Indiana 200

Not enough practice time didn't help me any this week. I had some technical problems when I entered practice so that also cut into what little time I had left to practice.
In the end it was a better week than last since I finished the race.
It was fun racing with you, Steve. Being laps down can be tough it makes it more interesting when you're on the lap with at least one other person. It gives you something to shoot for watching the +/-.

I'm the champ.

First congrates to Matt on the win.
Second I will apoligize to any and all who my car kinda appeared in front of.I lost major track position with my disappearing act.Hope it did not ruin anyones race.
It was fun racing,finished 10th...I was as high as 4th at one point.

Wow! I think the race played out a ton better than I was expecting. I have to thank all the drivers involved for the good give and take. It really made it fun for me.

I also have to appologise to Francesco for the bump entering the pits, I know it probably added time to your stop as it did mine.

My first rfactor race and it was an eventful one. An early wreck put me back in the pack(14th) and I fought my way back to the front and got a solid(fought) 5th place finish. I might have been able to fight for the win if it had not been for the wreck, but I can't complain a bit. I'll take this finish.

Congrats Matt!

Thanks Patrick - you were probably the thing that kept me in the race! We were in the "default setup class" and as such were pretty much in a race of our own anyway... ;-)

Entered on a whim without any time at the track in a stockcar before, even though I knew zero prep on an oval is a recipe for getting lapped a bunch if not worse. I thought at least I could try to get a few laps in practice to see what the car might need, but got booted for a mismatch. Went back out and DL'ed the current RFM which did the trick, but due to the time loss didn't get to qualify, tweak or even bum a setup. So I had to start blind and ready to bail if it looked like I was going to be a hazard.

The default setup turned out to be super pushy and all you could do to get it around the corners was slow down a bunch, and until I realized Patrick was similarly hamstrung I was about to bail. But we were close enough on pace that it made it interesting, plus I was aching for some seat time anyway.

I caused the second yellow when I crashed in T4 trying to use the apron to unsettle the car enough to rotate, but happily didn't collect anyone. The crash was right before the pit entrance so I went straight in for repairs, but got a drivethrough as the pits were closed! Served it too early under yellow so I had to do it again under green. After that it was pretty much just driving around trying not to foul anyone up and playing with tape and wedge at stops trying to make the car less barge-like. No luck there! Paul sent me a set after the race (thx!) but of course I forgot to save it before exiting MP so it poofed into the ether. Duhhh... ;-)

I got no practice in and had no setup so I was expecting poor results. I started the race with -1 wedge and by the end I was at -8 wedge and it was still pushing badly. So all things considered a 6th place finish wasn`t bad.

First, I am completely hooked on these cars. I had a blast, until about 20 laps from the end that is.
Was running strong, top 5 most of the day-- as high as second a couple of times (a real surprise) felt really good-- had some really great battles (Mike W particularly comes to mind). I had a bit of a nagging engine overheating issue.
Paul-- thank you very much for your words. In truth it was probably more my fault than yours. I had a real hard time slowing to the pits (either slowed too much or too little) and then I think I was too slow. I also screwed up two pit stops all on my own.
Twenty laps from the end there was a racing incident in T2, I think I was bumped from behind (haven't looked at the replay) and I went flying into the wall. Destroyed my front right. Had to slowly make it back to the pits, fixed the car but by then it was too late. At least I did not DNF.
BIG thank you to Jon as well. His setup really helped me.
I have to say that these cars and races are proving to be one of the most fun series for me in rF. I am looking forward to racing with all of you in the future.

Didn't get the finishing spot I wanted, but really enjoyed the race. Made progress with eht tset...was good on long runs, but tightened up over the run. Made some pit adjustments (wedge, spring rubber, track bar) and helped it get a little more balanced - made a change right before race tiem that hurt, and had to rebalance the car. Checked a bit too quickly in front of Tom gettin into 3 and we got together...managed to get it fixed and still run decent, then got into FZ cooing off T2. Tried to stay off you, but you slowed just a tick more than I could react to at that point on the track. Still recovered about 3-4 spots after that...some days you get the bear, other days...

Great series, Tim. These long races really bring out the best in this mod. You could really feel the aero differences between clean/dirty air as the cars got on worn tires. Looking forward to more of these. Any chance to take fuel/wear to 2x and still keep the distance? That would get to a closer approximation of the real nature of the marathon that is a Cup race.

That was fun. Jon's setup really helped me. I picked up 2 seconds a lap right away. I couldn't hang with Matt on the long runs though. It probably didn't help that I pranged all 4 corners of the car. Considering my lack of experience I was happy to only cause one yellow and not lose a lap on repairs. Getting a shot at the win was pure bonus. :)