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Matt Kingsbury leads 71 laps en-route to his 4th win of the season!

The Lionheart IndyCar Series rolled in to Atlanta Motor Speedway for some Wednesday Night iRacing broadcast on Global SimRacing Channel! For the first time this season, the league did not run the Last-Chance Qualifier race, and opted for a three-hour long practice session leading up to the race. Pre-race “Sleeper Pick” Carl Burk was fastest in practice with a lap time of 24.230, which equals 228.807mph, easily surpassing the real-world Atlanta track record of 224.163mph. 

Qualifying rules for the Lionheart IndyCar Series provide for 2 gallons of Sunoco virtual race fuel and a two lap run. Setting fast-time for the night was Matt Kingsbury in the #21 Last Lap Motorsports entry, posting a lap time of 24.521, a one lap average speed of 226.092mph. Team #nailedIt driver Dan Geren (a pre-race driver to watch) qualified second, just 0.003 seconds behind, followed by Trevor Malone, league sponsor Justin Laxton from Overdrive Graphics, and Anthony Lurcock. Pre-race drivers to watch, Ian Adams qualified his Team #nailedit Ford in 11th, Jason Robarge did not qualify and “Sleeper Pick” Carl Burk qualified 18th. 

With the field set, attention turned to the race. Calling the race for Global SimRacing Channel was Evan Posocco and Sean Ambrose. The first 12 laps of the race were caution free until the Team #nailedIt drivers of Ian Adams and Jesse Vincent tangled in turn two, collecting Pierre Diagle and the 888 RaceCentre car of Michael Gray.

The green flag flew on lap 16 with Matt Kingsbury out front and Justin Laxton running second. On lap 22, Michael Gray again hit the wall, but did not bring out the caution, ending his night. The caution flag flew for the final time on lap 27 for a multi-car incident when Trevor Malone’s car pushed into the wall exiting turn two. The incident collected a usual favorite in Ray Kingsbury, as well as Jack Bogan’s I Race for Gage entry, and Krysta Nelson. 

Pit stops on lap 57, resulted in a lead change with Justin Laxton passing Matt Kingsbury who stopped for four Firestone virtual tires and fuel. Laxton pitted one lap later and received a 15 second penalty for speeding on pit road. Laxton’s pit stop handed the lead to Anthony Lurcock for one lap until League Admin Jorge Anzaldo lead his first laps in Lionheart Series competition. When Anzaldo pitted, Robert Blouin took over the top spot and held it for three laps until he pitted, handing the lead to league sponsor John Downing from Sim Posters. Downing pitted just two laps later, completing the pit-stop cycle and handing the lead back to Matt Kingsbury who lead the remainder of the race and 71 laps total on the night. 

Finishing second was League Admin Joe Hassert, with Anthony Lurcock finishing in third place. Jorge Anzaldo and John Downing round out the top 5. Robert Blouin, who lead laps during the pit cycle finished 6th; pre-race favorite Dan Geren finshed 7th. Justin Laxton rebounded to finsh 8th with Vincent Bluthenthal and Alfred Shepperd rounding out the top 10. You can view full race results here. With the win, Kingsbury moved to within 8 points of Jesse Vincent, who managed a 12th place finish despite a heavily damaged car. Joe Hassert currently sits third in points, 92 points behind Vincent. Ray Kingsbury, who was caught-up in an early race accident, sits fourth in points, 161 points back. Trevor Malone rounds out the top five, 211 points back. You can view the entire Lionheart IndyCar Series Points Standings here. 

Check back next week for a preview of the Lionheart IndyCar Series from the “Magic Mile”, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and be sure to like the Lionheart IndyCar Series on Facebook, as well as league sponsor’s Overdrive Graphics and Sim Posters. 

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