Tag: Open-Wheels 500

iRacing: Constantini Wins Open-Wheels .com 500

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Michele Constantini saved enough fuel on Sunday to win the inaugural open-Wheels.com 500 Presented by Mitchell transmissions. In contrast to Saturday’s Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, when he ran out of fuel on the last lap, Constantini began saving fuel after the first caution at the midway point of the race. The final caution with four laps to go erased any doubt that he had enough to complete the distance.

Constantini led a race high 63 laps, first taking the lead on lap 29 and assuming the point for the last time on lap 190. “I was good to go even without the caution,” he said after the race.

“I began saving fuel after the first caution. Yesterday really helped me.”

The win was Constantini’s first in a major event. “The car was amazing,” he said.

Runner-up Liam Quinn admitted he could’nt have caught the winner. Third place Henry Bennett lurked in second place while trying to save fuel and hoping Constantini would need to get a splash of fuel at the end. Quinn passed him as he was going slow. bennett admitted afterwards that the race ending caution saved his third place.

Pole sitter Yang Ou had issues from the start and was never a factor in the race. He finished 24th, three laps down.

The top five:

Michele Constantin

Liam Quinn

Henry Bennett

Simon Briant

Adam Blocker

Notes

The race was extremely clean with just two cautions for seven laps. The first yellow came on lap 98 and the second one on lap 196 efffctively ended the race.

There were 52 lead changes among 12 drivers.

24 cars were running at the finish. Dylan Freckelton did not start and was awarded 33rd place.

despitre his lap 196 incident, Jeff Drake still came home in 10th on the lead lap.

17 cars finished on the lead lap.

 

iRacing: It’s Open-Wheels 500 Race Day

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Race day has arrived for the inaugural   Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions. Yang Ou, who came out of retirement for this race will lead the field to the green flag at 11:45EST this morning. Anyone in the first three rows could win the race, which features seven former winners of past iterations of this event.

Pre race activities begin soon. Race  Director Tanner J. Watkins shares today’s viewing opportunities:

Pre-race airing of Today at the 500 presented by Thru Kaiser’s Visor begins at 9:00 AM ET, and we think you will enjoy not only the into theme, but the rest of the pre-race ceremonies. You can listen along by going to http://open-wheels.com/Today500 Then at 11:15 AM ET, hop on over to https://iracing.com/Live for the worldwide broadcast of the race via RaceSpot TV. Finally, live timing and scoring (provided by JRT) can be found at http://open-wheels.com/timing. See you all soon!

Wild Action on the Day Before the 500

yesterday’s two events provided some wild on track action.  In the Veterans 100, Lluc Ibanez won after 40 laps of lead swapping with several other drivers. cars were thre and four wide at the stripe for much of the race.  Jeff Drake led much of the race from the pole, but faded toward the end.

In the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, Michele Constantini gambled pitting a lap earlier than the rest of the field. It cost him at the end as he ran out of fuel on the last lap. Brad Lichtenberg went on to take the victory.  Constantini had built a 2.8 second lead following his final stop, but the margin was quickly erased as he tried to save fuel to get to the finish.

Congratulations to Tanner Watkins

Tanner John Watkins has worked tirelessly to put this event together from organizing, finding sponsors, creating peripheral items, and running the races and qualifying. He has got to be one tired guy today.

I want to thank him for all his hard work. it has been fun following along this month, in spite of that small distraction on November 4.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the race program, go to

Click to access 2019-Open-Wheels-500-Digital-Program-compressed.pdf

This program is extremely well done.  back with a race recap this evening.

iRacing Update: Open Wheels 500 Weekend Veterans 100, Pit Stop Competition on Tap Today

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Today’s schedule:

“Day Before the 500”

9:00 to 10:00 AM | Today at the 500 streaming show airing
11:00 AM | Optional Drivers Meeting
12:30 to 1:30 PM | Final 500 Mile Race Practice Session (1 hour)
2:00 PM | Veterans 100 Race presented by Goke (40 Laps, 100 Miles)
3:30 PM | Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window (30 Laps, 75 Miles)

Qualifying results for the Veterans 100:

Click to access 2019-Veterans-100-Qualifications-Results.pdf

The Pit Stop Competition is different from the one at the Indianapolis 500.  I actually like this idea better.

Round One- Four heats of 12 laps with the top four in each heat advancing to the final round.

Round Two- The top 16 drivers participate in a 20 lap race.

In each heat and the final, cars have only 17% of full fuel load, necessitating pit stops. When they pit, the car can only be filled to the 17% level, just a bit more than three gallons. According to Race Director Tanner John Watkins, drivers will need to pit every three  or four laps. Stops will be crucial to winning the race.

Action can be viewed on twitchtv. https//twitch.tv/openwheels

Tomorrow the Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions begins at 11:45 am EST. The race can be seen on RaceSpot TV. Go to

https.//iRacing.com/live

 

iRacing: Starting Lineup Set for Open-Wheels 500

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After a hectic weekend the starting lineup for Sunday’s  Open-Wheels 500 Presented by Mitchell Transmissions is set.

Screenshot_20191111-120759

Three rookies and seven former winners of the past iteration of the the event made the field. Three time winner Yang Ou is on the pole. Yang Ou returns to iracing after sitting out for a few years. All cars are the Dallara IR-18 chassis. the chassis was definitely the fastest during practice as well.

Logan Simmons, starting 10th, is the fastest rookie.

On Saturday race weekend festivities begin with the Veterans 100 followed by the Pit Stop Competition Presented by The Pit Window.

Saturday’s schedule:

Saturday, November 16
“Day Before the 500”

9:00 to 10:00 AM | Today at the 500 streaming show airing
11:00 AM | Optional Drivers Meeting
12:30 to 1:30 PM | Final 500 Mile Race Practice Session (1 hour)
2:00 PM | Veterans 100 Race (40 Laps, 100 Miles)
3:30 PM | Pit Stop Competition (30 Laps, 75 Miles)

Later in the week I’ll provide viewing opportunities and times.

iRacing: Yang Ou Wins Pole for Open-Wheels 500

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Yang Ou returned to iracing and picked up right where he left off. Yang won the pole Saturday for the inaugural Open-Wheels 500 Presented by Mitchell Transmissions.  he edged Wilson Neto by 0.009 seconds. Neto had the fastest lap, 39.101 seconds, and both drivers had two laps over 230 mph. Yang’s other two laps were higher in the 229 range than Neto’s 229 mph laps. Both drivers earned their spots on second qualifying attempts.

After receiving the Pit Lane Parley Pole Award, Yang said, It was “a no-brainer to go out again. I was little conservative on my second run, but just enough.” For next Sunday’s race day, he is looking for “a little more speed” and to “learn to drive in traffic.”

Sunday’s race will e his first race in the IR-18. Yang previously drove the DW 12.

Neto had the fastest lap of the day at 230.173 mph. “I knew I had car to be in the top 5,” Neto said. To prepare for the race, he will run a couple of races during the week.

65 cars completed qualifying attempts yesterday. On the bubble in 33rd position is Niall McBride with an average  time of 39.292.

Bump Day is currently ongoing and ends at 5:50 pm, when the field of 33 will be set for the race.

There Is Some Other News

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Good morning on the third consecutive day that Roger Penske hasn’t bought anything.  A few other news items actually happened.

Indy Autonomous Challenge

Universities will compete for a $1 million prize in a race for self-driving vehicles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway October 23, 2021. The contest was announced at the SEMA show in Las Vegas.  Teams will use the Indy Lights chassis and develop an autonomous car.

Read the full story here- https://www.indycar.com/News/2019/11/11-05-Autonomous-Car-Event-IMS

While this may be the future of road cars, i hope we never see the 500 become a race for either  autonomous or electric cars . While the race will be intriguing, I would n’t want to see an entire series with these vehicles.

Aeroscreen Cooling the Last Remaining Issue

The NTT Indycar Series Aeroscreen testing has encountered some fortuitous weather during the test sessions.  Barber provided a test of the new protection device in the rain. Tuesday’s test at Sebring allowed the drivers to see how heat will affect the car.

It appears some helmet modifications will occur to get more air to the drivers.

From indycar. com: https://www.indycar.com/News/2019/11/11-05-Aeroscreen-Sebring

From the photos I saw from  Sebring, the aeroscreen is barely noticeable at speed. It will probably stick out more during the pace laps and caution periods.

Open-Wheels 500

An iracing event, the Open Wheels 500, has begun practice. 104 entries will vie for 33 spots in this weekend’s qualifying for next weekend’s race. The Pit Window sponsors next Saturday’s Pit Stop Competition. I will post reports every other day on activities relating to the event.

From race director and Open-Wheels owner Tanner John Watkins:

Open-Wheels.com is hosting a 500-mile race (at Indianapolis) on the popular iRacing Motorsports Simulation. Individuals from around the world (104 in total on this year’s entry list) will attempt to qualify for a spot in the field of 33 this weekend, and those 33 will run a full 500-mile race at iRacing’s scanned Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 17.

iRacing has long been considered the most authentic motorsports simulation (not video game) available to the public – primarily due to their laser scanning process that replicates every bump, crack, and characteristic of racing surfaces for our favorite tracks… from Indy, all the way to the Nürburgring.

You can find more information at Open-Wheels.com. Click the OpenWheels 500 tab at the top.

There was some confusion about my post yesterday. I hope this clears things up.

Meyer Shank Announcement Tomorrow

Meyer-Shank racing will announce their 2020 plans tomorrow. Jack harvey should be driving for the team again, which is expected to have an alliance with Andretti Autosport. Meyer Shank planned to run the full season. We’ll find out tomorrow.

 

 

 

Practice Opens for Open Wheels 500

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On Monday, November 3, practice began for the November 17 Open-Wheels 500 Presented by Mitchell Tracking. The race and all related events are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Pit Window will provide coverage of the event and is proudly sponsoring the Pit Stop Competition on November 16.

The Schedule:

Nov. 7: Day Three Practice

Nov. 8: Day Four “Fast Friday” Practice

Nov. 9: Qualifications Day One

Nov. 10: Qualifications Day Two

Nov. 12: Day Five Practice

Nov. 14: Day Six Practice Results

Nov. 16: Final Practice;  Veterans 100

Pit Stop Competition

Nov. 17: Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race

Silvio Roberto Sanchez in a Dallara IR18 led yesterday’s session with a best lap of 232.360. The IR18 seems to be the fastest  chassis so far.

Results of yesterday’s practice can be found at this link

OW-500-Practice-Results-11-05-19

 

 

Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race: 62 Drivers Enter the Pit Stop Competition Presented by The Pit Window

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From Open-Wheels. com:

Open-Wheels Staff
October 31, 2019 | 8:00 AM

2019 Pit Stop Competition Entry ListDownload

With anticipation and excitement building towards the inaugural Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions, you must not forget the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window – to be held on the “Day Before the 500” presented by Grant King Race Shops!

On Saturday, November 16, a pair of support events will take to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for some fun and competition. One will be the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, a heat-style race where drivers will battle with reduced-capacity fuel tanks and multiple green flag-style pit stops to see who is the quickest driver on and off of pit lane.

The other event is the Veterans 100, a 40-lap race that pays homage to the men and women who have served the United States in the armed forces. The 100-mile event is sure to produce plenty of drafting, passing, and an exciting finish in the Formula Renault 3.5 chassis – its first start on the Indianapolis oval.

“With just 18 days until the inaugural running of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race, that means the countdown is on for the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window,” said Tanner Watkins, the owner and editor of Open-Wheels.com and the president of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions.

“The Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, plus the Veterans 100 support race, cap our fantastic Day Before the 500 presented by Grant King Race Shops action – getting drivers and fans alike ready for the big day on November 17. Each race is sure to generate compelling on-track action and fantastic finishes, so the anticipation is building for November 16 as much as any other day!”

A total of 62 drivers are on the entry list for the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, including six former iRacing Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winners: Christopher Demeritt, Jonathan Goke, Brendan Lichtenberg, Ryan Norton, Yang Ou, and Matt Pawelski. Additionally, another 21 drivers are on the PSC entry list with former iRacing Indianapolis 500 top split race experience.

The Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window will feature unique heat-type racing which will see the field of entrants split into three-to-four heats – with just the first few finishers in each heat advancing to the final. And where does the pit stop portion come into play, you ask?

Drivers will be equipped with reduced fuel tank capacity – 17% of their normal tank size, to be exact – and will be forced to make two pit stops under green flag racing conditions during the heat races.

In the final, drivers will have to make four stops under green flag conditions, and the drivers who are quickest in and out of pit road (as well as on the track) will emerge victorious.

The Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window will be held on Saturday, November 16 at 3:30 PM Eastern. All events on the Day Before the 500 presented by Grant King Race Shops build towards the inaugural running of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race, scheduled for Sunday, November 17 with RaceSpot TV going on-air at 11:15 AM Eastern.

Open-Wheels 500 Pit Stop Competition to be Sponsored by “The Pit Window”

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Open-Wheels Staff
August 12, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The “Day Before the 500” has its first presenting sponsor as The Pit Window will become the official sponsor of the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition. The fun event will be held Saturday, November 16 following the final one-hour Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race practice session and the Veterans 100.

“To partner with Mike Silver and his website, The Pit Window, is an exciting venture and I am happy he jumped on-board to help sponsor our pit stop competition,” said Tanner Watkins, owner and editor of Open-Wheels.com and the president of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race.

“Mike’s passion for IndyCar racing and this history of racing at Indianapolis is evident in his coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series on The Pit Window, and I am thankful that his passion has spilled over into sim racing! Mike is a worthy partner and I look forward to working with him throughout the month of November.”

The Pit Stop Competition will be a 40-lap race in the Dallara IR-18 Indy car with reduced fuel tank capacity and no yellow flags. The emphasis will be placed on drivers who can not only be quick on-track, but speedy and efficient coming in and out of the pit lane. The winner of the race will take home a cash prize as well.

“The Pit Window is proud to sponsor the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition in conjunction with the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race,” said Mike Silver, the owner of The Pit Window. “This event fits perfectly with The Pit Window‘s goal of engaging fans of open-wheel racing with IndyCar racing and related activities.”

The Pit Window is a helpful and insightful website that Silver uses to document the Indianapolis 500, the history of IndyCar, and even the latest current-day news around American open-wheel racing.

The primary logo for the 2019 Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition, presented by The Pit Window.

“Since I began The Pit Window in 2016 I have taken a look at the history of IndyCar in general, with a focus on the Indianapolis 500,” adds Silver. “Many times, my posts are from my personal experiences at the Indianapolis 500. I have been fortunate enough to meet many past winners.

“The Pit Window also provides coverage every race weekend with commentary and keeps fans up to date on the latest news. You can find The Pit Window at thepitwindow.blog, @PitWindow on Twitter, and on Facebook at by searching “The Pit Window.”

Drivers can register for the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition when they submit their entry to the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race. The entry form will go live on Tuesday, October 1 and will be accessible via Open-Wheels.com, the iRacing forums and Open-Wheels’ social media outlets.

The 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions will go green on Sunday, November 17, broadcast live by RaceSpot TV.