Week Eight of the NASCAR iRacing.com Class A Series (NiCAS) was a landmark week for the series, and the venue, as the Chevrolet Impalas took to Rockingham Speedway for 110 laps around the historic speedway. Rockingham was a fixture on the NASCAR schedule since the track opened their doors in 1965, until it was taken off the schedule in 2004. Now nearly a decade later, many renovations have been made by the track, but the tacky, tricky racing surface remains, and would prove to be just as burdensome as it was for drivers and teams nearly a decade ago.
Freshly scanned by the folks at iRacing.com, Week Eight marked the first time official races were held for the top level oval car at the track appropriately nicknamed “The Rock”. While many front runners in the championship utilized a drop week, Anthony Kernich handled the abrasive surface with ease. Winning the top rated race of the week, Kernich was able to stamp his name atop the weekly standings for the NiCAS first ever trip to Rockingham Speedway.
The NiCAS made their first trip to the freshly scanned Rockingham Speedway
Kernich overcame an eighth place starting position and slid in front of Joe Slama late in the race to capture the huge win. Slama came home a disappointing second after dominating much of race, leading 81 laps just to fall short in the closing laps. Jamie Privette started fourth and finished third, while Alonzo Morales and Howard Bell rounded out the top five. The race saw only three cautions, which could be seen as a surprise as many drivers thought the tight confines would lead to treacherous racing conditions.
Howard Bell and Gene Miller tied in the most active driver section, both with nine starts, but Todd Hendrick (Florida Club) had by far the most productive starts on the week. Hendrick raced seven times, scoring five top fives and four wins over the week, scoring him the most wins of anyone. Sascha Wesler (DE-AT-CH) was the only other driver to score multiple wins, taking home top honors in two of his three starts.
Next week the NiCAS will head to Alabama for 70 laps of restrictor plate racing action around the monstrous 2.66 mile oval of Talladega Superspeedway. We could see the old style pack racing make a return to the sim, but competitors will have to be on watch for two car drafting tandems trying to form and risk it all for a big win. Nothing is set in stone at the track famous for surprise winners, and spectacular crashes. Strap in tight when you take to the high banks, and check back at inRacingNews next week for a full recap of all the top stories from a jam packed Talladega week.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/nascar-news/nascar/the-rock-makes-nicas-debut
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