Mule, RedPartyHat, RFLX, Knelly, Dowhat, and Mudd. We should let the championship finale be determined by a field comprised of the current and prospective Nationwide drivers.

Crazy, Furi, and Matty are part-time Sprint Cup drivers that have also run in Nationwide this season. I'm on the fence with what to do with them, and am OK if they race or if they are not allowed to race. I think either stance is perfectly justifiable, and should be left up to the Nationwide field to decide as a group.

We also have a group of drivers looking to land a seat for next season, posted by Chqr above. This would be a great week for owners to give them an initial tryout, and to let them see how they stack up against the current field of Nationwide drivers.

Between Carbonox, Chqr, Smuffyatfcp, CrAzY_bAsSiSt_83, DriveTheGuard88, FastFox400, Cowboys965, Nater_Racing21, Jtsharkin9, james6653, Racefan78, Furinkazen, GTP_Litchi, Jakob_Nascar88, amp_88_jr, mattymc1996, DamageNano, Trynor88, D4LVY_, Stormtrooper217, gorsad, rap129, FrasierCrane, and TEAMRAD_PITT, we should be able to get 15 cars on track without using Sprint Cup drivers.

 

[Chqr]

Me too? I only raced 4 cup races, 1 NW race and both preseason races. That makes me part time cup. And smuffy 99% sure he can't race and I had made plans with the wife (which means I got in an argument) so I could race this week with you all.

You are now exempt. You've only raced 4 times in the Cup so you're clear.

 

[kenkwilinski]

You are now exempt. You've only raced 4 times in the Cup so you're clear.

Hey thanks a lot Chqr! 👍 And btw, is it even legal to push a car to a win? I just thought about some NASCAR rules when I read the earlier post. But isn't that right that a car can not pass the finish line while being pushed? Have we overseen this?

 

[Niop]

So let me get this straight, we're going to change the rules of the finale the week of the race?

On top of that, Crazy(who is just as capable of pushing Carb to the win as I am with Trynor) is allowed to race but I'm not?

 

[Furinkazen]

Hey thanks a lot Chqr! 👍 And btw, is it even legal to push a car to a win? I just thought about some NASCAR rules when I read the earlier post. But isn't that right that a car can not pass the finish line while being pushed? Have we overseen this?

If your behind someoneon a straight you usually push them or pass them. I'd push them.

 

[kenkwilinski]

So let me get this straight, we're going to change the rules of the finale the week of the race?

On top of that, Crazy(who is just as capable of pushing Carb to the win as I am with Trynor) is allowed to race but I'm not?

I knew this would happen, that's why I kept my response short n sweet. But I do agree with niop that its unfair. But I can say for my team unlike the rest of the teams. That my team was never headed by a SC driver to capitalize team points which btw didn't work as u see. I stayed back in the shadows n my team actually performed. And look at my last 8 results, all a lap down except for SSrX (crash with mule). So its not like ill even be racing the leaders. I was just bitchin because this started a fight btw me n my wofe in my personal life which has nothing to do with this. So proceed as planned.

 

[Knelly]

No. From recollection, a SGR driver had only filled in once for JRM. You cannot say in the slightest that Trynor is not there on his own merit. JRM have used less SC drivers than any other team and that has been the way we have worked all year. And now you want to penalise us for being so convincing last week with excellent unity throughout our team, including teamwork and strategy. BS.