R.I.R. Sprint Cup @ Speed Park Raceway

(Race of 8/12/12)

R.I.R. website
Speed Park Raceway in-world

It's very well-known that the pitstop strategy might turn out to be more crucial than anyone expects. Made  at the right time, without a rush - you're at the top. Stop at the bad moment and lose positions. Better be careful about that.
This race, just like the Nationwide, had its participants intended to fight till the end. And what guarantees you a good start? Position! Both Grosmanteau DeCuir and Badguy Boozehound were the leaders of the qualifying session, but Boozehound was a bit faster...
At the start, when the countdown was over, everyone rushed ahead, but just to line up again: one racer overslept the start. Second time was a success, and the competition began!

On the first laps, the leaders were those who took advantage of their grid positions (Boozehound, ZZ and Broly Blackheart Sr.) - DeCuir wasn't one of them, and he dropped to the end of the pack, where already was Eagle Clawtooth, whose qualifying round wasn't successful at all. Top 3, of course, were in the battle for the lead, far behind them Clawtooth and DeCuir were fighting for the right to make their way to the top (in the end of the pack, what else 2 best racers can fight for?). Clawtooth was leading, while they were there, but after a few laps DeCuir caught the right moment to pass him by. Of course, Clawtooth kept up with him.

The moment they made it to the head of the pack, where the Top 3 were still battling (Lap 10, Blackheart and Boozehound got damage, so their laps were very slow) was one of the most exciting ones, because the battle for the lead between 3 racers turned into a battle between 6 racers - MidnightRambler Frostbite joined them from the 4th position. Places were divided at the next lap - Frostbite gained the lead, DeCuir and Boozehound competed for the 2nd position, Clawtooth was a bit behind them in 4th and ZZ saved the 5th place - heavily wrecked Blackheart dropped to the 8th position.
Frostbite didn't expand his lead in time, was battled by Boozehound and DeCuir - and in a few laps was left behind then. The challenge for the first place remained, but now between only 2 racers.

The pitstop time has come, and things began to change. Boozehound got a black flag and had to make a stop and go - which knocked him off the 2nd place that was redeemed by Eagle Clawtooth. Needs to mention that DeCuir had the latest pitstop, also the fastest one (confirmed by logs) - so he still remained 1st!
Nevertheless, the gap between him and Clawtooth was slight, also the 3rd (ZZ) and 4th (Frostbite) positions weren't lapped yet ... but they couldn't get any closer partly due to the driving skills.

Second pitstops haven't changed a lot; expanded some gaps and Blackheart retired from the race. The difference between DeCuir (1st) and Clawtooth (2nd) was 5-7 seconds now - still an opportunity to catch up, despite the fact Clawtooth would have to overpass other drivers (all lapped, double-lapped etc.). Though the traffic between them was changing, the wideness of the gap remained. Then, time for the third pitstop had come.
The gaps between racers were only growing (half a lap and more), so their positions by the halfway got into a pretty stable condition. DeCuir had to maintain his position between Clawtooth, who was struggling till the end not to get lapped, and ZZ behind him eagerly trying to get ahead. But at the 74th lap Clawtooth scratched the wall which caused him damage, slowed him down and let DeCuir pass him by. ZZ eventually fell off his tail again.

4th pitstop reminds us about the necessity of respecting the speed limit at the pit area again. ZZ, who was going 3rd, got a black flag at the 4th pitstop and was obligated to make a stop and go - which dropped her 2 positions down. This allowed Boozehound to move up to the 3rd place without any competition - 4th place (FFred Koolhoven) was 1 lap behind him.
5th pitstops only firmed the positions.

Though it didn't influence the race much, I still would like to direct your attention to Grosmanteau DeCuir's pitstop strategy - because it's really an interesting one. While everybody else had to make 5 pitstops during the race, he managed to make 4, how? You can drive a certain amount of laps with a full tank, which at Speed Park Raceway is equalled 21-22 laps... out of 110. 6 stretches in total, but, if one drives carefully and make a pitstop every 22 laps, when the tank is almost empty, 6 stretches turn into 5 - you finish with an empty tank, but you don't do an additional pitstop! It requires to pay a lot of attention and keep in mind all the time which lap you'll have to make a pitstop on (skipped one, and the whole system is failed - the pitstop will be mandatory at the next lap, if, of course, you'll make it to the pits). So, if you do some calculation before the race, maybe it will turn out into the winning strategy? Think about it!
Thanks all the participants for yet another impressive race, congratulations DeCuir, Clawtooth and Boozehound with the Top 3, and see you at the tracks!


The grid:
Pole Position. badguy Boozehound  13.383
P 2. Grosmanteau DeCuir,  13.446, -0.063
P 3. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu),  13.743, -0.360
P 4. Broly Blackheart Sr. (Broly Yakubu),  13.879, -0.495
P 5. FFred Koolhoven,  13.894, -0.511
P 6. MidnightRambler Frostbite,  13.919, -0.535
P 7. Saphyre Cyberstar,  13.941, -0.558
P 8. Eagle Clawtooth,  13.962, -0.579
P 9. Clifford Market,  14.246, -0.863

Final Results:
1st. Grosmanteau DeCuir, 110 laps. Total Time : 1666.517
2nd. Eagle Clawtooth, -3 laps.
3rd. badguy Boozehound, -4 laps.
4th. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu), -5 laps.
5th. FFred Koolhoven, -6 laps.
6th. Saphyre Cyberstar, -8 laps.
7th. MidnightRambler Frostbite, -12 laps.
8th. Clifford Market, -20 laps.
9th. Broly Blackheart Sr. (Broly Yakubu), -68 laps.

Fastest race lap: badguy Boozehound, 13.547