[VRR][B-SPEC] 2016 Straight Talk IndyCar Series Season

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@DurWinning @RedDragon @amaterasu @DcrRaikkonen @GTracerEHTeam @aarror @Sakura @DCybertron @AudiMan2011 @GTRacer22 @AJHG1000 @BKGlover @KuniKino****a @RACECAR @tbwhhs @Smurfybug @Kingofweasles @trobes29 @Niku Driver HC @Jahgee @Clayton Hardy @Suzumiya @vetteman24 @NearCptNitro @nascarfan1400 @Harsk100 @swiftsmith

Ryan Perlstein has been cleared to return to the race car effective immediately by VRR medical staff on Wednesday. Perlstein, who had been out since mid May for injuries sustained in the lap 69 crash in the Indianapolis 500, is set to return in place of Andrew Draco, who had been filling in for him in kindness from Black Rose Racing. Draco will return to racing for Black Rose Racing in the season finale at Fontana.

Points in OP have been updated.
 
VRR Reporter: 73 points is the difference between points leader Stephanie Porter-Kelley and second place Hugo Del Prete with three races remaining. Steph, podium in Brno, and we're coming up to Barcelona, another track that suits you amazingly well. You've opened a gap to the rest of the field. Can you use this and try to get the title at Watkins Glen?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: That's the ambition. The superspeedways have not been great for me, not because I don't know them. I have an Indy 500 win, but the field in VRR is way more competitive and way harder on the ovals than it was 5 years ago in IRG. I've needed to rely heavily on my road course and short oval finesse to get where I am.
VRR Reporter: How concerned would you be if you couldn't lock the title up at Watkins Glen?
SPK: I'd be very concerned. Fontana is going to be hell. It'll be a mistake as far as being a finale with double points. Pack racing is fun, don't get me wrong, but they're permitting a lot of room for serious accidents by putting more points on the line. I'd rather have the finale at a road course or at a smaller oval just because of how hard everyone will be pushing. But we'll take it one race at a time. If we can get it done before Fontana, we can cruise our way through Fontana and not make any risks.
 
With only 3 races left it seems Swift Autosport has fallen on tough times. Not having a car in the top 10 since Rogers' third place finish in Pocono while his teammates Evans, and Ahmed retired from the race. When asked to comment he had this to say "Yes things seem rough Rogers has lost 6 positions since his DNQ from Indy. I'll admit everyone is a little on edge due to all of the engine trouble we continue to have. But we're working closely with Cherokee Motorsports, and Audi to figure out why we keep having these problems."
 
VRR These last two races you have show speed what has led to that?
Alex Rivera- We have hit on a few things in the setup but qualifying has hurt us. We can't wait until next year though.
 
It's been a bit. The racing has been good, congrats to Evangeline for shaking all that crap at the start of the season, our season has been much improved, becoming one of the better Audi teams , but the fact that with one win we're relevant at the end of the season to have a top 10 finish...defies my logic, actually. The fact that something hasn't gone horribly wrong since the first of the season leaves me speechless. I'm hoping I can do better next season, but as of right now there's one major development that means much and that's Perlstein's being cleared to race again. I've not heard much since VRR's Indy report, but I'm hoping to hear from the man himself on how he's been and what the plans are for him going forward.

For season's end, I'm nervous about Catalunya and Rolex at The Glen, but Auto Club should be...I was gonna say a treat, but thinking about it I think the better word is INSANE. I may regret it later, but I'm actually ready to go to California.
 
Lausitz and especially Brno have really been successes for us, I know I go over this a lot, but being a 1 car team just sort of hoping for the best at the beginning of the season we can really pat ourselves on the back. We stayed on the lead lap on an oval for once and brought it home 12th, and we achieved our first Top 5 at Brno. Coming to that last restart I was thinking about how we actually had a chance to win, but the car just wasn't agreeing on that last sprint to the finish.

As for my last few races in the car, I'm looking forward to them. I've been to Catalunya a few times, but haven't driven it in anything faster than a Formula 4, so that'll be an interesting experience. I really do love Watkins Glen, it's great fun although coming up the esses on lap 1 is still freaking me out a little bit. Auto Club is probably our best shot to win in these last 3 races though, we've put a lot of effort into the superspeedway program this year so we can learn as much as possible to bring with us to Ford next year. The racing will be insane since the track is so wide and for the first lap or two you have enough tire to flat foot it. We'll see what happens but it could either be a disaster zone or nerve-wrackingly good stuff.

My role for next year? Well I'm planning on calling races from the pit box so you should see me around a lot unless that changes. I just feel a need to be more involved with the team during the races instead of driving the car. Ray is doing great in his training, we've had him on the simulator as much as he can take and in the shop with our builders and mechanics so that he understands the car better and we have that all important understanding pretty much in FP1 of round 1 next year.

Yeah, don't think I'm retiring, I'll be in a new role where I feel like I can do the team better and I'll be working just as hard or even harder than when I was in the car.
 
Kunimitsu Kino****a has had an abysmal 2016 campaign. The 2015 Indy 500 champion has had only one podium in 21 races of the season, and sits 23rd in the Driver's Championship standings. The two time F1 World Champion, often times able to show pace, has either experienced mechanical faults, been collected in accidents, or just struggling to find consistency. "This season started off well for me." The Japanese sensation stated after finishing the race at Brno. "Got good results at Surfer's and Motegi was a dream." Since Motegi, her best result has been 6th, at Pocono. "We've done well in spots, but we've been so scattered that you wouldn't be blamed for missing those moments. So, hopefully with Jerome and Jacob joining the team next year, hopefully we can do better."
 
"It was weird weekend across the board for me and it kind of set the tone for both of my races in Europe. I remember watching Alex Zanardi's near-fatal accident here when I was a teenager and kind of felt like this was one of the last places I'd ever want to race at in the whole wide world... But actually driving a VRR Indycar around there was a lot fun, so the lack of pace was a bit mystifying for everybody at PerlSpeed GP; It felt like no matter what changes we made o the #77 Coke Zero/Sonic Burger Special it couldn't do a time quicker than a 37.4xx when the Pole Position was around half a second quicker than that...

"In the race itself I was trying to hang on and get the car home in one piece when I got caught up in Mohammed Ahmed's accident on the Tri-Oval. A real shame that our day ended like and also a shame that it looks like we're not coming back to this place next year, because the track has a lot of character to it you don't see on a lot of ovals anymore.

"Oh yeah, and a shout-out to Angie (Evangeline Porter) for winning from dead last."

"The trip to getting to Europe in and of itself was a pretty eye-opening for a guy like me, so going to Eastern Europe and driving on a track I had only seen while watching Moto GP races on TV was pretty nuts. Again, there was just something "Off" about the whole weekend and everybody on the PerlSpeed team -Myself included! - just couldn't figure out why we were at the bottom of the time sheets all weekend.

"The whole thing just felt like "Ground-Hog Day" to me: Be nowhere in the FP1, make some modest gains in FP2, lose them all in Qualifying and putter around in the #77 in the race... I'm going to have to improve my road-racing skills by leaps and bounds next year when I go back to Coca-Cola Blackrose Racing and start running full-time next year, because these kind of weekends never feel all that fun as a driver. I can only imagine what the team were going through when I crossed the finish line in 18th, 20 seconds behind the winner...

"I have to say, Brno is a cool track though. I heard that it was built to attract Formula 1 in the late 80's-Early 90's and after being here in person, I'm shocked that there never was a Grand Prix here in that frame of time."

===
*NOTE! The following interview was recorded the day after Ryan Perlstein was cleared to drive for the rest of the 2016 VRR Straight Talk IndyCar Series Season and Andrew Draco was released from PerlSpeed GP*
===

"I'm not the kind of driver that usually brings this sort of stuff up, but I saw a lot of it the longer I went on driving for PerlSpeed GP and since I'm not officially affiliated with them anymore... Should I even talk about this?"

*Draco gets a nod from the guy holding up the tape recorder*

"OK, well, for as much as some parts of the paddock rag on Coca-Cola Black Rose Racing on how it's "Angie's (Evangeline Porter) Team" and everybody else has to fend for themselves or whatever.... I understand how they work and I actually like the culture of working there, so going to PerlSpeed GP was a big shock to me.

"Now don't get me wrong: I'm not naming names here or trying to go out of my way to put the team down. I am beyond being thankful for the miles under my belt and the seat-time in their car that they have given me when anybody else could've been placed in that car, and on a personal level I liked a lot of the crew... But..."

*Brief pause followed a breath*

"After being with the team for half of the season, I feel like Ryan's crew chief was more effective for the kind of driver who comes in and says "What should we do?", while I'm more of a guy who says "I think this and that should be done, but what's your opinion?" and it created too much tension in the team. Like, it felt like he always had his own ideas and they were never mine and by, I want to say it was Milwaukee maybe? But at some point it felt like the team gave up on me and they were just counting the days for Ryan to come back.

*The interviewer asks Draco "Why?"*

"Because to my crew chief, I never explained enough about what was going on for him to really respond. And the feeling after a while was that nobody on the team liked the fact that I would kind of dictate and tell everybody what I wanted out of the car. Put it this way: With C-CBRR, if I go "Hey, let's polish the car", my crew chief would be like "OK". But at PerlSpeed GP, the crew chief would say "Are you sure Andy? Let's do this or that to the set-up" and it's a big difference."

"At the end of the day though, it's all a learning experience for me and I'm looking forward to being back with C-CBRR for the season finale at Fontana as a warm-up for running in the #77 full-time next year. Plus, with Sonoma being bumped off of next year's schedule, it's going to be the closest I have to a "Home" race because a lot of my relatives are based in Southern California."
 
DankWebsite420.com: In light of Andrew Draco's harsh comments on Perl-Speed GP, the media turned their attention to this after the team unveiled its team wide Sabaton sponsorship for 2017.

"We thank Black Rose Racing for their assistance in a difficult financial and emotional situation for the past few months, and their lending of Andrew Draco. We will not comment on his words about our team." - Media Director Sanya Pikowski said to the reporters.

After the press conference, we reached Ryan Perlstein and asked on the comments said by Draco.

"Well he didn't do any better than I did when I was in that seat, so hey good luck to him too," he replied. "I'm very grateful that the (Coca-Cola Black Rose Racing) bunch kept us in competition and kept the sponsors happy whilst I was out of commission, and I know how much the team got screwed up mentally that in its first season they nearly lost their driver. I just hope they're patient with the guy."
 
VRR will be turning two years old on December 13th. Last year, the 2015 VRR Indy 500 corresponded with the first birthday, but with the season done and dusted soon, I want something special to be able to mark the date this year and in the future. So, I am happy to announce that on December 13th, 2016, every VRR member will be able to participate in a special event at Daytona International Speedway, a race of champions so to speak. The event will use the IROC Trans Am, and every 2016 and 2017 member from every series is being invited. The schemes will be identical outside of the driver's surname, number, and national flag. The invited list looks like this.
#2: Thomas Rogers (USA) -- @tbwhhs
#3: Sakura Ishibashi (JPN) -- @Sakura
#4: Diego Jaramillo (ESP) -- @Suzumiya
#5: Mohammad Ahmed (PAK) -- @Smurfybug
#6: Tyler Parker (USA) -- @Zooparker
#7: Patrick Marcelli (ITA) -- @Formidable
#8: Kaylee Zappa (ITA) -- @quietgirl
#9: Michael White (USA) -- @Whitetail
#10: Gary Slater (SCO) -- @AudiMan2011
#11: Alex Rivera (LUX) -- @DcrRaikkonen
#13: Simon Bell (GBR) -- @optiongamers
#14: Steven Gnash (CAN) -- @DCybertron
#15: Nii Aryeetey (USA) -- @GranTurismo916
#16: Jacob Birmingham (USA) -- @vetteman24
#17: Jerome Torres (PHI) -- @Antares26
#18: Kunimitsu Kino****a (JPN) -- @KuniKino****a
#19: Camyron Jackson (USA) -- @RACECAR
#20: Hugo Del Prete (USA) -- @DurWinning
#22: Jacob Descoteau (USA) -- @GTRacer22
#23: E.C. Gadget (GBR) -- @ECGadget
#24: Jesus Cristobal (PER) -- @Jahgee
#26: Emiliano Canapino (ARG) -- @G_Parrilla
#27: Aaron van der Linden (CAN) -- @aarror
#28: Stefan Montana (USA) -- @Luis Torres
#30: Matheus Michelin (BRA) -- @Michelin
#31: Juan Delgado (MEX) -- @Tex
#33: Behrris Windross (USA) -- @NearCptNitro
#37: William Manor (GBR) -- @Pezzarinho17
#39: Jordan Fisher (USA) -- @Ph1sher
#43: Ray Taylor (CAN) -- @GTracerEHTeam
#48: Lucas Larese (USA) -- @ScuderiaLucas
#50: Matthew Evans (USA) -- @swiftsmith
#51: Alan Herrera (MEX) -- @AJHG1000
#55: Ryan Perlstein (USA) -- @catamount39
#64: Kevin Ritter (AUS) -- @RESHIRAM5
#67: Jamie Ngaire-Jardine (NZL) -- @RedDragon
#76: Nico Costa-Monteiro (POR) -- @Niku Driver HC
#77: Andrew Draco (USA) -- @Kingofweasles
#79: B.K. Glover (USA) -- @BKGlover
#80: Sebastian Devereux (FRA) -- @nascarfan1400
#81: Nicole Liechti (SUI) -- @Angel
#83: Pedro Harsk (POR) -- @Harsk100
#84: Stephanie Porter-Kelley (BIH) -- @amaterasu
#90: Mark Santos (USA) -- @ukfan758
#92: Treven Robie (USA) -- @trobes29
#96: Clayton Hardy (CHK) -- @Clayton Hardy
#97: Jett Raven (USA) -- @raven214
@The Bman, you are invited as well. Bman has to select a different number since both #5 and #55 have been taken. Those that have different AI drivers in either the IndyCar or the Truck Series may change those if requested as well.

Also important to note is that if everyone accepts, that will make 48 entries. To solve the dilemma of getting the field down to 42, two heat races will be run with half of the field in each. Bottom 3 of each race get bumped.

Setting out a two week long competition as well for the livery that will be used for this event. Requirements on the car are as follows:
-VRR logo
-Straight Talk logo (Not the series logo)
-Coca-Cola logo (Again, not the series logo)
-Toshiba logo
-Monster Energy logo
-Sunoco logo

Separate of the contest, cars will be identified with the following:
-Driver surname on the door of the car on both sides.
-National Flag on the hood of the car.
-Car number on the roof, the hood, and above the rear tire wells.

Anyone can take part in the competition. Original livery is here. Once I know how many cars there will be, I will release more race details.
 
Last edited:
Angel
VRR will be turning two years old on December 13th. Last year, the 2015 VRR Indy 500 corresponded with the first birthday, but with the season done and dusted soon, I want something special to be able to mark the date this year and in the future. So, I am happy to announce that on December 13th, 2016, every VRR member will be able to participate in a special event at Daytona International Speedway, a race of champions so to speak. The event will use the IROC Trans Am, and every 2016 and 2017 member from every series is being invited. The schemes will be identical outside of the driver's surname, number, and national flag. The invited list looks like this.
#2: Thomas Rogers (USA) -- @tbwhhs
#3: Sakura Ishibashi (JPN) -- @Sakura
#4: Diego Jaramillo (ESP) -- @Suzumiya
#5: Mohammad Ahmed (PAK) -- @Smurfybug
#6: Tyler Parker (USA) -- @Zooparker
#7: Patrick Marcelli (ITA) -- @Formidable
#8: Kaylee Zappa (ITA) -- @quietgirl
#9: Michael White (USA) -- @Whitetail
#10: Gary Slater (SCO) -- @AudiMan2011
#11: Alex Rivera (LUX) -- @DcrRaikkonen
#13: Simon Bell (GBR) -- @optiongamers
#14: Steven Gnash (CAN) -- @DCybertron
#15: Nii Aryeetey (USA) -- @GranTurismo916
#16: Jacob Birmingham (USA) -- @vetteman24
#17: Jerome Torres (PHI) -- @Antares26
#18: Kunimitsu Kino****a (JPN) -- @KuniKino****a
#19: Camyron Jackson (USA) -- @RACECAR
#20: Hugo Del Prete (USA) -- @DurWinning
#22: Jacob Descoteau (USA) -- @GTRacer22
#23: E.C. Gadget (GBR) -- @ECGadget
#24: Jesus Cristobal (PER) -- @Jahgee
#26: Emiliano Canapino (ARG) -- @G_Parrilla
#27: Aaron van der Linden (CAN) -- @aarror
#28: Stefan Montana (USA) -- @Luis Torres
#30: Matheus Michelin (BRA) -- @Michelin
#31: Juan Delgado (MEX) -- @Tex
#33: Behrris Windross (USA) -- @NearCptNitro
#37: William Manor (GBR) -- @Pezzarinho17
#43: Ray Taylor (CAN) -- @GTracerEHTeam
#48: Lucas Larese (USA) -- @ScuderiaLucas
#50: Matthew Evans (USA) -- @swiftsmith
#51: Alan Herrera (MEX) -- @AJHG1000
#55: Ryan Perlstein (USA) -- @catamount39
#64: Kevin Ritter (AUS) -- @RESHIRAM5
#67: Jamie Ngaire-Jardine (NZL) -- @RedDragon
#76: Nico Costa-Monteiro (POR) -- @Niku Driver HC
#77: Andrew Draco (USA) -- @Kingofweasles
#79: B.K. Glover (USA) -- @BKGlover
#80: Sebastian Devereux (FRA) -- @nascarfan1400
#81: Nicole Liechti (SUI) -- @Angel
#83: Pedro Harsk (POR) -- @Harsk100
#84: Stephanie Porter-Kelley (BIH) -- @amaterasu
#90: Mark Santos (USA) -- @ukfan758
#92: Treven Robie (USA) -- @trobes29
#96: Clayton Hardy (CHK) -- @Clayton Hardy
#97: Jett Raven (USA) -- @raven214
@Ph1sher and @The Bman , both of you are invited as well. Bman has to select a different number since both #5 and #55 have been taken. Ph1sher, your truck series AI name is not going to work here. Those that have different AI drivers in either the IndyCar or the Truck Series may change those if requested as well.

Also important to note is that if everyone accepts, that will make 48 entries. To solve the dilemma of getting the field down to 42, two heat races will be run with half of the field in each. Bottom 3 of each race get bumped.

Setting out a two week long competition as well for the livery that will be used for this event. Requirements on the car are as follows:
-VRR logo
-Straight Talk logo (Not the series logo)
-Coca-Cola logo (Again, not the series logo)
-Toshiba logo
-Monster Energy logo
-Sunoco logo

Separate of the contest, cars will be identified with the following:
-Driver surname on the door of the car on both sides.
-National Flag on the hood of the car.
-Car number on the roof, the hood, and above the rear tire wells.

Anyone can take part in the competition. Original livery is here. Once I know how many cars there will be, I will release more race details.
Click to expand...
I'll be there with bells on, already lookin' at the car to see what I can do.
 
Say, I know this may be a request that makes me sound like a lazy bum, but would it be possible to have a .rar file with all the required logos for the livery? You know, to simplify the process and whatnot. And I suspect this a no-no, but is it possible to have numbers in the middle of the tire wells, like in normal NASCAR liveries?

Either way, count me in, it should be fun being part of a 40-plus car mismash...
 
Niku Driver HC
Say, I know this may be a request that makes me sound like a lazy bum, but would it be possible to have a .rar file with all the required logos for the livery? You know, to simplify the process and whatnot. And I suspect this a no-no, but is it possible to have numbers in the middle of the tire wells, like in normal NASCAR liveries?

Either way, count me in, it should be fun being part of a 40-plus car mismash...
Click to expand...
Having numbers in the middle is a no-no because that's where the driver's surnames will be, much like the traditional IROC cars of around 2007
 
Angel
Having numbers in the middle is a no-no because that's where the driver's surnames will be, much like the traditional IROC cars of around 2007
Click to expand...

Alright, gotcha, thanks for clarifying. And the whole logo thing is also a no-no, or did you bypass that question by accident?
 
Angel
Accidental bypass. I'll work on it and hopefully post it tonight if I'm not too drunk.
Click to expand...

Alright, good to hear. Here's hoping you don't hit the bottle too badly before that happens...

And again I suspect this is obvious, but we are using those logos and not much else on the cars, right? Given how many we need to use, and the available space the car has, we can't really use many personal sponsors for the liveries...
 
Niku Driver HC
Alright, good to hear. Here's hoping you don't hit the bottle too badly before that happens...

And again I suspect this is obvious, but we are using those logos and not much else on the cars, right? Given how many we need to use, and the available space the car has, we can't really use many personal sponsors for the liveries...
Click to expand...
Nope. As stated in the announcement. Cars will be virtually identical outside of the numbers, name and national flag.
 
Angel
Nope. As stated in the announcement. Cars will be virtually identical outside of the numbers, name and national flag.
Click to expand...

Well I figured that much once I read the regulations more throughly, no surprise there... But again, thanks for clarifying. At least I won't have to break my neck trying to figure what to do for the livery, it's not like these are blank canvases to begin with, haha.

I'll just plonk a few numbers here and there, the 'Tuga flag and the driver's name (any particular font for those, or can we pick our own?) and that'll be it until you provide the logos...
 
Wait, so do we make the paint scheme ourselves or not? If we do, are colors our own choices or only specified colors allowed?
 
Jahgee
Wait, so do we make the paint scheme ourselves or not? If we do, are colors our own choices or only specified colors allowed?
Click to expand...

Well from what I can tell, the actual livery will be shared by all cars, logos included, but we can choose our own colors and numbers. I mean a whole grid full of same color cars isn't exactly how IROC worked, last time I checked...
 
Niku Driver HC
Well from what I can tell, the actual livery will be shared by all cars, logos included, but we can choose our own colors and numbers. I mean a whole grid full of same color cars isn't exactly how IROC worked, last time I checked...
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but the virtual identical thing has me thinking the cars will all be the same except for our names and flags on the side
 

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