by slothead » Wed Aug 09, 2017 2:25 pm
Trans Am Challenge – race # 3 report:
July was spent attending reunions and a very fancy wedding - but now it's back to racing!
After points were awarded for race 2, the standings were (pts):
1) Vonsirius - #13 Camaro (23 pts)
2) Artus - #40 Camaro (21 pts)
3) CJR - #1J Javelin (20 pts)
4) BARC1 - #22 Mustang (20 pts)
5) Chappy - # 28 Mustang (19 pts)
6) Pepsi62 - #42 Cuda (16 pts)
7) CARacing - #8 Firebird (12 pts)
8) TL racing - #41 Cougar (9 pts)
9) RMS racing - #2 Mustang (9 pts)
10) Tusco Todd - #1 Camaro (6 pts)
11) Hksks25 - #19 Camaro (6 pt)
12) Arroldn - #77 Challenger (3 pts)
During pre-race preparation the teams in points positions 9 – 12 were allowed to tune their cars.
Reminiscent of an oval track racing format used for special events, it was decided to split race 3 into a two race event, each 20 laps long. Half points will be awarded for each shorter race with the sum being the overall result for race #3. Also, a variable that determines how closely cars in a no-passing section can follow each other, which had been turned off in races 1 & 2, was reset to its nominal value as used in prior simulations. Generally speaking, cars exiting a no-passing section must now be 0.02 seconds apart. This value was determined by timing corner exit spacing from YouTube Trans Am videos.
The points standings were inverted to set the starting order for race #3A, with the #77 Challenger of Arroldn on the pole and the #13 Camaro of Vonsirius starting in 12th.
The Challenger of Arroldn got off to a strong start and proved to be tough to get by in a race with very little passing. The exception was CHR’s Javelin that started 10th but followed the Mustang of BARC1 past Pepsi62’s Cuda on lap 5, passed BARC1 on lap 7, then surged past Chappy, Tusco Todd, and CARacing on lap 8 to get to 5th place. However, the torrid pace of CJR’s Javelin caught up with it on lap 9 when it spunout and lost 8 positions. This left the outcome of the race in the hands of the cars that started up front.
RMS racing’s Mustang capitalized on the Javelin’s misfortune. Having already passed Tusco Todd to moved into 3rd on lap 2, it latched onto the rear bumper of Hksk25’s Camaro and finally made the pass for 2nd place on the back straight on lap 14. The winning pass came a lap later when the RMS Mustang took over the lead from Arroldn’s Challenger. This was the last pass of the 20 lap race during which passing was limited by both the shortened format and by the spacing imposed on cars in no-passing sections.
The finishing order was: 1) RMS racing, 2) Arroldn, 3) Hksk25, 4) TL racing, 5) CARacing, 6) Chappy, 7) BARC1, 8) Artus, 9) Vonsirius, 10) CJR, 11) Pepsi62, 12) Tusco Todd.
Half points were award for race #3A and the order inverted to set the starting grid for race #3B.
Tusco Todd started on the pole with Arroldn, Hksk25, TL racing, and CARacing rounding out the top 5 positions. Once again there was very little passing overall, with CJR in the #1J Javelin being the exception. From the 8th place starting position CJR passed the Pepsi62 for 7th on lap 2, RMS racing for 6th on lap 3, CARacing & TL racing on lap 6, and Hksk25 & Arroldn on lap 7 to get to 2nd place. At this point things were going very much as they did in Race #3A, only this time the Javelin stayed in the groove and got by Tusco Todd’s Camaro on lap 9 for the lead and drove away for the win.
In a race with only 9 passes, CJR’s Javelin made 7 of them on it’s way to the front. The other 2 passes occurred on lap 12 when CARacing’s Firebird got by the Cougar of TL racing for 5th position and Artus drove his Camaro past BARC1’s Mustang to finish in 10th place.
The finishing order for race #3B was: 1) CJR, 2) Tusco Todd, 3) Arroldn, 4) Hksk25, 5) CARacing, 6) TL racing, 8) Pepsi62, 9) Chappy, 10) Artus, 11) BARC1, 12) Vonsirius.
Points standings after 3 races: 1) CJR (29 pts), Vonsirius (25.5), 3) Artus (25), 4) Chappy (24.5), 5) BARC1 (24), 6) CARacing (20), 7) Pepsi62 (19.5), 8) RMS racing (19.5), 9) TL racing (17), 10) Hksk25 (15.5), 11) Arroldn (14), 12) Tusco Todd (12.5)
Race #4 will return to the full 40 lap format. Race #5 will have shortened A & B segments.