Ultimate National Sim Racing

By Dominic Aragon
UNSR Director of Communications
1/1/2012

UNSR’s decisions to change some its rules and guidelines have sparked talk amongst the drivers. In recent polls taken, drivers have commented on some of the hot topic issues floating around the league.

While UNSR has tried to perfect the two car draft tandems seen in NASCAR, the series has usually run pack racing. However, two cars can break to a higher or lower line with momentum to try and pass other drivers.

In a vote 6-2, drivers prefer pack racing over tandem racing.

Brandon Hauff, Veteran Driver:" [Pack Racing] makes it more exciting. Bumper to bumper racing is fun because you are running with drivers consistently in a line. I’d be fine with tandems, but I prefer pack."

Brandon Lawson, Veteran Driver: "There are fewer wrecks with two-car drafts. You can push a little bit in the corner, and a little bit out of the corner. You’ve always got a partner. You have to force three wide with pack racing. With tandems, you’ve got two cars and a little bit more room."

In a vote recently taken about the Green-White-Checkered rule changes, twelve Drivers said one attempt would be the best, while two said the rule should be kept at three.

Dante Ricci, Veteran Driver and UNSR Administrator: “One because people get one extra chance to capitalize, but they know to be conservative & not waste the chance.”

Various drivers were asked to give their opinions on the use of team rooms during races. While an independent poll was not conducted, drivers gave their input.

Cullen Brown, Veteran Driver and Past Champion: “Everything’s quiets when we are in team rooms, we get to work together. I don’t have to listen to everyone else complain.

[If rooms are taken away completely,] I would be upset. It would be harder to talk to my teammates. I can focus better when it’s quiet. If we had to stay in the same room, I’m OK with it, but it’s when everyone’s talking over everyone, that’s when I don’t like it.”

By Dominic Aragon
UNSR Director of Communications
12/23/2011

FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE

UNSR is well-known for its racing rules that are similar to NASCAR’s. But the detrimental actions of a few drivers this week have sparked the sanctioning body to change rules around the league.

“We felt we had good races in Driver’s Choice and Nationwide Indy,” said league president Xander Clements. However, this was before the conclusion of those races. “We only had three cautions before [green-white-checker attempts] in the Driver’s Choice Series and four at Indy. We got good runs—however, the green-white-checker relives the moment every time and people start to panic.”

UNSR officials decided earlier this week to retire the G-W-C attempts for now. Clements has had an outspoken praise for the Tuesday night ARCA Series, which tends to see less cautions. That series does not use the G-W-C rule. This will be the first time in league history the premiere series of UNSR will not use the overdrive function, as this rule will take effect at the Atlanta race January 4.

It was also agreed upon that team rooms will not be used in the Nationwide Series anymore. Since the league switched over to TeamSpeak 3 in its fourth season as its primary way of communication, drivers have had the option to be in team rooms during races, to cut down on noise levels for fellow competitors and to add the element of strategy.

“We have had people getting into fights and there has been miscommunication,” says Clements. “There has also been conspiracy to bring out cautions [intentionally] to help [teammates out].”

This has proven true; due to a controversy from Driver’s Choice race at Piggzcreek this past Saturday. Proof has come fourth that veteran driver Brian Mercurio intentionally spun his racecar with less than ten laps remaining to push the fuel-mileage game out the window. Clements says that this type of action is unacceptable, and what’s even worse is that there is proof.

“Any kind of incident [of this nature will have consequences]”, says Clements. “Drivers will get suspended one week from all series.”

Drivers for the most part seem to be behind the official’s decisions.

“I have mixed feelings,” says second season driver Dylan Livengood. “I don’t like the no G-W-C rule, but it also won’t drag the races out. I hate to see a race end under caution.” As for team rooms, “If you notice, the drivers who do good have 4 or 5 guys [in their rooms]. They are sharing feedback. People who don’t always get in rooms, like me, are at a huge disadvantage.”

With the Nationwide Series following more rules of its ARCA counterpart, only time will tell if officials will change already similar schedules to be exact for both series. But one thing’s for sure—come Season Eight, a different Daytona surface will be used.

To change kickoff week, UNSR will be using an older version of Daytona. The 2007 version will bring back the bumpy surface and officials hope this will add a new level of excitement.

“It’s a pretty good idea,” says veteran driver Cullen Brown. “This is something cool and new to try,” says the driver who leads all drivers with the most Nationwide wins at six.

But overall, the changes are meant to keep one common goal: to keep UNSR close.

“Hopefully, [these changes] will make us closer as a family,” says Xander Clements. “We have all gotten closer, even with new drivers, and we are all becoming friends.”

       The UNSR Nationwide Series has been all over the map this off-season, from limelight new teams, to humble competitors returning to the premiere series. This season will have its own DVD of nearly an hour of total footage recapping the season, a championship payout for the top 3 podium finishers, and its highest car count making UNSR history of 28 at Daytona for its kick-off. However, the race was to filled with wrecks, some hard racing, and a rocky bottom start for some of the series' highest competitors.

      Dante Ricci scored the pole position for the race, beating Corey Carpenter in the closing seconds of the qualifying session. He lead early, before surrendering the lead in a round of pit stops, and finding himself mid-pack for majority of the event. A total of five cautions would occur, but a couple of wrecks under caution involving Alex Ruth caused the race to seem as if that number had been doubled.

       In one of those cautions, Adam Codol slid off the bumper of one of his Solstice Racing teammates, sending him down into Brandon Hauff, who went for a ride in the grass on the Daytona tri-oval. Unfortunately, he could not keep control of the car, got airborne, and took out last season's runner-up in the championship, Corey Carpenter, Andre Castro, and multiple other drivers in a disastrous wreck. This would give Carpenter a DNF for the race, marring him to a 20th place finish.

       UNSR was accompanied by some of the best in the Solstice Racing Proline Cup Series, with the likes of Jake Poulin, Adam Codol, Brandon Lambert, among others. Unfortunately, the race did not leave a perfect impression of UNSR on them, but they provided some exciting racing, giving some of the series regulars a new challenge. Jordan Robson was also with this group of drivers coming over, and he was able to bring home the victory in the 125-mile race.

      Overall, the race was nothing to be proud of. Still, we head to Kansas Speedway next week, and it is going to come down to who can be the best of the Midwest for Week 2.

       The UNSR Nationwide Series has been all over the map this off-season, from limelight new teams, to humble competitors returning to the premiere series. This season will have its own DVD of nearly an hour of total footage recapping the season, a championship payout for the top 3 podium finishers, and its highest car count making UNSR history of 28 at Daytona for its kick-off. However, the race was to filled with wrecks, some hard racing, and a rocky bottom start for some of the series' highest competitors.

      Dante Ricci scored the pole position for the race, beating Corey Carpenter in the closing seconds of the qualifying session. He lead early, before surrendering the lead in a round of pit stops, and finding himself mid-pack for majority of the event. A total of five cautions would occur, but a couple of wrecks under caution involving Alex Ruth caused the race to seem as if that number had been doubled.

       In one of those cautions, Adam Codol slid off the bumper of one of his Solstice Racing teammates, sending him down into Brandon Hauff, who went for a ride in the grass on the Daytona tri-oval. Unfortunately, he could not keep control of the car, got airborne, and took out last season's runner-up in the championship, Corey Carpenter, Andre Castro, and multiple other drivers in a disastrous wreck. This would give Carpenter a DNF for the race, marring him to a 20th place finish.

       UNSR was accompanied by some of the best in the Solstice Racing Proline Cup Series, with the likes of Jake Poulin, Adam Codol, Brandon Lambert, among others. Unfortunately, the race did not leave a perfect impression of UNSR on them, but they provided some exciting racing, giving some of the series regulars a new challenge. Jordan Robson was also with this group of drivers coming over, and he was able to bring home the victory in the 125-mile race.

      Overall, the race was nothing to be proud of. Still, we head to Kansas Speedway next week, and it is going to come down to who can be the best of the Midwest for Week 2.

      Heading into Talladega, not a single drivers knows exactly what to expect. You can ride in the back of the pack to avoid possible wrecks, but what if you lose the draft? You can try to stay in front of the pack, but what if you fall into the middle of the pack, where most of the wrecks happen? Or what if you decide to simply race and forget about strategy, but then get taken out in the big one or another caution? When you head to Talladega, or any superspeedway in general, anything can happen.

       Cullen Brown won the pole for the 100-mile event, with Chris Overland alongside. Corey Carpenter qualified up in the Top 5 as well, but points contenders Jordan Buster and Xander Clements both qualified 8th and 13th, putting each of them dead smack in the middle of the field. Cullen would be able to lead the first lap of the race and collect the bonus points, but a caution on lap 5 including Dustin Lengert and Chris Overland pulled all the field into pit lane for pit stops.

       Heading to the 2.66 mile track, Dante Ricci was by far the expected favorite. He won the Daytona race earlier in the season, plus multiple other wins in UNSR Series at the 'Dega as well. Unfortunately for Dante's championship and race-win hopes, he would blow a header early in the race, marring the team to a 23rd place finish. This would put him seventh place in the points, fifty points out of the lead. With only three races remaining on the schedule, the feat would be nearly impossible.

       A total of five cautions would bring hard racing, some crazy crashes, and an unbelievable Green-White-Checkered finish. Chris Overland would lead the field to the GWC Attempt, with Cullen Brown, Brandon Hauff, and Corey Carpenter looking to make a move in the two final laps. On the last lap, Brown made a move to the inside of Overland down the back straightaway. However, Overland cut him off, sending Brown into the inside wall, knocking him back from a 2nd Place to a 12th Place finishing position. Overland was put at the tail end of the lead lap, giving Brandon Hauff (51) his first career UNSR Nationwide Series Victory.

       Unfortunately basically all championship contenders except for Corey Carpenter (30), a now twenty point deficit is between second place and Carpenter himself. Xander Clements moved up to second place in points, but with each of the contenders having a 'not-so-good' race, it looks doubtful for any kind of points race when heading into Homestead. However, Clements, Buster, and Brown have their strongest suit on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so when heading to Charlotte, change is still very possible.

       On Wednesday, October 5th, the UNSR Nationwide Series headed up and across the border up into Montreal, Quebec, for some Canadian UNSR racing. Underdog going into the race, Andre Castro qualified second and sky-rocketed to the lead in the first laps, dominating the entire first-half of the race. Xander Clements was the man to score the pole, holding off Castro by two tenths.

       Castro was able to hold the lead for the majority of the race, fending off multiple charges from Cullen Brown, Xander Clements, and Corey Carpenter. He would go to lead the most laps, up until around lap twenty of twenty-eight when he was overtaken by Brown, slipping back as the top four began to fight. Unfortunately, Castro would spin out off of the final turn with about six laps to go, falling back from second to fourth place on the track, the same position that he would finish in.

       Somehow, it seems as if Corey Carpenter has a teleportation device to keep him out of trouble up until five laps to go, and then move him to the lead in all of the races this season. Besides Daytona, he had only lead laps at the end of races, most of the time within ten laps to go. He grabbed the lead with five laps to go, with Cullen Brown on the charge and Xander Clements trying to keep up without a third gear.

       Sadly for Carpenter's race, he would slightly overdrive the hairpin, and with a lapped car up high was a near perfect pick for Cullen Brown to go on through, bringing Clements with him on the final lap. Carpenter would lose some points to the two of them, but held them to just a thirteen point deficit. Castro was not close enough to strike and take advantage, keeping him back to fourth position with Jordan Buster edging out Chris Overland for fifth at the line.

       Heading to next week at Talladega Superspeedway, anything can happen, and with the numbers growing enormously each race, the estimated number of cars for the 100 mile-race is over 30 drivers. This means that points can be largely made up, and largely lost. Carpenter heads in with the biggest lead on second that he has had all season, but with the entire top eight being within striking distance, who knows what will happen to the point standings.

        The UNSR Nationwide Series headed to the famed, Atlanta Motor Speedway this week, hoping for another race filled with hard racing action and cool wrecks. The beast of this 1.5 mile track would not disappoint, giving only three cautions but still triggering a side-by-side duel to the line.

       Andre Castro stole the pole, holding off drivers with the likes of Corey Carpenter and Cullen Brown, two drivers who had been dominating the races prior to Race 3. Castro had mentioned his strong suit was speedway tracks, and he did not lie. He went on to lead 33 of the race's 65 laps, holding off Carpenter for the most laps lead, by dominating the first half.

       Unfortunately, the #7 of Andre Castro and the #36 of Xander Clements made contact while racing hard for the second position off of turn four and both went around. Each got engine damage from the wreck, although both were able to salvage the finishing positions of fifth and sixth with Andre having the higher of the two.

       Cullen Brown had rode second place nearly all race behind Andre up until he had a connection fail and dropped out of the server. He quickly re-entered, getting the lucky dog, and coming back to an unbelievable third place finish.

        Corey Carpenter has yet to make a mistake, and he showed that the tricky mile-and-a-half track in Georgia that it would not be that Wednesday night for him to start. He went on to lead over twenty laps after Castro fell out of the picture, and held on to win the race in a side-by-side duel against Jordan Buster. He only nosed him out by a hood length, but that was enough to get the bonus points for winning and extend his point lead with a margin of now 9 points heading into his favorite track for Nationwide, Montreal.

       Who else to look out for next week? Cullen Brown would be a good pick. He can drive road courses better than most of the field, and if he stays out of trouble, he might be able to give Carpenter a run for his money.

       Jordan Buster would be a good pick as well. Although not as veternized on the types of tracks as Carpenter or Brown, Buster can still put down some pretty hot laps. If either of the two make a mistake, don't be surprised to see the number eight car come on by.

       Wrecks, hard racing, and the points leader showing his dominance happened again this week. The question is, will we see the same up in Canada?

     The UNSR Nationwide Series headed to Richmond this past week, with a total of 5 cautions for the 100 laps and having about 3/4 of the race under green flag conditions. The battle on the track was scorching hot with anger, short tempers, and in the end one very happy driver.

     In qualifying, Jordan Buster beat out Xander Clements for the pole, although nearly two tenths of a second off the fastest practice time. Cullen Brown and Corey Carpenter made up the second row, although being fastest in practice by a tenth over Buster and with Clements not even putting down a lap. Still these two drivers came to be the big players in this race, the only who could make some passing moves at the front of the field.

     In the beginning, Cullen Brown was able to get the lead, using the inside lane on the start to his advantage, although holding same with Carpenter and Clements. In the later part of the race, Jake Fisher was able to make his way up to the front via pit strategy under the fourth caution, and battled with Cullen for many laps until he slid up in turns one and two, losing the lead and then proceding to spin out the next lap.

     Fisher was furious, though, for he felt as if Brown was simply divebombing him until he made the mistake on his apex. However, Brown was able to hold the lead up until five laps to go with no real challenge besides the cars staying out under the caution flags.

      Or was he. Corey Carpenter had worked his way up to second place, and began to gain on Cullen in the closing laps of the race, finally on his tail when heading into turn 3 with two laps to go. Cullen blocked Corey as far as he could, although he eventually gave in and made contact with Carpenter as he went on by. This sent Cullen out into the wall, and Carpenter went on to collect the victory the next lap.

     Corey Carpenter now has a three point lead over Dante Ricci, with a tie for third between Jordan Buster and Xander Clements, both eleven points behind. With Cullen's runner-up finish, he gained a multitude of spots in points, moving up into sixth position only thirteen points back from the leader.

     It looks to be a very promising, and exciting, season ahead of us, and heading to the infamous Atlanta Motor Speedway, ANYTHING can happen.

     The Daytona International Speedway plays host to the kick-off of nearly every single online simulated racing league out on the internet, and UNSR's Nationwide Series would be no different. Daytona has played host of the first race in every single one of UNSR's Series, although this race was one to remember.

     Now shifting UNSR's Premiere Series to Wednesdays, UNSR set up an eight race season for a brand new series on Sim Racing Design's Nationwide Mod. In this first race, we had an official car count of fifteen cars on the grid, with only one not finishing the entire 100 mile race.

     Cullen Brown won the pole for the race, by a small margin over second place Corey Carpenter. Both of them being in the same team channel, they quickly got in line and began to do work.

      The race then went green up until Lap 21 of 40, when a chain reaction wreck occurred in Turns 1 and 2 when Tristan Hagenstein tried to push Sean Farr on the outside lane and got into an accident. A couple of other cars were involved, but nobody had any extreme injuries to their car and everyone got their cosmetic damage fixed on pit stops under the first caution flag of the day.

     The race then went green about another ten to fifteen laps before the second caution came out, when going into Turn 3 Chris Barns and Sean Farr made contact, sending the #022 of Sean Farr around. Sean Farr would retire from this incident, but have some very choiced words for Chris Barns and Alex Ruth, teammate of Barns, after this race.

     This set up a four lap dash, with Tristan Hagenstein and Doug DeNise making contact and nearly wrecking by making two unbelievable saves through the grass.Eventually, Corey Carpenter was able to gather a final charge on the high line with Xander Clements right in line behind him pushing all the way down the backstretch, giving Carpenter a near car length advantage over inside line leader, Dante Ricci. Unfortunately, while trying to help Carpenter, Jordan Buster got into the back of Cullen Brown, sending off a chain reaction incident in Turn 3 on the final lap. This in turn gave Dante Ricci his third career UNSR victory, all of which coming from Super Speedways.

    However, it was a great kick off to a new season in UNSR, and with just two caution flags, it was shaping up to be a great set of 8 races.

       On September 10th, UNSR will host its first VERSUS race, between its bunch of stop motion makers, to the sim racers. This Saturday Evening will host a total of three races, one heat race for each side to determine the teams, and the main event with a LIVE! Broadcast for all to see. The Track has yet to be determined, but it will come soon, and as for the mod it seems like Cup11s will be the host. Stay here and tune in Saturday Evening /@ 8 PM EST!