Category: Crown Jewel

MICHIGAN: Vince Mitchell Secures Playoff Birth with Win at Michigan

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series took to the high speed Michigan International Speedway on Wednesday night. Vince Mitchell would triumph over a penalty, starting at the back of the field, to come back after 125 laps to take the checkered flag. This is the 15th driver who has won a race this season, and one less spot available in the playoffs for drivers attempting to make the 16 driver playoff field. Click Here to Watch the Race recording.

Race Quick Stats

  • Michigan International Speedway
    • 125 Laps
    • Weather- 70 Degrees, Mostly Cloudy, Wind N at 1-2 MPH
    • Race Length – 1 HR 40 MINS
  • 43 Drivers Entered – 36 Driver Field
  • 11 Different Leaders
    • Zander Short-25 Laps
    • Vince Mitchell-18 Laps
    • Justin Bell-18 Laps
    • Allen Phillips- 17 Laps
    • Jared Bundy-16 Laps
    • Nic Vasquez-16 Laps
    • John Williams-9 Laps
    • Stewart Harding Walker-2 Laps
    • Mark Roettgen- 2 Laps
    • Cory Mott-1 Lap
    • Caleb Tipton-1 Lap
  • 24 Lead Changes
  • 14 Cautions-42 Laps

Qualifying

With the track temps being considerably lower then they were most of the week in officials. We saw some fast lap times being put down during qualifying. The #69 Caleb “The Uberman” Tipton would win his first pole position of the year with a time of 38.339 and the #30 Mason Hoeffner would take the outside position to start 2nd with a time of 38.373. The #96 Vince Mitchell would qualify 3rd with a time 38.376, but Mitchell would join the 8 other drivers who had to serve penalties after last weeks penalty report was released by CJR Officials.

STAGE 1

CJR Officials issued the penalties on the formation lap and once everyone got settled and ready to go CJR officials issued the penalties on the formation lap while drivers got settled and ready to go. Tipton would lead the field to green for exactly one lap before his teammate, Justin Bell, would take the lead on Lap 2. Bell would maintain that lead until Lap 9 when the #92 Cameron King would get the short end of the stick going down the front stretch, taking a nasty hit on the inside wall.

There would be 2 more cautions in the stage on Lap 13 and Lap 23 with the #3 Ben Lawson being assigned an IC Penalty for the incident on Lap 23. Lawson got slightly tight, coming up the track, to make contact with the #10 of Higginbotham and the #29 of Harding Walker.The #30 of Mason Hoeffner was assigned an IC Penalty for the incident on Lap 13 after making contact with the wall and spinning across the nose of the #38.

The #91 of Jared Bundy would take the lead from Justin Bell on Lap 23 after a hard battle up front. Bundy, who was filling in for Zack Saunders this week, was on track to get his first stage win of the season, had it not been for Zander Short making an impressive move to the lead on Lap 29. He would be able to hold off Jared Bundy who would take 2nd and the #1 Cory Mott would take third to conclude Stage 1.

#5 Allen Phillips would take the lead as the leaders went to pit road and Phillips would lead the field back to green to begin Stage 2. The race would stay green until Lap 40 when #1 Cory Mott would catch some contact from #51 Brian Messer sending Mott across the nose collecting the #66 Ray Gill in the process and Mott would slide down the track, making contact with the inside wall. Phillips would bring the field back to green flag racing on Lap 43, but Zander Short would make his way back to the front and take back control on Lap 44.

Two additional cautions would come out before the end of the Stage 2. On Lap 47, the #29 Stewart Harding Walker and the #131 John Williams would make contact down the backstretch as Walker would go sliding to the inside, but would avoid any damage. The #69 Caleb Tipton would get bunched up and spun out on the restart, but the field would go back green on Lap 54. The green flag would only last for a short time before a big wreck on Lap #56 would end Stage 2.

Zander Short was happy to see the big wreck in his rear view mirror as this would give Short the stage win, sweeping the first two stages of the race. Phillips would take second in Stage 2 with the #22 Nic Vasquez taking third. Short would only lead 25 out of the 125 Laps, but seemed to be leading when it mattered the most.

STAGE 3

Short would lead the field back to the green flag on Lap 61 and would lead until Lap 67. The #91 Jared Bundy would take over for a few laps before Vasquez would take the reins until chaos unfolded on Lap 82. Short would attempt to regain the lead on the low line before catching the seam out of Turn 2 which got him loose, with the car snapping back up into the field collecting a handful of other cars. The #6 Stephen Menke would also go for a ride flipping down the back stretch. Fortunately, for Menke, this is a simulator and not real life, allowing him to triumph during his misfortunes and miraculously avoid going a lap down even after going for a wild ride.

Vasquez would lead the field back to green but they wouldn’t stay green for long as both #99 Justin Bell and Mott would catch that same seam Short did coming out of Turn 2 and got loose. Bell was able to save it down on the apron, but Mott went around collecting some bumps down the back stretch.

40 to Go

There would be 9 different lead changes in the final 40 laps of the race. John Williams would take the lead from Vasquez on Lap 92 and Allen Phillips would take the lead from Williams on Lap 95. They would trade back on Lap 100 before the caution would come out from an incident in the mid pack. Drivers would take to pit road to get fresh shoes on the cars and hope for a 23 Lap green flag run to the end.

That green flag run wouldn’t go as planned as Vasquez and Williams would experience some net code and make contact, Williams would take a hard hit from the rear from the #51 Brian Messer. They will definitely both still be feeling that massive hit next week when we all head back to the Sunshine State. The field would go back green with 12 to go, but Mott and Short would bring out the final caution of the night when Mott would once again get spun down the front stretch and into the grass. Wednesday nights penalty report was released on Thursday night with 5 drivers receiving penalties for next week’s race.

Vince Mitchell would lead the field to green with 8 laps to go. Mitchell would get a great start and would keep control of the lead for the remainder of the race. He was able to use that clean air to keep the second place finisher, Steven Carlile from getting to his back bumper granting Mitchell his first win of the season, locking him into playoffs. Carlile would finish 2nd yet again netting him his 4th runner-up this season and Thomas “Mr. Consistent” Wolfe taking the final podium spot in the race results.

“I had zero confidence going into that race. I was surprised I was able to move up on the final run and have a shot. That is my 4th second place finish this year so not quite up to Sheldon Creed standards yet.”

#7 Steven Carlile, ETHiX Racing Team, Chevrolet

“Being stuck in the catbird seat with Carlile behind me had me pretty nervous, but we just had the better drive off than him. I was fairly confident that I had a top 5 car after qualifying 3rd, but the drive through set us back of course. Once I nabbed the lead late, it was just a matter of counting the laps down and locking in on every restart and hitting my marks.”

#96 Vince Mitchell, Uber Motorsports, Ford

Playoffs on the Mind

Mitchell was currently sitting 8th in the playoffs from race points, but is now locked into the round of 16 after his Michigan win. Zack Saunders and Cody Leach both lose one spot in the standing due to missing the entry of the race on Wednesday night. Steven Carlile now moves up to 2nd place in the standings and should feel nice and cozy knowing he is practically guaranteed a playoff spot at the conclusion of the regular season. An exciting and ongoing playoff battle is happening on the bubble over the next 2 weeks at Daytona and Darlington. Your favorite (maybe least favorite) news writer, Garth Griswold, is sitting on the last playoff spot with the remaining two races in the regular season. Griswold finished 22nd at Michigan after getting collected in a wreck on Lap 108, with Ben Lawson closing the gap to 15 points with his 6th place finish.

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida next Wednesday, August 28th, for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Daytona has the potential to really shake up the playoffs, as anyone outside the playoffs could lock themselves in if they can put themselves in a spot to potentially win at the end. You can catch the action next week at Daytona International Speedway on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

Crown Jewel Media Team

Garth Griswold

PENALTY REPORT: Pocono and Michigan

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CJR Officials announced penalties on Thursday stemming from this weeks events at Pocono and Michigan.

ARCA

Aiden Schramm has been penalized post race for violating Section 4.1.2.1 of CJR’s Official Sporting Code. CJR officials ruled on lap 9 of the Pocono ARCA event that Aiden had intentionally wrecked opponent Jim Mott. As the incident involved only the two cars it is classified as an L1 penalty and Aiden will be penalized with a Stop and Hold for 1 lap at the next ARCA event.

TCSP Cup Series

Officials also announce the IC/Penalty report following the TCSP event at Michigan International Speedway.

LapDrivers InvolvedResult/Penalty
992, 69, 22, 8Racin’
1330, 3830
2329, 3, 103
4066, 51, 1Racin’
4729, 131Racin’
5611, 66, 8811
8238, 6, 2938
8611
10166, 61, 94, 00Racin’
11022, 131, 68Netcode
1141, 38Racin’
Much better than last week

Drivers who received 1 IC and will be penalized with an EOL at the beginning of their next race are.
#30 Mason Hoeffner
#3 Ben Lawson
#11 Russell Bratka
#38 Zander Short
#1 Cory Mott

Outstanding Penalties to be served at the beginning of their next race are

#91 Zack Saunders
#15 Cody Leach

PENALTY REPORT: RICHMOND

Cody Leach catches some air

CJR officials announced penalties on Saturday, August 17th following this weeks events at Richmond Raceway. Due to the sheer volume of cautions, Race Control was unable to provide videos for each incident.

VRS Truck Series

LapDrivers InvolvedResult/Fault
286, 886
1351, 46, 18, 21Netcode
2035, 95, 1Racing
2861, 4561
3695,2121
457676
542525
6104, 15, 97, 4, 97, 00, 47, 84, 1, 34, 86, 78, 21, 15, 46, 76, 294
7411
822121
8876, 9999
10284, 4Netcode
1391515
1471, 78Racing
15415, 1, 9515
1617676
16851,0051
1929595
21511
2237676
22978, 3078
23761, 82, 78, 461

Drivers penalized with 1 IC and an EOL at the beginning of the next race are;

#86 Ryan Taft
#25 Jim Mott
#4 Tyler Krawczyk
#99 Zack Saunders
#51 Michael Deitch
#95 Pete Morales
#78 Thomas Villano(temporarily retired)

Drivers penalized with 2 ICs and a drive through at the beginning of the next race are:

#61 Nishil Condoor
#21 Mack Fabiny
#1 Cory Mott
#15 Cody Leach

Only one driver reached 3 ICs and will be suspended for the next race.

#76 William Ransone

Team Conti Sim Performace Cup Series

LapDrivers InvolvedResult/Fault
1716, 6616
317, 1515
419696
549696
8561, 8, 361
907272
1006868
10831, 6531
117131, 9595
13886, 3186
14800, 9400
15529, 1515
16555, 86, 3155
17291, 8391
1806, 83Racing
1866161
1921515
20011, 0011
2107777
21828, 15, 37Racing
22656, 29Netcode
23938, 66Racing
24677, 5277
…woof

Drivers with 1 IC and and EOL at the beginning of next race are;

#16 Nathaniel Campbell
#72 Richard Dusett(retired?)
#68 Alexander Hodge
#31 Mark Roettgen
#95 Bob Fitzpatrick Jr
#86 Ryan Taft
#00 Garth Griswold
#55 Cameron Romano
#91 Zack Saunders
#11 Russell Bratka

Drivers penalized with 2 ICs and a drive through at the beginning of the next race are:

#96 Vince Mitchell
#61 Nishil Condoor
#77 Jim Mott

Only one driver reached 3 ICs and will be suspended for the next race.

#15 Cody Leach

As always these penalties can be appealed through the help desk in the CJR Discord.

RICHMOND: ADAM BENEFIEL PREVAILS FOR FIRST WIN AT COOKOUT 250

For the second time this year, the CJR Cup Series travelled to the short track of Richmond Raceway for the Cookout 250 under the new sponsorship deal, the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series. An exciting night for new growth for the Crown Jewel Racing League, and of the possibilities to come, were hampered with a downpour of cautions throughout the race. The cautions may have slowed down the tempo of the race, but it couldn’t slow down Team Conti Driver Adam Benefiel who would triumph at the end to win the first ever race under the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series.

The TCSP Cup Series last travelled to Richmond Raceway in April, but a lot of new faces and names would make the trip to Virginia on Wednesday night. The Crown Jewel Racing League had a big turnout of 42 drivers trying to qualify in for the start, but only 36 drivers would create the field. With the Top 32 drivers in the standings being locked in and the last 4 qualifying in on lap time, six drivers were forced to pack up their haulers and head home early.

Quick Stats

  • Richmond Virginia,
    • Start Time: 6:30 P.M,
    • Race Length: 2 hr, 14m/254 Laps
    • 82 Degrees, Mostly Cloudy, Wind SW @ 1-2 mph
  • 10 Lead Changes
  • 7 Different Leaders
    • Johan Seminario – 77 Laps
    • Cory Mott – 73 Laps
    • Adam Benefiel – 54 Laps
    • Nic Vasquez – 42 Laps
    • Thomas Wolfe – 5 Laps
    • Robert Fitzpatrick Jr. – 2 Laps
    • Zach Johnson – 1 Lap
  • 25 Cautions – 76 Laps

Qualifying

#65 Johan Seminario would take the pole position in his appearance in the Crown Jewel Racing league with a time of 22.211. #72 Richard Dusett qualified 2nd and would start on Seminario’s outside with a time of 22.269. #131 John Williams would start 3rd with a time of 22.341, #83 Adam Benefiel would start 4th with a time of 22.366, and #5 Steven Carlile would start 5th with a time of 22.475. It was an impressive feat that four out of the Top 5 in qualifying are proud Team Conti drivers and there was no doubt they had their cars dialed in for the start.

STAGE 1

Seminario would bring the field to the green flag as the evening sun was setting to the West just over the grandstands. The pace of the race started really up-tempo on the start as 24 out of 36 drivers would set their fastest lap of the stage during this first green flag run. It would end up being the longest green flag run of the night.

The first caution would come out on lap 17 as contact was made between #16 Nathan Campbell and #66 Ray Gill. The caution would fly 3 more times in the stage on laps 31, 41, and 54. Seminario would take the green white checkered for the stage win leading all 75 laps for his first stage win of the season. Williams would take 2nd in the stage, and Benefiel would take 3rd.

STAGE 2

The majority of the field would take to the pits to get fresh shoes and #94 Thomas Wolfe would take the lead winning the race off of pit road. Wolfe would lead the field back to green as race fans were hoping to see some good green flag runs, but sadly they would be disappointed as 9 more cautions would come out in Stage 2. Stage 2 would end on Lap 148 as (yours truly) the #00 of Garth Griswold would miss his braking point and lock them up going into Turn 1 and collect the #94 Thomas Wolfe to bring out the 13th caution of the night.

#83 Benefiel would take the yellow and green white checkered to end the stage and win his first stage of the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series. #95 Robert Fitzpatrick Jr. would take second place while #15 Cody Leach would come in 3rd.

The up-tempo of the beginning of the race had completely disappeared by this point. The repetitiveness of green and yellow flags would cause tire wear to be minimal, and the pit strategy game hadn’t come into play by the beginning of Stage 3.

STAGE 3

#1 Cory Mott, the current points leader in the TCSP Cup Standings would take the lead to begin Stage 3 and would lead the field to the green flag. Mott would continue to hold the lead through nine more cautions until lap 225 when the #83 of Adam Benefiel would take back the lead. Benefiel would hold onto that lead through 3 more cautions as the final caution would come out on lap 246 which would bring us to our first overtime.

Benefiel would take the green flag and give the deuces to the field like Tyreek Hill running down the sideline. The only possible way to catch him would be for another dreaded caution to come out before he made it around the track to take the white flag. For what seemed like the first time of the night, that caution wouldn’t appear as Benefiel would take the checkered flag to win the first Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series.

“Wasn’t sure I was going to make it in time, didn’t get a lot of practice, but Team Conti had the car setup just perfect, and it was just like driving a Cadillac around this track.”

#83 Adam Benefiel, Team Conti, Chevrolet

If you thought qualifying was a fluke with Team Conti drivers being at that the front, take a look at the finishing results. Four out of the Top Five drivers are members of the Team Conti Community with Benefiel taking 1st Place and John Williams finishing in second. #22 Nic Vasquez would take the last spot on the podium.

Playoff Outlook

It was a long drawn out race with the number of cautions, but with the regular season winding down, drivers had to endure until the finish to try and salvage as many points possible to try and retain or move up in the standings. Nobody moved any spots in the Top 16 Playoff Standings, Cory Mott still sits atop of the Iron Throne with a 56 point lead over Zack Saunders. That final playoff spot battle is really heating up with Garth Griswold being locked in for the time being, but Ben Lawson has closed the gap to 29 points. Tommy Carroll Jr. and Joe Wright both moved up one spot to 17th and 18th with Carroll trailing Lawson by 34 points and Joe Wright 2 points behind him.

Brighter Days Ahead

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will head to Brooklyn, Michigan next Wednesday, the 21st of August, for the Firekeepers Casino 250 for 125 Laps of nearly full throttle action. Drivers are looking forward to getting the field spread out and back to some green flag runs and leave the poor memory of Richmond in the dust. With three races left in the regular season, pressure is on the playoff bubble drivers to perform, and that pressure is starting to weigh. Come watch as the action unfolds on the Crown Jewel Racing Network, race starts at 8:15 P.M. EST.

Still looking for that edge on the competition? Head on over to Team Conti Sim Performance to checkout all of their products and services to help you succeed on the track.

Crown Jewel Media Team

Garth Griswold

RICHMOND: PORTER ENDURES CAUTION FEST, WINS 2 IN A ROW

RICHMOND: The VRS Truck Series took to the short track of Richmond Raceway on Monday night. With 4 races to go for drivers to claim one of last 6 spots in the VRS Truck Series Playoff, Short track racing at Richmond was guaranteed to get spicy. Unfortunately, the racing was over seasoned with cautions and carnage with a sprinkle of an exciting finish at the end.

Qualifying

The biggest surprise of the evening was the absence of Xpress Esports driver Johnny Avila who was unable to make it to Virginia in time for qualifying, but his teammate Cody Porter picked up where he left off last week at Rockingham and reclaimed his claim to the front row throne with a time of 22.230. Zack Saunders would start second on his outside with a time of 22.344. Nishil Condoor would start third, Tyler Krawczyk fourth, and Stephen Menke fifth.

Caution Fest

Stage 1 would have a total of nine cautions in the first 70 laps of the race, with five more cautions in Stage 2. It was difficult for drivers to get any long green flag runs which would keep tires fresh and tire temperatures low. All these cautions would also make it difficult for drivers to move up in the field which in turn caused some aggressive driving on restarts to gain spots. The trend would continue into the final stage where the caution would fly ten times over the final 110 laps.

Just like in reality with NASCAR Officials working overtime to issue rulings on their race. Race Control Competition Director Gordon Fraley will have a big paycheck from working overtime this week. Fraley will be reviewing all these incidents and handing out penalties for accidents caused to deter poor driving performance in the future. That penalty report is expected to be released sometime this week.

“Seeing as we had a record breaking caution count and one incident that involved 17 Trucks. Expect to see half the field serving drive through penalties at the beginning of the next race.” Gordon Fraley, RC Competition Director

STAGE WINNERS

With both stages ending early due to the #15 Cody Leach wrecking on Lap 68 and Lap 139, the stage wins were determined by positioning at the line on the completion of the lap. Stage 1 was won by Zack Saunders who led 56 laps in the stage. Cody Porter would take 2nd, and Stephen Menke third. Stage 2 was won by Porter with Noah Hamilton coming in second and Stephen Menke once again clinching third.

ALMOST A CINDERELLA STORY

Oskar Jensen’s race got off to possibly the worst start that he has had in the VRS Truck Series. After the first caution Jensen noticed he was having some mechanical failures in his race car. Jensen would pull into the pits to try and fix the issue, but would go four laps down. He was probably the only driver who was rooting for the cautions as Jensen would finally get back to the lead lap on Lap 180.

Once Jensen was able to get back to the lead lap he fired towards the front faster than Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 Rocket, finding himself in the Top 10 with 50 laps to go. Within 5 laps Jensen broke into the Top 5 and Porter’s fired missile alarm was screaming, and by lap 211 Jensen was sitting in third with 39 laps to go.

In a span of 30 laps Jensen would go from one lap down to sitting in second and would stay on Porters bumper until the end. On the final lap Jensen would try his best Austin Dillon impersonation and full send it into Turn 4 making contact with Porter’s bumper. Porter would get loose and slide up into the wall but unlike Joey Logano he would get the truck under control and maintain the lead to the finish line.

“It felt like it took 10 years to get back on the lead lap, I didn’t have a great restart their at the end and my only hope was for Cody to make a mistake. The finish was really good after all we had to deal with and I am happy to take second after all that.”

Oskar Jensen, #46, Xpress Esports, Ford

In what would have been a fairy tale ending for Jensen to come back from 4 laps down to win, Porter wanted to write a different ending to this story. This is Porter’s second straight win of the split and his third win this season in the VRS Truck Series. Xpress Esports has dominated the VRS Series with Porter and Avila winning the last seven races.

“It was nice to get the win, Noah, Zack, and Oscar put up one heck of a fight, it wasn’t easy, and the cautions didn’t make it any easier either.”

Cody Porter, #04, Xpress Esports Ford

The VRS Truck Series has 3 races to go before the playoffs begin on September 16th. Porter overtook Avila in the Split 3 Standings with Tyler Krawczyk keeping ahold of the 3rd place position. Thomas Villano is trailing Krawczyk by 8 points to crack into the Split 3 playoff spot and is trailing 26 points to Stephen Menke for a wildcard spot. Matthew Owens moved ahead of Garth Griswold in the Wildcard standings with Menke securing the third and final playoff position with 3 races to go.

The Truck series will have an off week next week, before racing action resumes on August 26th at the Milwaukee Mile. For the final two races the VRS Truck Series will travel to Watkins Glen on September 2nd, and to the Nashville Fairgrounds for the final race of the regular season on September 9th.

To watch the race replay in its entirety click here.

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Crown Jewel Racing Media Team

Garth Griswold

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: RICHMOND RACEWAY

The TCSP Cup Series returns tonight at Richmond Raceway. Green Flag flies at 8:15pm EST. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- If one thing is true in life, it’s that Thomas will be battling for a win night in and night out. With 2 wins in the last 3 races, and a hop up to 4th in the season standings, Thomas may be making a last second push for the regular season championship.
  • Steven Carlile-PMT-CHEVY- Steven has been more than consistent, he has been damn good. With his last 4 racing all finishing in the top 6, including 3 podium finishes in a row, His points will have locked him into the playoffs, but it seems like he’s fishing for a win to cap of the regular season.
  • Zach Johnson-Palmetto-CHEVY- It seemed as if during the middle of the season, Zach may have gotten comfortable after the win at Atlanta locking him into the playoffs. But after this string of 3 top 10 finishes in the last 3 races, the pressure is on the 8 team to build points for a deep playoff run.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Mike Burnett-BBR-CHEVY- From fighting for a regular season championship to a no show at Indianapolis, to the rumors of the selling of the team, is the dominate heel of our sport retiring for good? Does this open up another playoff spot? Alot of questions and concerns with only 3 races left before the playoffs.
  • Joe T Wright-WRL-FORD- Joe has had good days, and Joe has had bad days, but the donut man cannot afford any more bad days with the playoff battle heating up. The number 37 Krispy Kreme team has an opportunity to secure a playoff spot only 1 point behind Tommy Carroll Jr. A late season push of consistency in the last 3 races could turn around a season that has been mired by junk race cars, with the majority at no fault of his own.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Team Conti Sim Performance has taken over the helm of title sponsor bringing in a wave of new talented drivers. All these new drivers will be racing their way into a starting position tonight at Richmond. Keep an eye out for exhibition race winner in the 41 car Cruise Caudell and 3rd place finisher Patrick Gitter.
  • Vince Mitchell will be moving from Uber Motorsports to Palmetto Motorsports (formerly TopTier) at seasons end.
  • Tyler Belanger has received a contract extension through next season at WRL.
  • News of the sale of Backroad Bandits is circulating the garage but no official statement has been made.
  • 3 drivers remain winless in the top 10 in points (Steven Carlile, Cody Leach, Vince Mitchell)
  • Cup drivers Cody Leach and Cory Mott got together in an incident during the trucks race at Michigan. Both were released from the infield care center with minor injuries and both team’s spokespersons have confirmed the drivers will be 100% for Richmond tonight.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

  • First 3 in: Allen Phillips, Natheniel Campbell, Garth Griswold.
  • First 3 out: Ben Lawson, Tommy Carrol Jr, Joe Wright.
  • Note: whereabout for Mike Burnett and Zander Shorts are unknown until official statement has been made by both team’s managements which could free up two potential playoff spots.
  • Note: potential first round exits due to playoff point penalties and lack of playoff points: Kristopher Burnham (-8), Caleb Tipton (1), Vince Mitchell (4)

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Cody Leach- WRL- FORD
We have gone all season without a thought of maybe this will be his week before the race. Always a good money pick for a parlay for a top 10 or top 5 but never a thought of maybe he will win this thing. Thats until we get in the race, and he’s fighting tooth and nail to for that elusive first win. Yea he blew it at Texas and crapped a huge +8700 win for us but tonight sitting at +4400, it seems like the smart move. If the number #15 can get dialed in and focus on their race, we believe that +4400 for a win is free money. If you are scared or want to hedge, yea take the +1500 for a top 5 but “scared money don’t make no money.” Little comment was given to us about sim work last week to get ready for Richmond from the team, but we did see him shine during the exhibition race at Chicagoland, against a field of our newly acquired Iracing Thanos’. Yea the safe choice here is Thomas Wolfe at +1500 or Zack Saunders at +1700 but if you are looking to have some fun, the #15 car of Cody Leach is your pick. Keep an eye out for the #6 Stephen Menke as well who ran extremely well at Richmond earlier in the season. If you hedge anything I would hedge with the #6 win at +3300.


SILLY SEASON IN FULL SWING

Recent announcement of next seasons Crown Jewel Franchise System has sent most team owners into a frenzy. Some team owners have delved into the shadows and some wonder if they will be seen from again. New teams have formed faster than a wildfire, and wildfires are unpredictable with what is to come. So here is the latest news from this years Silly Season.

Top Tier Motorsports has rebranded to Palmetto Motorsports and to kick off this big announcement Team Owner Cory Mott announced that they have signed Vince Mitchell from Uber Motorsports. Vince Mitchell, who is currently sitting 8th in the cup standings and has a good shot of securing a playoff spot, was one of the first drivers to venture out to find a new home. Caleb “The Uberman” Tipton wasn’t quick to reveal his true thoughts on the departure, when asked his thoughts…

“I personally think the best meal you can get at Taco Bell is a large Pepsi, with a steak grilled cheese burrito with onions. But for just a few more bucks you can have a large side of their undefeated nacho cheese fries. But no, I’m cool with my boys exploring other options.”

Apparently Vince Mitchell is more interested in the South Carolina barbecue and pimento cheese than Mr. Uberman’s nacho cheese fries. Next season he will be behind of the wheel of a TRD Toyota Camry for Palmetto Motorsports.

Hot off the press news today was that Stewart Harding Walker has agreed to buy a 50% ownership stake in Uber Motorsports and will replace Vince Mitchell’s open seat in 2025.

“I have some good plans and ideas to bring this team to the top. With the right leadership and some better strategy, we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with next season.”

Other teams that are looking for drivers include Hoff Motorsports. They’re looking for drivers in the Truck and Xfinity Series next year, as is Factory Motorsports. Surprisingly team owner Stephen Menke isn’t entertaining any offers to replace any of his current drivers despite trouble in recent weeks getting them to race or getting them to race cleanly. Menke did announce today that Ben Lawson has been named Vice President and GM of Factory Motorsports Xfinity team to take the helm in the CJR Inaugural Xfinity Season in 2025.

Henry Kallhoff Racing is also fielding offers for drivers to compete in Xfinity and Trucks next year. A newer team looking to grow, but certainly not the only one that has emerged from dark in the past week. After announcing the Team Conti Partnership new teams emerged such as the Midpack Mafia, Zodiac Dynamics, and Team Conti #1.

Midpack Mafia Team Owner Kevin Martin is planning on bringing on a full team made up of Cameron King, Bradley Brandon, and Julio Villalobos Jr. Opposing drivers might need to be aware of their surroundings in the Midpack if they want to stay off the Mafia’s Hit List.

WRL isn’t very good at keeping a secret, but new driver Tyler Belanger has been seen hanging around their garage and is almost a sure bet to sign with WRL next season. Which could be a big boost for WRL going into the 2025 season as only 1 out of the 3 drivers are currently sitting in a position to make the playoffs.

A team that is really good at keeping secrets is the Backroad Bandit Racing team. BBR Team Rep. Kristopher Burnham danced around the questions of what is going on in the BBR garage. Rumor has it that Austin Runkel is looking for a Cup ride next year as the BBR garage is looking precarious. The BBR Team stole the spotlight and held it for ransom for most of the season, but if it wasn’t for Thomas Wolfe and his two wins in recent weeks, that light would have burnt out weeks ago. Request for comment from team owner Mike Burnett have gone unanswered and it would seem these new wildfires that have ignited in the league have developed some soot and smoke over the future of their team and if they will reappear from the ashes for a playoff run or not.

Drivers Looking for a Home

Drivers like Joe Gibbons and Gordon Fraley are still looking for a place to call home in the Cup Series. Fraley who is looking to retire from his full time Race Control duties and get back behind the wheel has only raced in a handful of races this season. Gibbons who received a waiver to join the Cup Series this season has shown improvement in the two races he has competed in.

Jonathan “Paint King” Leger and Thomas Villano still haven’t announced that they are joining any Cup Series team for next year. Villano hinted he found a home for next season, but that home has yet to claim him. Leger who has shown improvement in recent weeks in other series also comes with the additional side of his world renown painting abilities. Teams would be sure to have some great paint schemes week in and week out with him on their side.

Probably the most biggest surprise and a driver that has been flying under the radar is John Connor. Connor who is currently sitting in 4th place in the VRS Truck Series Standings is looking to move up the ladder next season and run in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series. Connor has had 16 top 10 finishes in the 22 truck races this year with 6 of them being Top 5 finishes and an average finishing position of 11th.

I would say there’s plenty of time left to get teams lined out, but with the season winding down, time is quickly deteriorating for team owners and drivers to find their seats for next season. Stayed tuned for the next update of Silly Season!

Garth Griswold

Craftsman Trucks on iRacing are coming to the green flag at Rockingham Raceway.

PENALTY REPORT: VRS Trucks at Rockingham

Craftsman Trucks on iRacing are coming to the green flag at Rockingham Raceway

8/8/2024

CJR officials released the list of penalties Thursday following Mondays Truck event at the historic Rockingham Speedway.

Lap 29

William Ransone, independent driver of the No. 76 Ford F-150, made contact with the wall, losing control and making contact with the No. 84 of Corey Schramm. He will be assessed an IC.

Lap 42

Previously mentioned, William Ransone again made contact with a competitor. Appearing to not see the No. 89 of Daniel Jursza, William’s truck made contact with Daniel’s and brought out the caution flag. He will be assessed a second IC.

Lap 142

Austin Runkel, Driver of the No. 18 Ryco Chevy failed to make the corner, washing up into the No. 21 of Mack Fabiny, bringing out the caution. He will be assessed an IC.

Lap 198

Tyler Belanger, Driver of the No.29 Old Spice Ford, entered turn three with the No. 97 Chevy of John Connor slow on the inside. Tyler was not clear of the 97 and brought out the caution. He will be assessed an IC.

ICs Heading into next week

Going into next week these drivers will be served with these penalties.

William Ransone: 2 ICs, Drive Through Penalty, must be served under green flag conditions.

Austin Runkel: 1 IC, EOL at beginning of race.

Tyler Belanger: 1 IC, EOL at beginning of race.

As always these and any other penalty applied can be protested through the help desk on the League Discord.

ROCKINGHAM: PORTER OVERCOMES PIT ROAD WOES AND STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT

VRS Truck Series took to the high banks of the Rockingham “The Rock” Speedway for 200 laps of high-speed racing for Round 4 of 8 on Monday night. The weather and track temps were hot, and the chase for the playoffs is getting even hotter with just 4 races to go for drivers to make their move and to secure their spot. Click here to watch the race recording.

Johnny Avila and Cody Porter are feeling comfortable leading the 3rd split standings, Avila has a 26-point lead over Porter, and Porter has a 79-point lead over Tyler Krawczyk. Even though they might feel comfortable in the standings Avila and Porter have still been battling week in and week out on race day.

Qualifying

Avila and Porter would keep duking it out in qualifying, but Avila would come away with the pole with a time of 24.152, Porter would take second with a time of 24.170, and Pete Morales would start 3rd with a time of 24.361. Zack Saunders would start 4th with a qualifying time 24.412 and Nishil Condoor would round out the top 5 starting 5th with a time of 24.539. Avila and Porter’s speed was evident from the beginning as everyone else was still trying to get their trucks dialed in with the hot track temps.

STAGE 1

Avila would lead the field to the green flag and would lead the first 5 Laps before Pete Morales would capture the lead on Lap 6 and would lead the race for 11 laps before Avila would take back the lead. The first caution of the evening would come out on Lap 30 when William Ransone would make contact with Corey Schramm sending Schramm up hard into the wall in Turns 1-2. Schramm was seen at the infield care center and promptly left the track when cleared.

Corey Schramm takes a hard hit into the wall after getting clipped by William Ransone

On the restart Jim “Papa” Mott would give it a bit too much throttle when the green flag dropped and got loose turning into the outside wall. Garth Griswold would move to avoid the wreck making contact Tyler Krawczyk who would get turned and come to stop in the middle of the track bringing out the second yellow of the night.

Stage 1 would come to an end two laps early on Lap 43 when Daniel Jurza and Tyler Krawczyk would get mixed up in an incident and bring out the third caution of the night. Avila would take the stage win, and the odds were increasing for Avila to win his 4th straight race in the VRS Truck Series. Porter would take 2nd, Morales 3rd, Condoor 4th, and Tyler Belanger would round out the Top 5 with 5th in Stage 1. 

STAGE 2

Porter who has been looking for any edge to knock Avila out of victory lane, got a little to ambitious and was caught speeding off pit road. Porter would have to fall to the rear of the field to begin Stage 2 while his frenemy Avila would leave the field to the green flag to begin Stage 2.  Porter would fight his way back to the front but was unable to catch Avila before the end of the stage allowing Avila to win back-to-back stages. Belanger would take 3rd, while Condoor and Matthew Owens would take 4th and 5th at the end of Lap 95.

STAGE 3

Matthew Owens would stay out at the end of the Stage to take the lead and would quickly fall back on the older set of tires. Avila would take the lead coming out of Turn 2, with Porter sniffing his bumper. Porter who was under pressure from Belanger for 2nd would recapture the lead on Lap 106 from Avila, and Avila would fall back to third by Lap 108. Avila would take back the 2nd place spot on Lap 121.

The first caution of the stage would come out on Lap 143 when Austin Runkel would get tight going into Turn 1-2 and made contact with Mack Fabiny sending Runkel into the wall. Runkel who has had a rough year in the VRS Truck Series currently sits 17th in the season standings and would take the truck back to the garage.

Austin Runkel would sustain heavy damage after making contact with Mack Fabiny

Porter and Avila would really battle for that lead through Laps 150-162. Porter would finally pull away and start to run away from the field until the caution flag would fly with 18 laps to go. I’d imagine that every driver on the track besides Porter was hoping for the caution and their wish was granted.  Everyone would pit with 16 to go and Porter’s pit road troubles would continue again when he would slide through his pit box. Giving Avila back the lead with the green flag set to wave with 13 laps to go. They would go door to door for 2 laps before Porter would get the better run on the high side and take the lead.

A LATE CAUTION

With 5 laps to go it seemed as if Porter & Avila were going to run away into the sunset and fight it out all alone. But Tyler Belanger who seemed to be the only challenger left was trying to stay with the leaders when he made contact with John Connor. Connor who wasn’t quite up to speed stayed low hugging the yellow line when Belanger tried to get back to his line a little to early and made contact with Connor causing them both to slide up into the wall.

Tyler Belanger would make contact with John Connor sending them both to the wall

Belanger wouldn’t take his truck to the pits and the field would line up for the first attempt at the first G/W/C of the night. Porter and Avila would go door to door to take the green flag, but Porter would get the jump when the green flag waved. Porter would be be playing defense as Avila would ride his bumper like a road rage lunatic on the freeway all the way down the back stretch. Porter would be able to hold off Avila in the end and take the checkered flag for the win which would be Porter’s second win of the season.

Porter and Avila go door to door on the G/W/C Restart

Nishil Condoor would capture the 3rd place finish to join Porter and Avila on the podium. Pete Morales would secure a 4th place finish and Thomas Villano who started at the very back of the field would capture the biggest mover of the night title has he would move all the way up to take 5th. Belanger who was fighting to keep up with the leaders would fall back to finish in 9th after taking damage in that final caution wreck.

Cody Porter takes the checkered flag for his 2nd win of the VRS Truck Series Season

PLAYOFF PICTURE

With 4 races left in the chase for those final playoff spots in the VRS Truck Series it would seem that Avila and Porter have the top 2 spots locked down for the split with the 3rd playoff spot going to Tyler Krawczyk currently. But Thomas Villano is right behind him trailing by just 15 points in Split 3 Standings. For the wildcard playoff spots, Garth Griswold currently holding onto the the 1st place spot, with Matthew Owens trailing 9 points behind. The third place spot is really up for grabs as it is currently held onto by Stephen Menke who hasn’t shown up for a truck race in the last few weeks. Villano also has this path that could lead to playoff birth trailing Menke by 11 points currently. Jim Mott and Pete Morales are right behind trailing by 9 points and 16 points. Check out the playoff picture here.

OFFICIAL: Team Conti Sim Performance joins Crown Jewel as Cup Series title sponsor

Crown Jewel partners with a growing sim racing brand – Team Conti Sim Performance. Team Conti will join as the Cup Series title sponsor for the remainder of the 2024 season.

The Crown Jewel Cup Series – the flagship racing series of the Crown Jewel Community – has received a brand-new title sponsor for the remainder of the 2024 season. Team Conti Sim Performance – a popular setup shop, coaching service, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing team – has agreed to sponsor the remainder of the 2024 Cup Series season. The partnership between Crown Jewel and Team Conti will bring prizes for the Cup Series and discounts to Team Conti Sim Performance setup packs, merchandise, and coaching services! For a 10% discount on all Team Conti store items, use code: CROWNJEWEL10.

READ MORE: 2025 Franchise System Reveal

As part of the agreement, Team Conti will be promoting Crown Jewel and its leagues through social media and their driver base in the Team Conti Discord Server. Team Conti will also be providing prizes for the Championship 4, as well as supplemental prizes for the end-of-year banquet:

  • Champion (1st Place)
    • Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Quarterly Subscription
    • Additional Team Conti Merchandise
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th Places
    • Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Monthly Subscription
    • Additional Team Conti Merchandise
  • Rookie of the Year
    • Team Conti Merchandise
  • Most Improved Driver
    • Team Conti Merchandise

With the new title sponsorship, the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series logo has been reworked. New contingencies have also been added to the contingency sheet.

Team Conti Sim Performance owner, Michael Conti, spoke with the Crown Jewel media team regarding the partnership:

Team Conti Sim Performance has grown tremendously over the last eight months, and we’re excited to be able to further our involvement in the iRacing community by becoming the title sponsor of the Crown Jewel Cup Series. We look forward to working with the series over the remainder of 2024 and are thrilled to be partnered with a league that has such a strong and passionate group of drivers.

Michael Conti, Owner – Team Conti Sim Performance

Crown Jewel owner, Cory Mott, also spoke with the Crown Jewel media team regarding the partnership:

Over the last 2 years, we have focused on growing our community organically while ensuring our league was accessible as possible to everybody in iRacing. Today marks a big step in that mission, as we partner with one of the fastest growing brands in the iRacing industry. In nearly every NASCAR open official you join you will see the Team Conti branding on a paint scheme. We are extremely excited to welcome them to our community and further our partnerships in the iRacing community.

Cory Mott, Owner – Crown Jewel Racing

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series returns to action on Wednesday, August 14th at 8:15 PM EST – following the conclusion of the Olympic break. Catch the action live on the Crown Jewel Racing Network!

For all orders placed on teamconti.gg, make sure to use code CROWNJEWEL10 for 10% off all orders!