TheStranger
11-28-2004, 04:35 AM
The first ever week of the Crapwagon.com GT Offline Series has already provided us with more drama than the entire Chase for the Crap, and more action than four wide at Texas Motor Speedway. The unique offline league concept, designed more for spectating and cross-member taunting than actual "racing," has resulted in some historic battles and memorable moments in an inaugural championship fertile with more stories to come.
But for those who haven't been following, here's our quick review of the week you missed:
24 HEURES DE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
Winner: Mr. Vengeance
Before the race, many of the drivers had personally complained to the stewards about the selection of the historic long course, which extends past the current F1 circuit all the way to Masta. Because of the scoring software, however, running more than 512 laps is impossible and thus the full circuit was used.
The debacle that was the "24 hours" would only last 46 minutes though, with every single car destroyed in an accident, and Mr. Vengeance declared the winner because he crashed in the lead at the same spot as 2nd place Scott and 3rd place Dan Belcher.
Safety crews though were still hard at work to clear the wreckage hours after all the teams had left in a huff; the Crapwagon.com Racing Team suffered immensely when two of its cars flipped in a 14th-minute accident that also involved Canadian representative Hosehead.
Simracin40 flipped into a 5 car pileup only a few minutes later, and RobGuru had a scary moment getting stuck in the fence upside down. All were okay and made it onto their charter plane for the next race.
AVUSRENNEN SECHS STUNDEN
Winner: Dan Belcher
Most cities opt to use only the surface streets of its downtown as a possible street circuit, leaving freeways untouched (witness the San Jose layout) - but not Berlin, who specifically connected a freeway to its racetrack and put it as part of its traffic network. Although the series drivers were unhappy about the Mickey Mouse-ish Bremskurve chicane, CWGT officials left it in to prevent their insurance rates from going up.
Considering the amount of cars that did crash out, it looks like this hope was quite unfounded. Mr. Vengeance was one of the early victims in the Bremskurve area; so were contenders like Greg Pizzo, Mazza19, Caspar, amongst others. It would take a flawless race by Mr. Belcher to take his first ever CWGT victory, lapping the entire field in the process.
Scott was bridesmaid once again.
SIX HEURES DE MOSPORT
Winner: Mommymushbrain
MMB took the pole and the win, but that does not tell the whole story. Hosehead's impressive late-race dash to the finish almost paid off, were it not for the clock and a pit strategy that the crew did not deliver on.
Early on, MMB dominated, and when closest contender Corey had an incident with Mr. Vengeance mid-race, this paved the way for her to stay way in front, as others dropped out like flies due to crashes. CWRT was particularly affected by this, with Caspar, Dan Belcher, and I all crashing out.
With 20 minutes to go, Hosehead opted for a short-fill strategy to decrease car weight; this was a smart move, but against his wishes his crew went four tires and this gave MMB just enough time to build an insurmountable lead. At race's end Hosehead did narrow the gap down to just 3 seconds (from the early race 20 second lead she had on everyone else) but second best is first loser, as John Force reminds us all in NHRA commercials.
This was the second race in a row that the previous race winner started and finished a horrific 15th.
LONG ISLAND 4 HOURS (AT BRIDGEHAMPTON)
Winner: Mazza19
While Denith took the pole early, an early-race boo boo would put him mid-pack most of the day until bad pit strategy sent him even further down the grid. It was really a battle between the Canadian Tire car of Scott and Mazza19's adult swim/CWRT Viper, and this would definitely not disappoint.
Through several rounds of pit stops, Mazza19 kept gaining on early-race leader Scott lap after lap, and while the pit stops created new gaps for him to face, eventually his Mopar Hemi was just way too much for Scott's Mustang to handle, finally providing an advantage midway through the race. Scott did catch up in the late going, but his tires had been a problem all event and kept him from excelling in long runs, enabling Mazza to become our fourth different winner of Season I, and our first not in a Ford Mustang.
MMB became the third straight previous winner to finish 15th or lower, after having tire problems stemming from a second-corner incident with Dan and Corey.
BILL AND BOB'S AUTO PARTS 30 MINUTE ENDURO PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL (AT PHOENIX INFIELD ROAD COURSE)
Winner: denith
In a display of arrogance seen many a time by the apathetic, greedy officials who run CWGT, the trip to LeMans was delayed by a full 8 hours (to the chagrin of the charter airline, all of the drivers and crews, and the fans at LeMans who expected a welcoming parade) because Bill and Bob's Auto Parts, in conjunction with the caterers at Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria, dropped the series owner a fat check and a buffet cart as long as they replaced the Lucas Oil Late Model Series which had canceled its Phoenix weekday outing.
And off everyone went, unhappily I must say, to the desert in front of a nonexistant crowd for a race that was announced on way too short notice. Depender and Eleanor Rugby did show up but snuck in through the back gate, but it hardly mattered as the proceeds from the sponsorship money went to a new Jaguar for each series official.
The race was the worst that CWGT has ever seen, with only two passes in the entire field in the 30 useless minutes run at the hackneyed course surrounded by tarmac and Nextelized walls. Denith won, but the rest of the paddock still ribs him for that "win" although by series rules it counts just as much as any other race.
Finally, with a sigh of relief, everyone was able to fly out to LeMans, and UPS was able to ship the equipment in record time to the European continent.
Scott once again took his traditional place as bridesmaid.
24 HEURES DU MANS
Winner: FCYTravis
The anticipated event had a meager grid, but an enthusiastic crowd in the stands and in the amusement park for what hopefully would be a more successful event than the debacle at Spa. Because of the drivers' well-known anti-chicane policy, the old layout would be used, with public traffic redirected through Porsche and Ford Curves.
The start was not very clean, with Hosehead, Scott, and MMB all out due to wrecking in Dunlop Curve. But soon it would be a battle between RobGuru and Travis with Corey not far behind.
A controversial incident happened in one of the pitstops when Corey damaged his roommate Dan Belcher's rear wing at 30 MPH, causing tension between the UofL and CWRT crews (this was the second straight race that the two had come together). The CWRT crew was unable to fix the wing and it severely limited Dan's performance.
The mid-race battles were all too brief as RobGuru damaged his car terminally after a gentle wallbrush at the Tertre Rouge Esses, and Travis dominated the rest of the way, beating Denith by 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Denith at least proved that his win at Phoenix was no fluke.
QUATRE HEURES DE NOGARO
Winner: Mazza19
The best race of the year, bar none. Outside passes. Action everywhere through the field. Insane driving by everyone involved.
The series fathers had been approached earlier in the year about running a Nogaro enduro right after LeMans, to cut down on travel costs and to increase the exposure of CWGT to the European audience. Although the series officials agreed, observers were skeptical that the flat, modern circuit could provide great racing. But the thousands of breathtaken fans who got their euros' worth definitely mailed in their verdict: Guilty, as charged, of great racing.
Mazza19 and MMB were battling up front from midway to the end, before Mazza finally figured out a few more notches in that Mopar Hemi and easily cruised away in the final 20 minutes.
New CWGT entrant Padre, in the MASH/The Weather Network #12 Viper, shocked the paddock by taking pole first time out, only to fade early due to his inexperience with the series. He did take 9th, not bad for a nascent outfit like his.
After the glory of winning LeMans, the GP Motorsports crew suffered major setbacks, with Travis only finishing 12th, and Greg finishing last due to camshaft problems after being a contender during most of the first half.
Hosehead got 3rd place, and he and Scott were starting to establish themselves as, unfortunately, the Raul Boesels of the series.
VIZ PRESENTS THE SIX HOURS OF LONG BEACH
Winner: RobGuru
With myself on vacation, Mazza19 took over as temporary director for the Thanksgiving holiday. While RobGuru won, the race is unfortunately more notable for a frightening crash that occured 3 hours and 44 minutes into the six hour enduro.
Denith spun on Seaside Way, and my #85 could not avoid T-boning him at high speed. After the seeming lack of hard crashes since Spa, this put a big scare to the safety crew, but both virtual drivers were A-OK and ready to race another day.
The last hour provided drama as the dominant #21 Edmonton GP Mustang of ABES coughed out with only 38 minutes to go, setting up a strategy battle between Hosehead and RobGuru. RobGuru blinked first and pitted with about 4 minutes to go, but Hosehead came into the pits with 2 to go, handing the win to the #35 Crappysburg car. Coming so soon after LeMans, this proved to be sweet vindication for Rob's team.
BASKIN-ROBBINS ENDURO OF WILLOW SPRINGS (3 HOURS)
Winner: Simracin40
Simracin40 dominated from start to finish, a change of pace to an otherwise frustrating season and a win which put him right in the thick of the championship battle.
His dominance may have been spurred by a 9th minute accident which involved 7 cars, started when the unlucky Canadians Scott and Hosehead made contact.
For more information on each and every one of the preceding events, check out the Winner's Table at http://www.champcarfanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21744 if you're interested.
WHAT'S UP NEXT
SIX HOURS OF RIVERSIDE - America's greatest road course, meet the greatest virtual drivers on the planet. Or at least, the snarkiest.
While the season has been very volatile in terms of who's up in front, the fast straight and esses really give an advantage to those who figured out the speed-heavy courses like LeMans and Bridgehampton. Championship leader Mazza19 looks to be an early favorite, as are the GP Motorsports cars, but it would be a mistake to count out Mr. Vengeance who was strong at Spa before the wacky finish.
HUMAN INTEREST SEGMENT OF NO INTEREST
This year, Hosehead has been one of the most star-crossed drivers, making his mark at 2nd along with Scott more often than some of our winners. He may win an award for consistency but he certainly isn't going to be a contender until he can start pulling off the wins.
After all, when you look at the past history of CWGT...oh, what past history?
Oops.
Guess that means we have to fire our producers.
But for those who haven't been following, here's our quick review of the week you missed:
24 HEURES DE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
Winner: Mr. Vengeance
Before the race, many of the drivers had personally complained to the stewards about the selection of the historic long course, which extends past the current F1 circuit all the way to Masta. Because of the scoring software, however, running more than 512 laps is impossible and thus the full circuit was used.
The debacle that was the "24 hours" would only last 46 minutes though, with every single car destroyed in an accident, and Mr. Vengeance declared the winner because he crashed in the lead at the same spot as 2nd place Scott and 3rd place Dan Belcher.
Safety crews though were still hard at work to clear the wreckage hours after all the teams had left in a huff; the Crapwagon.com Racing Team suffered immensely when two of its cars flipped in a 14th-minute accident that also involved Canadian representative Hosehead.
Simracin40 flipped into a 5 car pileup only a few minutes later, and RobGuru had a scary moment getting stuck in the fence upside down. All were okay and made it onto their charter plane for the next race.
AVUSRENNEN SECHS STUNDEN
Winner: Dan Belcher
Most cities opt to use only the surface streets of its downtown as a possible street circuit, leaving freeways untouched (witness the San Jose layout) - but not Berlin, who specifically connected a freeway to its racetrack and put it as part of its traffic network. Although the series drivers were unhappy about the Mickey Mouse-ish Bremskurve chicane, CWGT officials left it in to prevent their insurance rates from going up.
Considering the amount of cars that did crash out, it looks like this hope was quite unfounded. Mr. Vengeance was one of the early victims in the Bremskurve area; so were contenders like Greg Pizzo, Mazza19, Caspar, amongst others. It would take a flawless race by Mr. Belcher to take his first ever CWGT victory, lapping the entire field in the process.
Scott was bridesmaid once again.
SIX HEURES DE MOSPORT
Winner: Mommymushbrain
MMB took the pole and the win, but that does not tell the whole story. Hosehead's impressive late-race dash to the finish almost paid off, were it not for the clock and a pit strategy that the crew did not deliver on.
Early on, MMB dominated, and when closest contender Corey had an incident with Mr. Vengeance mid-race, this paved the way for her to stay way in front, as others dropped out like flies due to crashes. CWRT was particularly affected by this, with Caspar, Dan Belcher, and I all crashing out.
With 20 minutes to go, Hosehead opted for a short-fill strategy to decrease car weight; this was a smart move, but against his wishes his crew went four tires and this gave MMB just enough time to build an insurmountable lead. At race's end Hosehead did narrow the gap down to just 3 seconds (from the early race 20 second lead she had on everyone else) but second best is first loser, as John Force reminds us all in NHRA commercials.
This was the second race in a row that the previous race winner started and finished a horrific 15th.
LONG ISLAND 4 HOURS (AT BRIDGEHAMPTON)
Winner: Mazza19
While Denith took the pole early, an early-race boo boo would put him mid-pack most of the day until bad pit strategy sent him even further down the grid. It was really a battle between the Canadian Tire car of Scott and Mazza19's adult swim/CWRT Viper, and this would definitely not disappoint.
Through several rounds of pit stops, Mazza19 kept gaining on early-race leader Scott lap after lap, and while the pit stops created new gaps for him to face, eventually his Mopar Hemi was just way too much for Scott's Mustang to handle, finally providing an advantage midway through the race. Scott did catch up in the late going, but his tires had been a problem all event and kept him from excelling in long runs, enabling Mazza to become our fourth different winner of Season I, and our first not in a Ford Mustang.
MMB became the third straight previous winner to finish 15th or lower, after having tire problems stemming from a second-corner incident with Dan and Corey.
BILL AND BOB'S AUTO PARTS 30 MINUTE ENDURO PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL (AT PHOENIX INFIELD ROAD COURSE)
Winner: denith
In a display of arrogance seen many a time by the apathetic, greedy officials who run CWGT, the trip to LeMans was delayed by a full 8 hours (to the chagrin of the charter airline, all of the drivers and crews, and the fans at LeMans who expected a welcoming parade) because Bill and Bob's Auto Parts, in conjunction with the caterers at Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria, dropped the series owner a fat check and a buffet cart as long as they replaced the Lucas Oil Late Model Series which had canceled its Phoenix weekday outing.
And off everyone went, unhappily I must say, to the desert in front of a nonexistant crowd for a race that was announced on way too short notice. Depender and Eleanor Rugby did show up but snuck in through the back gate, but it hardly mattered as the proceeds from the sponsorship money went to a new Jaguar for each series official.
The race was the worst that CWGT has ever seen, with only two passes in the entire field in the 30 useless minutes run at the hackneyed course surrounded by tarmac and Nextelized walls. Denith won, but the rest of the paddock still ribs him for that "win" although by series rules it counts just as much as any other race.
Finally, with a sigh of relief, everyone was able to fly out to LeMans, and UPS was able to ship the equipment in record time to the European continent.
Scott once again took his traditional place as bridesmaid.
24 HEURES DU MANS
Winner: FCYTravis
The anticipated event had a meager grid, but an enthusiastic crowd in the stands and in the amusement park for what hopefully would be a more successful event than the debacle at Spa. Because of the drivers' well-known anti-chicane policy, the old layout would be used, with public traffic redirected through Porsche and Ford Curves.
The start was not very clean, with Hosehead, Scott, and MMB all out due to wrecking in Dunlop Curve. But soon it would be a battle between RobGuru and Travis with Corey not far behind.
A controversial incident happened in one of the pitstops when Corey damaged his roommate Dan Belcher's rear wing at 30 MPH, causing tension between the UofL and CWRT crews (this was the second straight race that the two had come together). The CWRT crew was unable to fix the wing and it severely limited Dan's performance.
The mid-race battles were all too brief as RobGuru damaged his car terminally after a gentle wallbrush at the Tertre Rouge Esses, and Travis dominated the rest of the way, beating Denith by 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Denith at least proved that his win at Phoenix was no fluke.
QUATRE HEURES DE NOGARO
Winner: Mazza19
The best race of the year, bar none. Outside passes. Action everywhere through the field. Insane driving by everyone involved.
The series fathers had been approached earlier in the year about running a Nogaro enduro right after LeMans, to cut down on travel costs and to increase the exposure of CWGT to the European audience. Although the series officials agreed, observers were skeptical that the flat, modern circuit could provide great racing. But the thousands of breathtaken fans who got their euros' worth definitely mailed in their verdict: Guilty, as charged, of great racing.
Mazza19 and MMB were battling up front from midway to the end, before Mazza finally figured out a few more notches in that Mopar Hemi and easily cruised away in the final 20 minutes.
New CWGT entrant Padre, in the MASH/The Weather Network #12 Viper, shocked the paddock by taking pole first time out, only to fade early due to his inexperience with the series. He did take 9th, not bad for a nascent outfit like his.
After the glory of winning LeMans, the GP Motorsports crew suffered major setbacks, with Travis only finishing 12th, and Greg finishing last due to camshaft problems after being a contender during most of the first half.
Hosehead got 3rd place, and he and Scott were starting to establish themselves as, unfortunately, the Raul Boesels of the series.
VIZ PRESENTS THE SIX HOURS OF LONG BEACH
Winner: RobGuru
With myself on vacation, Mazza19 took over as temporary director for the Thanksgiving holiday. While RobGuru won, the race is unfortunately more notable for a frightening crash that occured 3 hours and 44 minutes into the six hour enduro.
Denith spun on Seaside Way, and my #85 could not avoid T-boning him at high speed. After the seeming lack of hard crashes since Spa, this put a big scare to the safety crew, but both virtual drivers were A-OK and ready to race another day.
The last hour provided drama as the dominant #21 Edmonton GP Mustang of ABES coughed out with only 38 minutes to go, setting up a strategy battle between Hosehead and RobGuru. RobGuru blinked first and pitted with about 4 minutes to go, but Hosehead came into the pits with 2 to go, handing the win to the #35 Crappysburg car. Coming so soon after LeMans, this proved to be sweet vindication for Rob's team.
BASKIN-ROBBINS ENDURO OF WILLOW SPRINGS (3 HOURS)
Winner: Simracin40
Simracin40 dominated from start to finish, a change of pace to an otherwise frustrating season and a win which put him right in the thick of the championship battle.
His dominance may have been spurred by a 9th minute accident which involved 7 cars, started when the unlucky Canadians Scott and Hosehead made contact.
For more information on each and every one of the preceding events, check out the Winner's Table at http://www.champcarfanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21744 if you're interested.
WHAT'S UP NEXT
SIX HOURS OF RIVERSIDE - America's greatest road course, meet the greatest virtual drivers on the planet. Or at least, the snarkiest.
While the season has been very volatile in terms of who's up in front, the fast straight and esses really give an advantage to those who figured out the speed-heavy courses like LeMans and Bridgehampton. Championship leader Mazza19 looks to be an early favorite, as are the GP Motorsports cars, but it would be a mistake to count out Mr. Vengeance who was strong at Spa before the wacky finish.
HUMAN INTEREST SEGMENT OF NO INTEREST
This year, Hosehead has been one of the most star-crossed drivers, making his mark at 2nd along with Scott more often than some of our winners. He may win an award for consistency but he certainly isn't going to be a contender until he can start pulling off the wins.
After all, when you look at the past history of CWGT...oh, what past history?
Oops.
Guess that means we have to fire our producers.