all good california wine needs a corkscrew

The season is winding down. Just 2 races remain in another epic Lionheart season. Adam Blocker may have already locked up the championship in one of the most dominating single season performances in Lionheart history, but there is still plenty to drive for; plenty more corners to take on the edge, and plenty more passes to be made. In terms of famous corners, there might not be any more famous, or more treacherous then the corkscrew at Laguna Seca. This week, the Lionheart drivers will be taking on that famous corner 56 times at the Grand Prix of Monterey present by Graafix.

Last time out at Kansas, the Big Joe Show Spectacular lived up to its name, in more ways than one. Not only was the racing close and exciting for much of the event, but Big Joe Hassert managed to take home the win in his sponsored event! Big Joe would lead series founder Jorge Anzaldo to the line by 0.225 seconds. It was the best result for Anzaldo in quite some time, who beat his spinning teammate Dan Geren to the line. Geren had led a race high 41 laps, however as he negotiated the apron coming back to the line, a small misjudgement caused the car to spin, costing Geren the position. Tony Showen and Bart Workman rounded out the top 5.

The 3rd place for Geren has cemented the Midwest driver into 2nd place in the standings. Geren is 111 points ahead of 3rd place Andrew Kinsella with just two races remaining. As long as he keeps his nose clean at Laguna Seca, Geren should be able to enter the Auto Club finale secure in the knowledge that 2nd place is his once again, for the 4th straight year. All he has to do is finish ahead of Kinsella.

Speaking of Kinsella, the Canadian had a quiet day at Kansas due to some early race damage that robbed the Canadian of his usual speed. Kinsella is 51 points ahead of Brian Yaczik for 3rd in the championship, and will likewise be looking to firm up his hold on that spot.

From 4th through 11th is where things get tight. Brian Yaczik is a mere 77 points ahead of 11th place Connor Harrington. Yaczik, who had a miserable start to the year has really come alive in the second half of this season, and will be looking to keep his hard fought 4th over the next two races. To do that, he will have to keep some very fast drivers at bay. Besides Harrington, Stehen Laarkamp, Justin Weaver, Big Joe Hassert, Tyler Graaf and Tony Showen are all within striking distance, and it’s not just bragging rights on the line either. 4th place gets $170 in prize money, while 11th is down to $50. That’s a big difference, and it all comes down to these next 2 races.

Meanwhile, the Rookie of the Year race is as tight as ever. Mike Rigney leads Damon Martinez by just 8 points. Still in with an outside shot at it, Bryan Carey is 37 points back of Martinez and John Hill is just 3 points back of Carey. This race is still wide open, and to the winner goes not only the $75 cash prize, but a plethora of physical prizes including an awesome Buttkicker Gamer2 or Simulation Kit.
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Tune in this Wednesday, December 11th, 2019 at 10:35pm eastern for the final road course of the season, as the Grand Prix of Monterey presented by Graafix will be live on the iRacing eSports Network presented by GSRC