|
Tim's Corner - Issue One - Looking
Back, and Forward! Who woulda thunk that
after all this time I would still be here calling sim races?
Given that I took a break of just over a year after the Sim Racing
Network shut down, I still have seen many names come and go. As said
after we went off air on Tuesday night with the RLMtv presentation of
the IFRT Pro Cup Series, it is great to see two names still running
around in circles that had about six years ago when I started calling
races. Back then, it was Real Racing Online (RROL) running on SRNtv on
Tuesday nights and now, many moons removed from when I sat in on my
first show in October 2004, Chris Pence and "Captain" Lou Urbino are
still on track racing for wins on Tuesdays. In fact, Chris has raced
in all three leagues that I have had the honor of calling Tuesday
night races for - RROL, DMP and now IFRT! Tuesday
nights are once again fun for myself. IFRT Racing is one of the
premier racing leagues running NASCAR Racing 2003 Season out there and
has some of the nicest (and fastest) drivers on the sim. The Pro Cup
Series, which can be seen on Tuesday nights on RLMtv.com is some of
the best racing around and steadily brings in fields of over twenty
cars a piece. If you are looking for a great league that will keep you
up on your toes every lap, do not look any farther than IFRT. Tell
them Tim sent you on over. If Richmond's race last Tuesday was any
indication you will not be disappointed! Richmond was
IFRT's third short track event of the season and with Andy Telgenhof
and Nick MacMillan finishing first and second at Bristol and
Martinsville we thought it would be much of the same at the VA track.
We were wrong though as MacMillan ran into problems after his Central
Merchant Services Inc. Camry was dominate early in the race. Telgenhof
pitted for four tires in the last fifteen laps and was looking like he
was out of contention until a late race wreck which sent Tom Ritter
spinning in front of the field. Andy picked his way through the wreck
and made his way to the back of leader David Mott Jr. The team mates
battled for the win and with Telgenhof getting a great run off corner
four on lap 200 on the outside it made for a photo finish. When they
crossed the stripe, it was Mott edging Telgenhof by four
one-hundredths of a second!
Before the race, we found out that the point leader
Telgenhof would be retiring from the NASCAR Racing 2003 Season
simulation world this summer. "I'm moving across state to go to
school, meaning that Chicagoland will likely be my last race," said
the driver of the #5. "It's fitting though because Chicagoland was
where I got my first sim win. It will be tough to leave a league like
IFRT, but it has been a great ride and I hope to rack up some wins
between now and then." We also got to see The NASCAR
Garage drivers on RLMtv this past Thursday night. For a COT race at
Dover the drivers produced a great show with lots of two wide racing
throughout the field. A big wreck mid-race took out many favorites but
it was a strong run to the front by Scott Hollis after falling two
laps down in the race to take the win that switched the spotlight to
the #98 car. Hollis led many laps at the start but "dropped the
wrench" on a pit stop and went the wrong way on a setup change. That
propelled him to pit road under green and to two laps down before the
first third of the race was complete. Hollis received the Lucky Dog
awards that were needed to put him back on pace and flew through the
field, eventually passing Mark Ivey and Tim Merchant to regain the
lead. Hollis ran away from Robert Grendell and Michael Dominguez to
take the win and cut into the point lead of Dominguez. The race is
just another reason why you should never quit and displays a racer's
determination to win. Before we went on air Thursday
night I was able to catch up to David Mott Jr. Mott, who won the
Richmond race just two nights before had stopped by to tell me that he
had found a job driving a forklift and would start the next day. The
job would also occupy the same time that the IFRT Pro Cup races would,
making it impossible for the foreseeable future to run his #29 on
Tuesdays. "It's nice to go out on top," Mott told me Thursday evening.
"If something happens that another job comes along or I get some days
off on Tuesday nights, I'll be back for sure." Mott, who paints many
of the cars seen on the track for the Pro Cup Series has painted a
special car for Andy Telgenhof for the next race at Darlington. "It'll
be a secret until Tuesday," Mott said of the scheme he painted. "All I
know is that it'll be hard for the cameras to keep off."
Tuesday is bound to be a great show for many reasons.
Be sure to join us to see the best Tuesday night NR2003 warriors go at
it as they dance with "The Lady in Black!" May 23rd will also be a
busy day if you are a racing fan as RLMtv will be hosting a Triple
Header with three broadcasts going off on the day starting at 2pm EST
with an rFactor Indy Car race along with two NR2003 shows at Lowe's.
WRN will also have Short Track Pro Cup on the air-waves with the
Spring Nationals utilizing the iRacing platform! Grab some popcorn and
your favorite soda for a great Sunday of racing! Until
then - keep the hammer down and we'll see you at the track! |
