​Last week it was the Retro Series presented by Buttkicker, who got to have their fun in the hot sun at Charlotte Motorspeedway. This week however it is the foundation of Lionheart visiting the Rock. The Lionheart Indycar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, takes their turn in the spotlight just a little ways up the road from Charlotte, as the IndyCar All-Star Race presented by Von Hanson’s visits Rockingham Speedway.

For those who have not seen a late 90’s NASCAR Race from the venue, Rockingham Speedway is a high banked short track with 22 and 25 degrees of banking in turns 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 respectively. In a stockcar, this combination produced some fantastic finishes. In IndyCar, it means that despite being only just over 1 mile in length, the drivers of the IR will scarcely be below 190 mph during the lap!

The IndyCar All-Star Race will function in the same way as the Retro race. The festivities consist of 3 races; the 148 lap main event, a 50 lap transfer race and a 50 lap shoot-out.

In order to qualify directly for the main event, you must have; finished in the top 10 in points, been a race or pole winner in 2018, been named rookie of the year or driver of the year in 2018, been the cleanest driver in 2018, or previously won an all-star race or a championship. 23 drivers are locked into the main event. The remaining 3 spots will be filled with the podium from transfer race, which will kick off Thursday‘s broadcast. These final 3 drivers will bring the all-star main event up to 26 drivers.

The field for the transfer race will be made up of the top 3 from the shootout, which takes place the night before, as well as anyone 11th-20th in points not already locked in through other criteria, and any race sponsors for the 2019 season.

The shoot-out will take place the day before the main all-star races, and is for everyone not eligible for the transfer race or main event, and will not be broadcast.

Unique for the IndyCar race is that, if the drivers manage to keep it clean, 2 competition cautions will be thrown at random. If there is a caution before that yellow, however, then that negates the competition caution.

Unlike the Retro race, the IndyCar race will feature all the familiar players from last year coming back for the battle, headlined by the trio of Dan Geren, Andrew Kinsella and newly crowned champion Adam Blocker.

Other big names locked in include Justin Weaver, Michael Gooodman, Brian Yaczik, Joe Branch, Jason Galvin, Chris Stofer, and real-world driver Sage Karam.

Fighting to get through to the transfer race will be the likes of Samuel Reiman, Tyler Graaf, Scotty Johnson, and league founder Jorge Anzaldo.

 New-comers Brian Carey, John G Hill and Damon Martinez will be mixing it up with familiar names such as Joe Flanagan, Isaiah Dupre and Jason Robarge in the shoot-out Tuesday night.

Due in part to the tradition of picking non-traditional tracks for the all-star event, this event has picked up some unusual winners over the years. In season 5 it was Ian Adams taking the crown at Daytona, while last season it was Pierre Daigle scoring his first and only Lionheart Series victory at the track too tough tame; Darlington Motor Speedway.
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With nothing but pride at stake, this should be a fascinating display of speed, and it is likely that the winner of this race will be the driver that survives the longest. Will that driver be a first time winner like last season, or will one of the stars from last season get the new campaign off to the right start?
 
Tune in Wednesday, February 28th to find out what happens as the Lionheart Series celebrates it’s new season in style. The transfer race kicks things off at 10:35pm eastern only on the iRacing eSports Network presented by GSRC, followed immediately by the main event.

​Viva Motorsport and the Lionheart Racing Series announced they will continue their partnership during the 2019 season.

Lionheart founder Jorge Anzaldo made the announcement, pairing the most recognized name in fixed-setup IndyCar sim racing with the leader in creative, cutting-edge home decor with a motorsports twist.

“Viva Motorsport brings a unique aspect to our prize pool, in products that our drivers and fans can show off as part of their every day routine,” Anzaldo said. “We are proud that Jennifer Harrington saw value in what we brought last season, and wanted to stay on board in 2019.”

Viva Motorsport manufacturers racing inspired products like table coasters, wine glasses and more. Each product is carefully crafted by the staff at Viva Motorsport, allowing for unprecedented attention to detail.

Fans of the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, as well as the Lionheart Retro Series, receive 10 percent off orders with the code LIONHEART.

Viva Motorsport will proudly support the Turning Point Award in each Lionheart series in 2019. The award is given to the driver whom improves most after the halfway point in the season. The winner of the award will receive customer track inspired coasters from Viva Motorsport. Winners of the premiere races in each series, the Indianapolis 500 and Indianapolis 250, will also receive Viva Motorsport prizes.

Fans and drivers can visit www.VivaMotorsportShop.com to place an order.

​Clipping That Apex, the leader in custom motorsports art, and the Lionheart Racing Series announced today that their partnership will continue for a second season in 2019.
 
“Scott MacKenzie came on last year and really went above and beyond in supporting our league,” Lionheart founder Jorge Anzaldo said. “The custom artwork he provided in honor of our friend Patrick Taylor now hangs in the race rooms of several of our drivers. Scott provided other custom work for our racers as well, and continues to be a champion of our league.”
 
Clipping That Apex will serve as sponsor of the Iron Man Award in both the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, and the Lionheart Retro Series.
 
Each event for both leagues will be broadcast live on the iRacing eSports Network with Global SimRacing Channel presenting each broadcast.
 
Clipping That Apex will be featured as a primary on-board camera sponsor and is also providing six custom pieces of art for the series, with awards to be handed out to each Iron Man winner, the Indianapolis 500 winner as well as top points finishers. MacKenzie is also designing a pair of custom calendars that will be given away to league members.
 
“Making racing art is a passion of Scott’s, and if you look at his work, it shows how much he cares,” Anzaldo said. “To think that he enjoys our league to the point that he wants to create artwork for us and be a big part of it, I’m just blown away by his support and his talent.”
 
Lionheart Racing Series drivers and fans can enjoy 15 percent off their purchase at www.ClippingThatApex.com by using the promo code LIONHEART19 at checkout.

First Medical Equipment, a leading supplier of medical grade devices and products in Burlington, Iowa and its surrounding cities, announced today a return as the series sponsor of the top fixed-setup IndyCar league utilizing the iRacing.com service.

The Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, as it will be known for the fourth consecutive season, features some of the top iRacing IndyCar drivers in the world, as well as associations with former (Richie Hearn - broadcaster) and current (Sage Karam - driver) IndyCar stars.

“First Medical Equipments relationship with this series goes beyond sponsorship,” Lionheart founder Jorge Anzaldo said. “Brandon Limkemann and his family are our family, too. We’ve become great friends off the track and away from the computer. We’re now teammates on the track. I feel fortunate, as do our members, that Brandon and his family continue to support our league in such a fashion.”

First Medical Equipment joined as the title sponsor in 2016 after Limkemann joined the league, and immediately recognized the bond extended outside the virtual track.

“2018 was the best season yet,” Limkemann exclaimed. “The championship went down to the wire. Our broadcasts somehow were even better. The level of sponsors and prizes continue to grow. This is best league I’ve ever seen.

“The level of commitment from the admins, drivers and other sponsors is second-to-none. And we’ve formed a bond outside of the sim as well. Our annual league meetup in Iowa during the IndyCar event is a prime example. How many league’s can get 30 members, or more, to the same place every summer? It’s incredible.”

The season opener will once again carry the FME banner. The First Medical Equipment 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will kickoff the 25-race IndyCar championship battle - season seven for the series - on March 13.

Every Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment event will be carried live on the groundbreaking iRacing eSports Network, with the Global SimRacing Channel handling coverage. Bill ‘Soup’ Zahn will once again handle play-by-play, with Sean Ambrose contributing as well. Hearn, an IndyCar winner and 1996 Rookie of the Race at the Indianapolis 500, will return for a second full season as the analyst.

Everyone will be chasing South Carolina’s Adam Blocker. The college student swept the league championships in 2018, also winning the Lionheart Retro Series championship.

Iowa’s Dan Geren returns after a third-consecutive runner-up finish in the points, while Blocker’s Canadian teammate Andrew Kinsella looks to rebound after bad luck ended his championship bid late in the 2018 season.

Karam - a starter in five consecutive Indianapolis 500’s - is expected to join the field and immediately contend for race wins and championships this season.

Brian Yaczik broke through for his first wins as an IndyCar driver in 2018, and revamped his Loud Pedal Motorsports team over winter, adding proven race winners and championship contenders in James Krahula, Joe Hassert and Jason Galvin, as well as the most improved driver of 2018, Chris Lanini. Brian Greenlee also returns.

42 drivers are expected to compete for the championship in 2019, with more drivers set to run in the Lionheart Retro Series and even more waiting for their shot to run with the best drivers on the sim.

For more information on the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, visit www.LionheartRacingSeries.com.

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