As we roll west, things are starting to heat up in the championship points. Vegas definitely added to the chaos with driver expectations all over the board.

Race 1:

Despite some gripes, performances were quite good in practice. Qualifying had mixed results with humans all over the grid.

Hamilton fearing he would get wrecked badly moved out of the way and let the field by on the first lap.

After a long stretch of green laps, Sandy brought out the first caution by scraping the wall off of two.

The bounce brought him across the nose of Derrick Cope and they both drove away with minimal damage.

This forced everyone to pit about halfway through the fuel run which would position things to be fust at the wire by the end of the race if things stayed green.

Returning to green, I had a good run going when suddenly my car bottomed out for just a moment and the back end slowly came around.

Being in front of the field off of 4 was the worst place it could happen and I started catching flies.

Dave Marcus knew that he would have to hit me as hard as possible to crack an oil line and start spraying that black gold all over the track. I was then dead.

But other fatalities were quickly adding up.

First parking lot, then junk yard in mere moments.

Nearly every human was involved. Darrel actually had minimal damage at this point until Sandy came sliding into the fray.

Once things were cleaned up and racing resumed, Sandy had a run in with our rising star, Brett Bodine. In this instance, Bodine was coming way off the high side for a bombing run to pit road.

Sandy was spared damage but the yellow was waved again.

Going again for a good length of laps and there was fierce racing in the back of what was left of the pack.

Suddenly, Darrel disappeared.

And quickly reappeared right in front of Sandy after they were doing a fantastic job of giving each other room.

They mangled up on the fence but didn't suffer too terribly from the incident. Caution again.

Only a few laps later under green, Sandy got loose off of four and tried to catch it.

After hitting the outside wall, he shot straight to the inside and crushed the fence. No yellow since he was well off the racing line, but he would be spending the rest of the race trying to repair damage without losing too many positions.

Meanwhile, Scot and Zack were going after each other and competitors alike with fervor.

Jimmy Means proved to be something of an obstacle for Scot but they all kept things rolling.

A few laps later, things were reversed and Scot made the pass.

The long green run was getting close to the final pit window and Scot was "making a pass" when he got caught on the 62 of some person.

He came out worse for wear on this one but the yellow did wave and final fuel stops for everyone. But would it be enough?

Zack ended up missing his pit and running out of fuel under yellow. Sandy was nice enough to give him a push back around but a lap was lost. It still didn't stop these two from going at it under green though.

Once Scot got away from Webster, he found a new friend in Tim Richmond.

And together they made some smoke and screeching sounds.

As it came to a close, humans finished quite well under the yellow flag with Scot and Darrel (thanks to a lucky dog) grabbing top 10s.

We stay in the desert heat for next week as we travel to Phoenix in the new track configuration.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	30.446
2	021	T Bear	30.939
3	023	Z Webster	30.967
4	029	M Max	30.976
5	061	D Hamilton	30.986
6	9	B Elliott	31.185
7	3	D Earnhardt	31.199
8	5	G Bodine	31.240
9	30	M Waltrip	31.252
10	90	K Schrader	31.259
11	43	R Petty	31.262
12	26	M Shepherd	31.263
13	75	N Bonnett	31.291
14	83	L Speed	31.303
15	21	K Petty	31.313
16	22	B Allison	31.341
17	28	D Allison	31.353
18	7	A Kulwicki	31.360
19	88	B Baker	31.363
20	17	D Waltrip	31.397
21	33	H Gant	31.402
22	71	D Marcis	31.406
23	70	J McDuffie	31.415
24	44	S Marlin	31.428
25	19	D Cope	31.435
26	77	E Bierschwale	31.436
27	11	T Labonte	31.441
28	8	B Hillin, Jr.	31.485
29	1	B Bodine	31.489
30	64	R Combs	31.532
31	35	B Parsons	31.533
32	15	R Rudd	31.542
33	62	S Christman	31.565
34	27	R Wallace	31.577
35	4	R Wilson	31.594
36	67	B Arrington	31.605
37	29	C Yarborough	31.609
38	6	D Ulrich	31.618
39	55	P Parsons	31.623
40	18	D Jarrett	31.638
41	52	J Means	31.658
42	25	T Richmond	31.696
43	14	A Foyt	32.426

Weather: Clear, 62 °F, West 11 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	26	M Shepherd	30.557
2	17	D Waltrip	30.722
3	9	B Elliott	30.725
4	3	D Earnhardt	30.731
5	013	T Nadz	30.752
6	27	R Wallace	30.793
7	25	T Richmond	30.796
8	7	A Kulwicki	30.798
9	71	D Marcis	30.798
10	5	G Bodine	30.803
11	33	H Gant	30.804
12	75	N Bonnett	30.828
13	8	B Hillin, Jr.	30.839
14	43	R Petty	30.842
15	35	B Parsons	30.844
16	061	D Hamilton	30.868
17	44	S Marlin	30.879
18	11	T Labonte	30.885
19	90	K Schrader	30.923
20	22	B Allison	30.930
21	15	R Rudd	30.939
22	64	R Combs	30.977
23	29	C Yarborough	30.977
24	67	B Arrington	30.987
25	30	M Waltrip	31.040
26	28	D Allison	31.047
27	83	L Speed	31.066
28	88	B Baker	31.074
29	52	J Means	31.083
30	4	R Wilson	31.086
31	1	B Bodine	31.113
32	70	J McDuffie	31.168
33	77	E Bierschwale	31.170
34	18	D Jarrett	31.185
35	21	K Petty	31.200
36	023	Z Webster	31.203
37	14	A Foyt	31.231
38	6	D Ulrich	31.236
39	55	P Parsons	31.374
40	19	D Cope	31.445
41	62	S Christman	31.473
42	029	M Max	54.651
43	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 62 °F, Northwest 9 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	061	D Hamilton	30.850
2	013	T Nadz	30.902
3	5	G Bodine	31.110
4	021	T Bear	31.119
5	029	M Max	31.200
6	023	Z Webster	31.294
7	33	H Gant	31.338
8	88	B Baker	31.355
9	17	D Waltrip	31.356
10	90	K Schrader	31.360
11	9	B Elliott	31.361
12	8	B Hillin, Jr.	31.362
13	83	L Speed	31.368
14	28	D Allison	31.374
15	7	A Kulwicki	31.427
16	35	B Parsons	31.439
17	22	B Allison	31.440
18	52	J Means	31.450
19	3	D Earnhardt	31.463
20	55	P Parsons	31.482
21	21	K Petty	31.516
22	11	T Labonte	31.525
23	25	T Richmond	31.525
24	27	R Wallace	31.533
25	70	J McDuffie	31.534
26	75	N Bonnett	31.537
27	64	R Combs	31.541
28	71	D Marcis	31.552
29	15	R Rudd	31.561
30	18	D Jarrett	31.567
31	4	R Wilson	31.613
32	77	E Bierschwale	31.620
33	43	R Petty	31.635
34	19	D Cope	31.665
35	44	S Marlin	31.684
36	6	D Ulrich	31.692
37	26	M Shepherd	31.706
38	67	B Arrington	31.711
39	62	S Christman	31.729
40	14	A Foyt	31.733
41	30	M Waltrip	31.815
42	1	B Bodine	31.848
43	29	C Yarborough	31.951

Weather: Clear, 66 °F, Northwest 13 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	12	75	N Bonnett	114.809	54	15*	185	Running
2	3	9	B Elliott	-0.70	54	5	175	Running
3	15	35	B Parsons	-1.74	54	0	165	Running
4	8	7	A Kulwicki	-2.44	54	0	160	Running
5	1	26	M Shepherd	-2.80	54	2	160	Running
6	4	3	D Earnhardt	-3.15	54	9	155	Running
7	42	029	M Max	-3.41	54	0	146	Running
8	16	061	D Hamilton	-3.84	54	0	142	Running
9	7	25	T Richmond	-4.21	54	0	138	Running
10	18	11	T Labonte	-7.13	54	1	139	Running
11	21	15	R Rudd	-7.37	54	11	135	Running
12	11	33	H Gant	-7.61	54	0	127	Running
13	27	83	L Speed	-1L	53	0	124	Running
14	29	52	J Means	-1L	53	0	121	Running
15	36	023	Z Webster	-1L	53	0	118	Running
16	10	5	G Bodine	-3L	51	0	115	Running
17	43	021	T Bear	-5L	49	0	112	Running
18	26	28	D Allison	-11L	43	0	109	Running
19	41	62	S Christman	-13L	41	0	106	Camshaft
20	23	29	C Yarborough	-37L	17	0	103	Retired
21	38	6	D Ulrich	-37L	17	0	100	Accident
22	31	1	B Bodine	-40L	14	0	97	Accident
23	6	27	R Wallace	-41L	13	0	94	Retired
24	5	013	T Nadz	-41L	13	11	96	Header
25	17	44	S Marlin	-41L	13	0	88	Retired
26	13	8	B Hillin, Jr.	-41L	13	0	85	Accident
27	22	64	R Combs	-41L	13	0	82	Accident
28	14	43	R Petty	-41L	13	0	79	Piston
29	20	22	B Allison	-42L	12	0	76	Retired
30	30	4	R Wilson	-42L	12	0	73	Clutch
31	19	90	K Schrader	-42L	12	0	70	Accident
32	34	18	D Jarrett	-42L	12	0	67	Retired
33	24	67	B Arrington	-42L	12	0	64	Retired
34	33	77	E Bierschwale	-42L	12	0	61	Retired
35	32	70	J McDuffie	-42L	12	0	58	Retired
36	9	71	D Marcis	-42L	12	0	55	Accident
37	2	17	D Waltrip	-42L	12	0	52	Accident
38	37	14	A Foyt	-42L	12	0	49	Accident
39	35	21	K Petty	-42L	12	0	46	Accident
40	40	19	D Cope	-42L	12	0	43	Accident
41	25	30	M Waltrip	-42L	12	0	40	Accident
42	28	88	B Baker	-42L	12	0	37	Accident
43	39	55	P Parsons	-43L	11	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 6 (19 laps)

Lead Changes: 6 (7 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 65 °F, Northwest 14 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 92%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
10	029	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
14	013	Smoking Engine	Pit for repairs
18	029	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
19	029	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
42	029	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line
42	029	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line
44	061	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line

Saturday, March 12, 2016

'87 Winston Cup 2016 Series - 03 Las Vegas