After reviewing the Richmond race the following penalties have been issued-

Dan Roeper- EOL next race- Avoidable contact 


Allen Boes- 5 point championship penalty- Pit road violation Rule 6.5- driving through excessive pit boxes to gain position. (penalty is the points difference in the +1 position gain) 


Rick Music- *update* 3 race suspension- indefinite probation- wreckless driving- failure to hold brake while rolling down the track, re-entering track and causing contact



Drivers have 24 hours to appeal. 

Round 5 of the Lionheart IndyCar Series Presented by Overdrive Graphics heads to the Richmond International Raceway for a night race broadcast flag-to-flag on the Global SimRacing Channel. 

Tuesday Practice Race
Tuesday’s practice race saw 16 drivers take the green flag with Dan Geren from Team #nailedit on the pole with a lap time of 15.046 seconds. Qualifying second, was Unacceptable Racing’s James Krahula and third was Team #nailedit’s Ian Adams. 

Geren would lead the field to the green, and would lead the first two laps before James Krahula would pass him. The first incident would happen on lap 9 for an incident involving Pete Edwins in the DirtyBlinds.com entry. However the first caution would not fall until lap 11 for an incident involving Jason Robarge, Pierre Daigle, and Terry Matthiensen. A second caution would wave on lap 23 for a second incident involving Matthiensen and Robarge. On the restart, Pete Edwins and Tony Showen would have a run-in, bringing out the third caution. A fourth caution would come out when Pierre Daigle would hit the apron and Justin Laxton from Goin’ Broke Racing would run in to the back of him.

The green flag would fly on lap 43 with Jake Wright leading, James Krahula running second, and Dan Geren in third. On lap 58, Joe Hassert would hit the wall, but did not bring out a caution. On lap 62, James Krahula would slide through the frontstretch grass, again not bringing out the caution. 

The first round of green flag pit stops allowed Justin Laxton and Pierre Daigle to cycle through as the leaders, before Laxton would need to make an early pit stop after having contact with the wall exiting turn two. The fifth caution of the race would fly on lap 106 for an incident involving Vincent Bluthenthal. Under the caution, Justin Laxton would assume the lead, and would lead the field to green, before getting passed by Jake Wright on lap 118. Just seven laps later, the night would turn from good to bad, when Justin Laxton and Rick Music tangled in turn two. Laxton would hit the wall, and Music would continue without any damage. 

Music and Jake Wright would battle for the win in the closing laps, with Wright edging Music by 0.382 seconds. No Name Racing teammates Tony Lurcock and Pierre Daigle finished third and fourth, with Jorge Anzaldo rounding out the top 5. 

Chicago Fire Department Heroes 150 Preview
Tuesday’s practice race showed that any driver that can escape the race without incident, will be assured a good finish. Of the 16 cars that entered the race, just four cars made it through without any incidents.

In addition to avoiding incidents, pit strategy will likely play a factor. In last night’s race, many drivers at the back of the field, pitted on each caution, allowing them to top off on fuel, which would allow them to run the entire green flag run on a tank of fuel. 

Drivers to Watch
Several drivers such as Dan Geren, Tommy Rhyne and James Krahula how showed they have single lap speed, however none of those drivers have been able to translate one-lap speed to race pace. Drivers such as Rick Music (started 16th in the practice race) and Tony Lurcock (started 15th in the practice race), were able to keep their car clean, and drive through the field for a second and third place finish in last night’s practice race. 

Other drivers to watch include:  
Dan Geren: Dan has started the season slow, and finds himself 16th in points just 9 points ahead of the 20th place lock-in. Geren is currently averaging 6.75 incidents per race. He’ll look for a clean race to help jump start his season. 

Jonathan Goke: Goke missed several races earlier this season and currently finds himself 22nd in points, just 4 points behind the 20th place points cut-off. Goke is always fast in official iRacing Series races, and knows how to drive a DW12. He’ll certainly be a driver to watch at Richmond. 

Jason Robarge: After finishing 9th in the series point standings last season, Robarge is currently 27th in points and has not had a top 10 finish this season. He finds himself 20 points behind 20th place, and unless he wants to run the LCQ all season, he’ll be looking to use Richmond to jump start his season. 

Sleeper Pick:
Chris Lanini: Lanini has quietly found himself 11th in points and has a top 5 finish this season. Could this be the week that the Dragonfly Racing driver finds his way to another top 5 finish, further solidifying his place inside the top 20 in points?

Race Info
The Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics, Chicago Fire Department Heroes 150 will be broadcast live on the Global SimRacing Channel at 10:35pm eastern time. 

For more information on the series, you can visit their website at lionheartracingseries.com.

Roeper now has two wins in two races on the season!

Daniel Roeper leads 25 of 34 laps to find victory lane in the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics, Global SimRacing Channel Sonoma 75. iRacing Peak Series driver Allen Boes finished second, with Unacceptable Racing teammates Ricky Hardin, James Krahula and Tommy Rhyne rounding out the top 5.

Qualifying
With this being the series’ first stop at a road course, it also meant that drivers needed to adjust for a best of 4 lap qualifying effort. While the qualifying format may have been different, familiar names qualified up front, with Daniel Roeper taking the pole, Allen Boes qualifying second and Jake Wright, Austin Espitee, and James Krahula rounding out the top 5.

GSRC Sonoma 75
Before the race began, 7th place starter, and one of the pre-race favorites, Justin Laxton suffered a graphics card failure. He would end up completing four laps later in the race, before another graphics card failure ended his night in 28th position. 

Roeper was able to lead the field to the green, with Boes, following closely. As the field headed through the carousel for the first time, an incident occurred, ending the night for Joe Hassert, Carl Burk, Mark Nobert, and Michael Gray. 

The first lead change of the night occurred on lap 13 when Daniel Roeper pitted, which allowed Alan Boes to take over the lead. Roeper would take the lead back just four laps later when Boes would pit. 

At the midway point of the race, Daniel Roeper reassumed the lead by over 14 seconds over Allen Boes and Jake Wright.

On lap 23 Jake Wright would pass Allen Boes, setting up a battle of strategies, with Roeper and Wright working a two stop strategy, and Boes trying to run the race on one stop. 

Roeper would make his second stop of the night on lap 28, which would allow Jake Wright to assume the lead. Wright would relinquish his lead to Allen Boes with just four laps to go, when he would stop to make his second pit stop. 

In the closing laps of the race, Boes would struggle to pass lap traffic, which would allow Roeper to close a one second gap in just three corners. As Boes and Roeper cleared lap traffic, Roeper would stalk Boes, even making contact with three laps to go in the hairpin.

Roeper would pass Boes by outbreaking him in corner number 9 (the corkscrew) and would drive away on the white flag lap to win by one second over Allen Boes.

The race can be viewed here.        

Championship Standings
With four weeks complete, the current top 20 in points are now locked in each week and will not need to run in the Last Chance Qualifier. Championship points leader Jake Wright continues to lead in the points standings, but is just 8 points ahead of James Krahula. Daniel Roeper, who has only run in two races, currently sits third in points, 10 points back of Wright. Allen Boes and Rick Music round out the top 5. 

Other locked in drivers include: Austin Espitee, Jorge Anzaldo, Terry Matthiensen, Joe Hassert, Anthony Lurcock, Chris Lanini, Pierre Daigle, Korey Connor, Ricky Hardin, Ian Adams, Dan Geren, Justin Laxton, Tommy Rhyne, Ryan Lowe, and Michael Gray.

Next Race
The series heads to the Richmond International Raceway for the Chicago Fire Department Heroes 150. The race will be broadcast live on the Global SimRacing Channel at 10:40pm eastern time. 

For more information on the Lionheart IndyCar Series, you can visit their website at lionheartracingseries.com.

The following penalties have been issued at Iowa-

Jack Bogan has been removed from the league under rule 4.3

Vince Bluthenthal- EOL at the next race (Sonoma) rule 4.5
Chris Stofer- EOL at the next race (Sonoma) rule 4.5
Both drivers were told to park their cars on lap 81 and will be scored in the standings as 62 laps down.

Joe Hassert- EOL (Sonoma)- Illegal pit entry (spin)

Ian Adams- EOL (Sonoma) 3 point championship penalty and 3 race probation.  Avoidable contact lap 42 and 67.

No Chance Racing’s Jorge Anzaldo leads 40 laps to capture the victory in a rough Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics, Birky Trucking 125! Dragonfly Racing’s Chris Lanini finishes second, with Dan Geren rounding out the podium. Unacceptable Racing’s James “Where Did He Come From” Krahula finished fourth, and Jack Bogan in the I Race for Gage entry, finished fifth.                                         

Last Chance Qualifying Round

For the third week in a row, No Name Racing’s Jake Wright was fastest, with Unacceptable Racing’s Ricky Hardin and James Krahula following. Other drivers who qualified for the race include: Terry Matthiensen, Michel de Jonge, Chris Stofer, iRacing Peak Series driver Allen Boes, Zach Trull, Tony Showen, Joe Branch, Chuck Eisenbarth, Jason Galvin, Tommy Rhyne and Ryan Lowe. Just three drives missed the race: Mark Norbert, Mark Goodwin, and Peter Edwins.

Qualifying

In two lap qualifying immediately prior to the start of the race saw No Name Racing’s Tony Lurcock sat on the pole with a lap of 16.642 seconds. James Krahula qualified second, and Goin’ Broke Racing’s Justin Laxton qualified third. Pre-race favorites Ian Adams qualified 6th, Dan Geren qualified 11th, Pierre Daigle qualified 13th.

Birky Trucking 125

Pole sitter Tony Lurcock led the field to the green. The drivers wasted little time making it three wide as the field crossed the start finish line, Jake Wright pulled to the outside of James Krahula, who was outside of Justin Laxton. In the middle of turns 1 and 2, Laxton’s car hit a bump and shot loose. He would end up falling to sixth as the cars of Ricky Hardin and Ian Adams passed him down the backstretch.

The first incident of the race happened on lap three for an incident between Ryan Lowe, Korey Connor, and Jason Robarge. Also involved in the incident were: Krysta Nelson, Tony Showen and Michel de Jonge were also collected.

The field went back to green on lap eight, and a second caution would come out on lap 13 for an incident involving Alfred Shepperd’s entry pushed wide, then broke loose, spun and collected Jason Robarge. Also involved was Robert Blouin from Dragonfly Racing.

On the second restart, Lurcock led Krahula and Jake Wright. Rick Music was able to time the restart a little better than Justin Laxton, and was able to pass Laxton. The first lead change of the race occurred just one lap later when James Krahula was able to use lap traffic as a “pick” to pass Lurcock. A third caution waved on lap 25 for an incident when Dan Geren’s car turned loose off of turn four and collected Tommy Rhyne, Zach Trull, and Joe Branch.

James Krahula controlled the restart on lap 27, and pulled out to a half second lead by the end of the first lap. On lap 31, the fourth caution of the day flew when Ricky Hardin and Joe Hassert experienced some “net code” resulting in Hardin spinning coming out of turn four. Justin Laxton turned hard to the left and spun to avoid contact, however Terry Matthiensen was not as lucky, and hit Hardin.

The green flag flew for seven laps before a fifth caution came out on lap 42 when Ian Adams drifted up and collected Rick Music. Adams would be able to continue racing, however Music’s night was done. Under that caution, all but three cars pitted, setting up the night’s pit strategy.

On the restart, James Krahula led Dan Geren, Allen Boes, Tony Lurcock, and Jake Wright, to the green. A sixth caution would come out on lap 54 for an incident involving Jason Galvin, Vincent Bluthenthal, and Carl Burk. A secondary incident would occur when Chris Stofer spun Austin Espitee exting turn four. Then, as Stofer was making his way around the track he spun exiting turn two, and clipped Pierre Daigle and Jason Galvin. Chuck Eisenbarth was also collected in the incident.

The restart would occur on lap 61 with just 13 cars on the lead lap, and 16 cars left in the race. The seventh caution of the race would fly when Ian Adams attempted a cross-over move on Justin Laxton. Adams however wasn’t quite clear of Laxton, made contact, and collected Allen Boes and Jack Bogan.

At the midway point of the race, Dan Geren’s Team #nailedit entry paced the field with No Name Racing’s Jake Wright in second, followed by teammates Tony Lurcock and Joe Hassert. Jorge Anzaldo ran sixth in his No Chance Racing entry, followed by James Krahula, Michael Gray, Chris Lanini, Jack Bogan, and Vincent Bluthenthal in tenth.

When the green flag flew, it would stay out for 31 laps before the eighth caution of the race would wave when Joe Hassert would spin entering pit road. It appeared to be a single car incident, and as he backed up to get back going, was hit by Chris Stofer, ending the night for both drivers.  

8 Drivers Remained

With a little over 40 laps remaining in the race, there were just eight drivers out of 33 remaining on track. For the first time of the night, Jorge Anzaldo paced the field with Jack Bogan in second, Chris Lanini in third, and teammates Tony Lurcock and Jake Wright running fourth and fifth. The ninth and final caution of the night would fly with just 23 laps remaining for an incident involving Jack Bogan and Tony Lurcock as they battled for second position. Jake Wright was also collected, ending the night for all three drivers.

And Then There Were Two

With just two drivers, Jorge Anzaldo, and Chris Lanini left on the lead lap, the final 20 laps would be an old-fashioned shootout. When the green flag flew, Lanini would follow in Anzaldo’s tire tracks, attempting to pass. Unfortunately for Lanini, he was unable to pass Anzaldo before his tire’s wore. Anzaldo would put the pedal down, and power to a .804 second victory over Lanini. The only other cars on the track at the finish were Dan Geren and James Krahula who would finish third and fourth. Jack Bogan, who was involved in the final caution would finish fifth in the unofficial standings.

Pre-race favorites Ian Adams, and Pierre Daigle would finish 14th, 15th with sleeper pick Chris Stofer finishing 10.

The Birky Trucking 125 victory was the first time that Jorge Anzaldo has tasted the champagne in Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics victory lane.

Following the race, league admins announced that the due to the number of incidents and issues on track, they would hold a special session on Thursday night to discuss the race, and issue any penalties and/or suspensions.  

Points Standings

With the win, Jorge Anzaldo unofficially moved up 18 positions in the points to fourth, just 11 points behind Jake Wright, who unofficially took over the top spot from Rick Music. Music now sits second in the points, just five points behind Wright, and five points ahead of Krahula. HMB’s Austin Espitee sits fifth in the points with Joe Hassert, Allen Boes, Terry Matthiensen, Justin Laxton, and Ian Adams rounding out the top ten.

In the battle to be locked in to the field after Sonoma, Jack Bogan is six points behind 20th place Michel de Jonge, and one point ahead of teammate Jason Robarge.

Next Race

The series will take next week off to prepare for the Global SimRacing Channel 75 at Sonoma Raceway on Wednesday, August 19th at 10:40pm eastern time, broadcast flag-to-flag on the Global SimRacing Channel.

For more information on the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics, you can visit their website at lionheartracingseries.com. 

The Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics heads to the Iowa Speedway for the Birky Trucking 125, broadcast live on the Global SimRacing Channel at 10:35 eastern time.

The 7/8 of mile speedway located in Newton, Iowa has become a fan and driver favorite on iRacing. The real-life track opened in 2006 and has hosted an IndyCar Series race since 2007. Drivers who have won a race at Iowa include: Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and James Hinchliffe.

Tuesday’s final practice race saw 10 cautions for 50 of the 143 laps, with just 7 of the 22 cars that started the race still running at the end, even after the series admins provided drivers with 2 resets (there will be no resets available for Wednesday’s race). Tony Lurcock, who won three races at Iowa earlier in the iRacing Indy Fixed Series, was able to edge out No Name Racing teammate Jake Wright to win by 0.070 seconds. James Krahula from Unacceptable Racing finished third, with Chris Stofer in fourth and Goin’ Broke Racing’s Justin Laxton finishing fifth. Series points leader Rick Music was taken out in an early incident, finishing 21st.

Lurcock led just four laps, taking the lead for the final time with three laps to go. Pierre Daigle, also from No Name Racing, led the most laps with 53 laps led. Jake Wright, who also started from the pole, led 52 laps. Other lap leaders included: Justin Laxton (22 laps), Chris Stofer (5 laps), Jack Bogan (5 laps), and James Krahula (2 laps).

If Tuesday’s practice race is any indication, tonight’s Birky Trucking 125 will be a survival of the fittest, allowing for virtually anyone to win. Certainly Tony Lurcock, Jake Wright, and James Krahula (both Wright and Krahula must qualify in the LCQ) will be driver’s to watch contend for the win.

Here are some other driver’s to watch as the night unfolds:

Pierre Daigle

Daigle led the most laps, and was working pit strategy to his advantage, when a late race caution allowed everyone to pit, with Daigle stuck on old tires and needing to conserve just two laps of fuel. Perhaps lady luck will be on his side when it counts most.

Dan Geren

Dan qualified third and ran in the top 5 virtually all night, before an incident with about 50 laps to go knocked him out of the race, relegating him to a 10th place finish. Geren will hope to continue his good qualifying effort and will look to be in contention for the win at his home track.  

Ian Adams

Adams is riding a wave of confidence coming off a second place finish last week, a third place qualifying effort in the practice race and was even voted into the league’s Power Rankings this past week. He’ll look to rebound from his 20th place finish in the practice race.

Sleeper Pick: Chris Stofer

Stofer had a great showing in Tuesday’s practice race finishing 4th after contending for the win. He currently sits 38th in points after missing the field last week. Assuming Stofer makes the race, he should be a driver who can contend for a top 10 and certainly the win.

The Birky Trucking 125 will mark the third race of the season, meaning drivers have just two more weeks to make their way in to the top 20 in points to be locked in to the field after Sonoma. Series veterans such as Pierre Daigle (16th place), Michael Gray (18th place) and Anthony Lurcock (19th place) currently find themselves just inside the top 20, with Jorge Anzaldo (22nd place), Dan Geren (23rd place), and Alfred Shepperd (25th place) currently outside the top 20. With all drivers separated by only 72 points in the season standings, at this point everyone has the mathematical chance to work their way in to the top 20.

Tune in to the Global SimRacing Channel at 10:40pm for the live flag-to-flag broadcast of the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics.

For more information, you can visit the series online at www.lionheartracingseries.com/ or like them on Facebook!

Other Series News:

This week the series announced that it will begin running a consolation race for drivers that do not qualify for the main race. The consolation race will begin with qualifying at 10:50 eastern time and will run 75 laps.