Lionheart Heads to the Magic Mile

Dan Geren leads Justin Laxton, Pierre Daigle and others during the final practice race.

This week the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by Overdrive Graphics and Sim Posters heads to the virtual version of “The Magic Mile” known as the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This 1.058 mile oval located in Loudon, New Hampshire, has hosted 8 IndyCar Series races with winners such as Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr, Scott Sharp and Tony Stewart.

Looking to capitalize on last week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was broadcast online on the Global SimRacing Channel, drivers have taken to the track to practice for this week’s 142 lap race. In last night’s final practice race, Dan Geren, Justin Laxton, and Pierre Daigle battled for the win. The key moment of the race was on lap 117, when both Daigle and Laxton pitted. As Laxton and Daigle entered pit road, Laxton drove in hard, forcing Daigle to make a mistake and get caught speeding on pit road. Following the pit cycle, Laxton held a 2 second lead over Dan Geren. Over the final 20 laps, Geren was able to close to within 0.698 seconds of Laxton to finish second. Robert Blouin finshed third, with Daigle, and Jorge Anzaldo rounding out the top 5.

Certainly Laxton and Geren will be drivers to watch, as both have turned not only the fastest practice laps, but the fastest qualifying laps as well. Geren’s fastest practice time is 22.029, while Laxton is close behind with a 22.054. In qualifying, Geren again bested Laxton with a 22.110 versus Laxton’s 22.144. Aside from Geren and Laxton, there are several other drivers to watch:

Ray Kingsbury- Kingsbury is one of the fastest drivers almost every week, along with Last Lap Motorsports teammates Matt Kingsbury and Joe Hassert. Ray was taken out early in last week’s race at Atlanta, and he will look to rebound this week. Ray is just 161 points out of the lead, and with just 5 races left, he needs to begin closing the gap to have any hope to be crowned the season champion.

Jorge Anzaldo – Anzaldo, is coming off a great 4th place finish at Atlanta, which saw him lead his first laps in Lionheart Series competition. He’s riding a wave of confidence, and has logged as many laps in practice as anyone in the field. Can this be the week he puts it all together and finishes on top of the podium?

Pierre Daigle – Pierre has been able to find his way to the front in almost all of the week’s practice races. In last night’s final tune up, Daigle led 58 laps following a third place qualifying run. Following last week’s disappointing 21st place finish, Daigle will look to have a good finish and move inside the top 20 in points.

Sleeper Pick:

Jack Bogan: Bogan has been one of the contenders this season for the “Bad Luck Award”.  The last “short track” race the series ran at the Phoenix International Raceway, saw Bogan sit on the pole! He’ll look to regain that magic and have his I Race for Gage/Hope for Heart Defects entry in the mix.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a full race recap, and stop by the Lionheart IndyCar Series Facebook page, as well as series partners, Overdrive Graphics and Sim Posters.

Series News:

Earlier this week, the Lionheart IndyCar Series Administrators announced the appointment of Justin Laxton as a series admin. Justin joins League President Jorge Anzaldo, Treasurer John Downing, and Joe Hassert.

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