British Trucks 2018: 7-8 Martinsville

To the short track and tight walls of Martinsville we go.  As with the real-world version, there was plenty of contact and heated exchanges.  These were mostly human-to-AI however.  Two races: 50 and 100 laps.  The Egg was generous enough to stream the races and preceding sessions on Twitch.

Race 1:

Riggleman and Buster led a mix of humans and AI down into turn one and things were very exciting for the first few laps.  Our hearts go out to Mark and his family as they work through some medical dramas.

In the back, Hamilton pushed the 7 out into the Bear as they were 3-wide causing a caution as his truck swung sideways.

That's when Riggleman came in, giving up the lead in anticipation of early issues.

When they came to take the restart, Hamilton took the green and everyone stopped.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a smash up.  Not a lot of damage but there was more time spent on cautions.

On the restart, Webster was fighting to hold the lead and keep his truck low on the line while Tnadz and GB tried to give him and each other room without getting gobbled up by the pack.

Just behind them, The Egg was trying to get up into the fight and got into Goldstraw, throwing another caution.

When racing was underway, the 98 and 69 got past the humans who were now trying to push by Webster.  Tnadz took the corner hard and nearly accordianed into GB who was checking up for the 23.

Coming off the wall, he was whacked by Stevens who was running the high line.

And his race was turned upside down coming to the line.

Amazingly, he got back over without much damage or having to call a tow.  Meanwhile, Mark was having a word with Hawkins who pulled the lead and done the Tide ride wrong.

 Tnadz also had a few words with Hawkins after he was rolled by the 3J truck.

On the restart, Webster was trying to chase down the leaders while watching Egg and GB try to catch him.

The next caution came out when Darrel was battling for position and made sideways contact going deep into turn three, unsettling the car and swinging him around where he was somewhat battered.

Several more laps after the green and Rebrov took out the Hooters truck.

Shortly after the next green, Webster was trying to ease it through the corner when Willis gave him the chrome horn and everyone scattered.

Webster kept it rolling as they fanned out behind him.

At the front, The Egg got a huge jump.

And also made it past the leader.  But the caution was out just at the start.

It was from some bumping and a spin from Hamilton coming to the line.

That brought them to the finish under caution.

Race 2:

At 3x wear, tires and fuel would be a concern as the endurance race started.  Riggleman won the pole again and led Tnadz and others off into one.

Buster was glued to the back of the Krispy Kream truck through the start as the three leaders drove hard.

The first caution was only four laps in as Hamilton got tangled up with some back markers.

On the restart, it was very exciting right behind Mark as a 4-way battle opened up.

It was highly contested and GB nearly lost the back coming onto the stretch.

The next caution some laps later came from Tressler running over White.

Not even a quarter in and nearly the entire field serviced.

On the start, Tnadz made a big lunge around the outside after a good jump off the line.

As Gurton Buster moved past the Tide truck, The Egg and Willis were fighting it out, making for a dangerous situation into the corner.

They managed to work it out and it would actually be Webster getting turned by Shorter to bring out the next yellow.

Webster was able to get righted with little damage and a few spots lost.  Meanwhile, Stevens and O Reagen got together and suffered a good bit of damage while blocking up the track.

Zack wasn't out of the woods yet and continued to wrestle his ride bringing it back to the line on hot treads.

Caution-free for a short stint when a back-sliding Riggleman saw an opportunity for Race 1 vengeance, tearing into the back of Hawkins in the braking zone.

That incident also collected Paul Jones into the wall.

It also congested the track heavily, taking out the 87 who got stuck on the curbing.

The next restart saw a massive lockup for Tnadz entering turn one.

Although he might have been distracted by the immediate caution that came from Hamilton popping the Ben & Jerry's truck on take off.

A bit of damage and several positions lost on that one.

Meanwhile, coming back to the line, GB was pushing the advantage and tucked a fender into three.

He then finished the move at the line to take the lead.

On the next green flag run, he had his mirrors full as Tnadz and The Egg looked to make a sandwich.

But as they duked it out, Hamilton was almost immediately turned in an unusual collision as Tompkins made a dive for the pits from the outside.

Riggleman was the source of the next caution as the exact same Tompkins run up his corner panel.

At about halfway and the fuel window was open.

Tnadz missed his stall a touch, giving Buster a slight lead.  But the race out of the pits was barely eeked out by the 13.  And, to his detriment, Buster was busted for speeding.

On the restart, Webster had the lead as the field caught a slow moving Mark.

The Bear had also moved up the order and was in podium position from the pit stall shuffle when he ran it out to the wall and bounced back.

With the slightest wisp of a touch from Egg, who had nowhere to go and nearly avoided it, the 21 continued running left.

He then took some nose damage from the inside wall and dropped to the back, his strategy in tatters.  And to make matters worse, there was no caution.

The Egg was battling like crazy through constant 3-wide conditions and still staying in the fight.

Because The Bear was lagging behind, he was a sitting duck as Webster caught him.  The two collided as the tried to make the space work, surely reigniting the old rivalry.

As Sandy came back to the middle of the track, Tnadz pulled way to the inside which put him awkwardly out of line and he got into the already slowing 23.

In an attempt to prevent a spin, he continued pushing Webster up the track.  While he stayed straight, he took a hard hit off the wall.

Fortunately a caution wasn't far away as Riggleman pushed Mel Collins out of his way.

Another green flag and Lee Rogers got a strong pull on Tnadz, making the dive and pass.

Not appreciating the contact to get there, Tnadz fought back with the bump and run but just couldn't push him out of position.

The caution came a couple laps later as Darrel launched the 2 into the wall.

Coming to the line, a "slow" 26 caught out Rogers and Tnadz swept by to regain the lead.

With laps dwindling, Buster was leapfrogging the field and getting as aggressive as he could without throwing a yellow.  He nearly knocked Goldstraw around as he pushed up to the top ten.

Only moments later, Webster had a big moment when he over corrected coming off the turn, causing a spin and a caution.

Dixon, loved by many, also took this opportunity to be aggressive and nudged the 8 of Buster.

After forcing him wide, the two fought all the way back to the line.

And a little after.

Another restart with only about 10 laps and Egg looked for opportunity through lap traffic.

Riggleman and Tressler had a collision and the yellow was out.

In a desperate move, Egg made a dive on Rogers going through one and two after the restart.

They ran side by side and it looked like this could be it as the yellow flew!

Down the order, Darrel looped it coming out of two.

The Egg and Rogers were bouncing wildly off each other coming off the corner and to the line.

In a move reminiscent of Craven and Busch from the 2003 Darlington finish, The Egg tried to squeeze Rogers to pull ahead.

And even though he was pressed right into the wall...

...the 69 beat him by a nose hair.

With an impressive rise to 5th after a speeding penalty, and an equally impressive drive to yet another 3rd step podium from The Egg, Tnadz held on to the end for the win.

Race 1

Track: MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	026	M Riggleman Jr	19.878
2	008	J Zolecki	20.826
3	013	T Nadz	20.980
4	034	T Egg	21.083
5	27	M Collins	21.091
6	023	Z Webster	21.209
7	69	L Rogers	21.276
8	52	J Goldstraw	21.307
9	061	D Hamilton	21.324
10	4	P Stevens	21.345
11	44	J Shorter	21.395
12	82	P Jones	21.500
13	8	D O'Regan	21.544
14	60	J Turner	21.590
15	123	G Gruber Jr	21.601
16	14	C Hill	21.610
17	99	A Pab	21.655
18	87	F Casula	21.673
19	3	P Hillesheim	21.676
20	147	K Vickers	21.680
21	5	R Harris	21.681
22	74	S Rebrov	21.688
23	06	I Smythe	21.688
24	50	G Dixon	21.728
25	65	M Willis	21.755
26	36	N White	21.766
27	021	T Bear	21.815
28	29	Y Hughes	21.835
29	12	R Hornacek	21.854
30	24	M Cooper	21.892
31	7	P Rocha	21.928
32	20	S Tworz	21.996
33	96	C Theile	22.038
34	21	D Tompkins	22.047
35	37	N Tressler	22.057
36	23	C Sundberg	22.457
37	2	A Scholz	22.504
38	97	C Caldas	22.514
39	43	K Hunter	22.575
40	98	A Hawkins	22.618

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	026	M Riggleman Jr	20.950
2	008	J Zolecki	20.951
3	023	Z Webster	20.980
4	98	A Hawkins	21.030
5	52	J Goldstraw	21.034
6	65	M Willis	21.055
7	013	T Nadz	21.080
8	034	T Egg	21.083
9	69	L Rogers	21.087
10	4	P Stevens	21.112
11	27	M Collins	21.161
12	50	G Dixon	21.194
13	341	O Simpson	21.200
14	21	D Tompkins	21.209
15	44	J Shorter	21.222
16	37	N Tressler	21.237
17	36	N White	21.248
18	12	R Hornacek	21.249
19	96	C Theile	21.282
20	60	J Turner	21.319
21	123	G Gruber Jr	21.433
22	3	P Hillesheim	21.472
23	8	D O'Regan	21.520
24	87	F Casula	21.540
25	24	M Cooper	21.547
26	82	P Jones	21.585
27	14	C Hill	21.609
28	23	C Sundberg	21.616
29	97	C Caldas	21.647
30	06	I Smythe	21.656
31	5	R Harris	21.679
32	43	K Hunter	21.728
33	99	A Pab	21.743
34	74	S Rebrov	21.838
35	20	S Tworz	21.866
36	7	P Rocha	21.935
37	147	K Vickers	22.062
38	29	Y Hughes	22.102
39	2	A Scholz	22.229
40	061	D Hamilton	22.916
41	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	341	O Simpson	20.948
2	008	J Zolecki	20.949
3	034	T Egg	20.963
4	013	T Nadz	20.975
5	023	Z Webster	21.057
6	8	D O'Regan	21.144
7	82	P Jones	21.240
8	65	M Willis	21.251
9	98	A Hawkins	21.268
10	44	J Shorter	21.274
11	27	M Collins	21.282
12	12	R Hornacek	21.308
13	21	D Tompkins	21.309
14	4	P Stevens	21.352
15	96	C Theile	21.379
16	061	D Hamilton	21.386
17	69	L Rogers	21.388
18	5	R Harris	21.397
19	3	P Hillesheim	21.525
20	06	I Smythe	21.532
21	021	T Bear	21.540
22	36	N White	21.579
23	43	K Hunter	21.591
24	87	F Casula	21.595
25	37	N Tressler	21.608
26	52	J Goldstraw	21.651
27	20	S Tworz	21.656
28	14	C Hill	21.679
29	29	Y Hughes	21.716
30	123	G Gruber Jr	21.733
31	24	M Cooper	21.787
32	60	J Turner	21.792
33	2	A Scholz	21.798
34	74	S Rebrov	21.815
35	7	P Rocha	21.818
36	99	A Pab	21.834
37	97	C Caldas	21.948
38	50	G Dixon	22.029
39	147	K Vickers	22.198
40	23	C Sundberg	22.262

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	4	98	A Hawkins	50.841	50	35*	185	Running
2	9	69	L Rogers	-0.49	50	1	175	Running
3	6	65	M Willis	-0.98	50	0	165	Running
4	8	034	T Egg	-1.49	50	1	165	Running
5	2	008	J Zolecki	-1.85	50	9	160	Running
6	17	36	N White	-2.76	50	0	150	Running
7	35	20	S Tworz	-3.28	50	0	146	Running
8	12	50	G Dixon	-3.75	50	0	142	Running
9	19	96	C Theile	-4.27	50	0	138	Running
10	31	5	R Harris	-4.73	50	0	134	Running
11	23	8	D O'Regan	-5.31	50	0	130	Running
12	18	12	R Hornacek	-5.90	50	0	127	Running
13	10	4	P Stevens	-7.17	50	0	124	Running
14	30	06	I Smythe	-7.79	50	0	121	Running
15	39	2	A Scholz	-8.93	50	0	118	Running
16	20	60	J Turner	-9.39	50	0	115	Running
17	21	123	G Gruber Jr	-1L	49	0	112	Running
18	15	44	J Shorter	-1L	49	0	109	Running
19	22	3	P Hillesheim	-1L	49	0	106	Running
20	27	14	C Hill	-1L	49	0	103	Running
21	26	82	P Jones	-1L	49	0	100	Running
22	34	74	S Rebrov	-1L	49	0	97	Running
23	32	43	K Hunter	-1L	49	0	94	Running
24	24	87	F Casula	-1L	49	0	91	Running
25	5	52	J Goldstraw	-1L	49	0	88	Running
26	37	147	K Vickers	-1L	49	0	85	Running
27	14	21	D Tompkins	-1L	49	0	82	Running
28	7	013	T Nadz	-1L	49	0	79	Running
29	28	23	C Sundberg	-1L	49	0	76	Running
30	38	29	Y Hughes	-1L	49	0	73	Running
31	3	023	Z Webster	-1L	49	1	75	Running
32	41	021	T Bear	-1L	49	0	67	Running
33	40	061	D Hamilton	-1L	49	0	64	Running
34	33	99	A Pab	-1L	49	0	61	Running
35	25	24	M Cooper	-2L	48	0	58	Running
36	29	97	C Caldas	-2L	48	0	55	Running
37	11	27	M Collins	-2L	48	0	52	Running
38	36	7	P Rocha	-2L	48	0	49	Running
39	16	37	N Tressler	-3L	47	0	46	Fuel Inj
40	1	026	M Riggleman Jr	-31L	19	3	48	Accident

Caution Flags: 7 (33 laps)

Lead Changes: 7 (6 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 91%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
5	026	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
5	026	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
7	026	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
8	021	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
9	061	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
10	026	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
19	026	Smoking Engine	Pit for repairs
22	013	Passing the pacecar	Held for 14 seconds

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	026	M Riggleman Jr	20.820
2	98	A Hawkins	20.956
3	69	L Rogers	20.956
4	013	T Nadz	20.998
5	008	J Zolecki	21.014
6	27	M Collins	21.046
7	65	M Willis	21.067
8	4	P Stevens	21.069
9	341	O Simpson	21.085
10	034	T Egg	21.103
11	50	G Dixon	21.111
12	37	N Tressler	21.134
13	023	Z Webster	21.180
14	8	D O'Regan	21.183
15	52	J Goldstraw	21.206
16	44	J Shorter	21.210
17	36	N White	21.232
18	21	D Tompkins	21.234
19	12	R Hornacek	21.248
20	5	R Harris	21.282
21	20	S Tworz	21.388
22	60	J Turner	21.396
23	74	S Rebrov	21.458
24	3	P Hillesheim	21.471
25	147	K Vickers	21.511
26	96	C Theile	21.515
27	7	P Rocha	21.516
28	24	M Cooper	21.518
29	82	P Jones	21.524
30	87	F Casula	21.570
31	29	Y Hughes	21.593
32	06	I Smythe	21.602
33	14	C Hill	21.605
34	43	K Hunter	21.607
35	97	C Caldas	21.653
36	123	G Gruber Jr	21.662
37	78	J Franklin	21.667
38	2	A Scholz	21.793
39	19	D Maksajda	21.830
40	061	D Hamilton	24.995
41	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	19.022
2	034	T Egg	21.085
3	023	Z Webster	21.125
4	013	T Nadz	21.194
5	98	A Hawkins	21.264
6	026	M Riggleman Jr	21.318
7	27	M Collins	21.336
8	21	D Tompkins	21.421
9	061	D Hamilton	21.448
10	50	G Dixon	21.448
11	36	N White	21.476
12	52	J Goldstraw	21.478
13	69	L Rogers	21.530
14	4	P Stevens	21.541
15	60	J Turner	21.599
16	44	J Shorter	21.607
17	37	N Tressler	21.613
18	96	C Theile	21.623
19	65	M Willis	21.624
20	87	F Casula	21.628
21	021	T Bear	21.659
22	8	D O'Regan	21.684
23	147	K Vickers	21.714
24	12	R Hornacek	21.727
25	43	K Hunter	21.731
26	14	C Hill	21.774
27	3	P Hillesheim	21.791
28	2	A Scholz	21.799
29	82	P Jones	21.847
30	7	P Rocha	21.857
31	06	I Smythe	21.862
32	19	D Maksajda	21.991
33	123	G Gruber Jr	21.997
34	5	R Harris	21.999
35	24	M Cooper	22.084
36	20	S Tworz	22.170
37	29	Y Hughes	22.251
38	97	C Caldas	22.302
39	78	J Franklin	22.316
40	74	S Rebrov	22.543

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	4	013	T Nadz	52.351	100	66*	185	Running
2	3	69	L Rogers	-0.25	100	2	170	Running
3	10	034	T Egg	-0.55	100	0	170	Running
4	11	50	G Dixon	-1.34	100	0	155	Running
5	5	008	J Zolecki	-1.16	100	7	165	Running
6	16	44	J Shorter	-5.56	100	0	150	Running
7	20	5	R Harris	-8.58	100	0	146	Running
8	19	12	R Hornacek	-9.98	100	0	142	Running
9	14	8	D O'Regan	-1L	99	0	138	Running
10	23	74	S Rebrov	-1L	99	0	134	Running
11	7	65	M Willis	-1L	99	0	130	Running
12	6	27	M Collins	-1L	99	0	127	Running
13	8	4	P Stevens	-1L	99	0	124	Running
14	24	3	P Hillesheim	-1L	99	0	121	Running
15	27	7	P Rocha	-1L	99	0	118	Running
16	39	19	D Maksajda	-1L	99	0	115	Running
17	21	20	S Tworz	-1L	99	0	112	Running
18	31	29	Y Hughes	-1L	99	0	109	Running
19	26	96	C Theile	-1L	99	0	106	Running
20	35	97	C Caldas	-1L	99	0	103	Running
21	13	023	Z Webster	-1L	99	7	105	Running
22	32	06	I Smythe	-1L	99	0	97	Running
23	41	021	T Bear	-1L	99	1	99	Running
24	40	061	D Hamilton	-1L	99	0	91	Running
25	33	14	C Hill	-1L	99	0	88	Running
26	34	43	K Hunter	-1L	99	0	85	Running
27	15	52	J Goldstraw	-1L	99	0	82	Running
28	22	60	J Turner	-1L	99	0	79	Running
29	29	82	P Jones	-1L	99	0	76	Running
30	36	123	G Gruber Jr	-1L	99	0	73	Running
31	12	37	N Tressler	-2L	98	0	70	Running
32	17	36	N White	-2L	98	0	67	Running
33	38	2	A Scholz	-2L	98	0	64	Running
34	25	147	K Vickers	-2L	98	0	61	Running
35	37	78	J Franklin	-2L	98	0	58	Running
36	30	87	F Casula	-3L	97	0	55	Running
37	1	026	M Riggleman Jr	-14L	86	17	57	Retired
38	2	98	A Hawkins	-36L	64	0	49	Accident
39	28	24	M Cooper	-36L	64	0	46	Clutch
40	18	21	D Tompkins	-48L	52	0	43	Retired

Caution Flags: 13 (68 laps)

Lead Changes: 8 (6 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 70 °F, South 0 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 91%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
6	061	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
45	061	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
52	026	Passing under yellow	Held for 2 seconds
53	008	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
54	026	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
63	021	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
62	026	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
69	026	Passing the pacecar	Held for 8 seconds
75	026	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
75	026	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
86	023	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line