LIONHEART RACING SERIES
  • Home
  • Open Wheel
    • 2023 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • Lotus 79
    • 2023 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • Sportscar
    • 2023 LMDh Standings >
      • Team Standings
    • 2023 GT3 Standings >
      • Team Standings
  • Speedway
    • 2022 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • News
  • Sponsors
    • Become a Sponsor
    • HyperX
    • BMW Performance Center
    • ButtKicker
    • Next Level Racing
    • Gomez Sim Industries
    • Guys Games and Beer
  • Contact

lionheart favorites seek redemption in the desert

3/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Two weeks ago Andrew Kinsella stole the spotlight in the Lionheart Indycar Series presented by First Medical Equipment season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Canadian came from mid-pack to edge league veterans Pierre Daigle, Dan Geren and Brandon Limkemann for the win in his league debut.
            Kinsella will be looking to keep his undefeated record intact this week as the series heads west to the virtual Phoenix International Raceway for the Thumbs Up, Cancer Down 150. However, earning another victory won't be an easy task. The likes of Geren, Daigle and Limkemann will all be hoping to build upon solid results in the season opener. Additionally, there will be numerous Lionheart favourites who will be looking to find some redemption in the desert.
            Jake Wright's quest for a third consecutive league title did not get off on the right foot at Homestead. A connection glitch in the early laps of the race sent Wright into the wall and resulted in a career-worst finish.  He'll arrive in the desert with a clean slate but it remains to be seen if Phoenix will help turn his luck around. Wright won both the pole and the race in Season 3 but he finished a disappointing nineteenth last season after being collected in a wreck. The 2017 season is still young but Wright could use a good finish to avoid falling too far behind the leaders in the championship battle.
            Homestead dealt Chris Stofer an even harsher blow as he finished dead last following contact on Lap 3. Stofer, who'd finished second at Homestead last season, was coming off a run of three-consecutive podiums to end 2016. While his Adrenaline Motorsports teammate ultimately took the win, Stofer will undoubtedly be looking to find his form again at Phoenix and avoid another early-season slump that took him out of title contention last season.
            Also hoping for good luck in the desert will be defending race winner Jonathan Goke. He finished a disappointing twenty-fifth at Homestead, which ironically was actually an improvement over his result from a year ago. Goke, who is not a fan of the Florida-based oval, will likely be much more comfortable on the one-mile bullring where he will be looking to re-assert himself as a championship contender.
            If Goke finds himself at the front it's very likely he'll have to contend with Joe Hassert for the victory. Hassert had a modest tenth-place finish at Homestead two weeks earlier which was likely a disappointment following his win a year ago. Hassert has never finished lower than fifth in three career Lionheart starts at Phoenix and he is expected to be strong once again in 2017.
            Finally, it was a disappointing start to the Indycar season for Jason Galvin. He finished twenty-sixth in the season-opener after winning the Lionheart Retro Series race at Homestead a few weeks earlier. Galvin, who is sponsoring this week's event, is expected to be a threat at the Phoenix circuit where he has worked as a track announcer for many years.
            Other sim racers to watch at Phoenix include Pierre Daigle, who started 2017 with a career-best finish at Homestead. Daigle is still in search of his first Lionheart victory and has already shown strong pace in early Phoenix practice sessions. Brandon Limkemann is in the same position and he also posted a career-best result in Florida. Additionally James Krahula finished just off the podium at Phoenix last season and showed strong pace at Homestead. Krahula posted the fastest lap of the race and led 12 laps before an untimely yellow shuffled him back to seventh.
            Underdogs to keep an eye on this week include Tony Showen. Showen, much like his teammate Chris Stofer, had a solid finish to 2016. After a sixth-place result at Homestead it appears he has picked up where he left off. Michael Goodman just missed out on a top ten at Homestead and has already shown good pace in early Phoenix practice. Goodman could easily become the second rookie to earn a victory in 2017. Finally, Michael Gray, who is often seen as a road-course ace, finished seventh at Phoenix last season and is coming off a fifth-place result at Homestead. Gray won at Brands Hatch last season. Could an oval victory be in the cards for the Australian sim racer in 2017?
            The Thumbs Up, Cancer Down 150 will be broadcast live on the Global Sim Racing Channel (GSRC) and iRacing Live on March 15th beginning at 10:35PM ET.
            To learn more about Thumbs Up, Cancer Down, please visit www.thumbsupcancerdown.com
            For more information about the Lionheart Indycar Series presented by First Medical Equipment, please visit www.lionheartracingseries.com. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

    RSS Feed

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONTACT
RESOURCES
MEDIA
EXTRAS

Contact Us             
About Us
FAQ's
Schedules and Calendar
Race Archives
Record Book
Rulebooks
2023 Sponsor Guide
Lionheart News
Retro News Archive
Member Resources
​The Lionheart Racing Series was founded on July 1, 2014 and is the premier IndyCar and Lotus 79 league on iRacing.com. Competition. Commitment. Excitement. This is Lionheart.
​Copyright 2024 Lionheart eSports LLC .
  • Home
  • Open Wheel
    • 2023 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • Lotus 79
    • 2023 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • Sportscar
    • 2023 LMDh Standings >
      • Team Standings
    • 2023 GT3 Standings >
      • Team Standings
  • Speedway
    • 2022 Standings >
      • Rookie Standings
      • Team Standings
    • Historic Standings
  • News
  • Sponsors
    • Become a Sponsor
    • HyperX
    • BMW Performance Center
    • ButtKicker
    • Next Level Racing
    • Gomez Sim Industries
    • Guys Games and Beer
  • Contact