4/7/2012 -- Brian Scott Wins Goodys Fast Relief 175 at Martinsville
The Fusion Cup Series visited the tight, flat corners at Martinsville Thursday night. Cam Brown took his second pole of the season with a lap averaging 96.352 MPH while Ed Vaughan was not far behind running a 96.205 MPH to take the outside pole. The race started slowly with the first caution coming out on Lap 13 for a single car spin. There were seven cautions in the first 95 laps, most for single-car spins as everyone were racing each other pretty clean.When the green dropped to start Lap 96 the field started a run that would take them all the way to the checkers. Brown restarted first and when green flag stops began had dominated the race to that point leading 108 of the first 137 laps. When he came in for a green flag stop on Lap 137 Steve Gallagher assumed the lead and held it until he pitted on Lap 145. Vaughan found himself out front for the next 11 laps but he finally had to come in on Lap 156. That handed the lead to Brian Scott on Lap 157 who had already made his green flag stop. Scott had restarted 11th on Lap 96 but steadily worked his way up through the field to end up leading the final 18 laps. He led 34 laps total and finished 1.37 seconds ahead of Brown as the only two cars on the lead lap. Steve Gallagher, Carey Henderson and Darryl Griffith rounded out the Top 5.
There were 8 cautions for 36 laps and 16 lead changes among 8 different drivers. Redline took the most team points and Dodge came out on top this week in the manufacturer points battle. Steve Gallagher maintains the series points lead while Darryl Griffith improved one spot to second and trails by 14. Dave Lesnick and Brown are tied for third just one point behind Griffith and Greg Checovetes lurks only one point behind them in fifth.
The Cup Series is off this week and will return to action on Thursday April 19th at Texas for the Samsung Mobile 175.
By Steve Metzler
29 February 2012 -- NWS 2012 Starts With a Bang
60 laps. 21 drivers. 3 cautions. 1 Winner. The Fusion Sim Racing league kicked off its Nationwide series this past Monday at Daytona. After nearly a year away to follow his boyhood dream of becoming a cowboy, Kirk 'Seaminer' Bosma returned with a vengeance. He led 14 of the 60 laps and brought home the victory, making a statement that he is back, and ready to race. Two laps into the race, the first caution flew. Casualties included Cam Brown, Steve Metzler and Scott Dyche. All three were out of the race by lap 6. The final caution occurred with 5 to go. This accident collected Doug Manning, Carey Henderson, and Dave Lesnick. Lesnick got the worst of the accident. His car flipped 6 times and came to rest on its hood. He was checked out at the hospital and was later released.
News and Notes: There were 8 race leaders. Adam Maxwell led the most laps with 29. Bosma led 14. He also had the fastest lap of the race, lap 4 at 47.963 seconds. Joe Hayse was second with 48.007 also on lap 4. Next week the Nationwide series goes to Phoenix International Raceway for the Basha's Supermarkets 94
By Greg Checovetes
24 February 2012 -- Scott Pryor Wins Fusion Shootout
The Fusion Cup Series ran the non-points Fusion Shootout last night at Daytona. Dave Lesnick had the fastest car in Q but it was Dave Nestor who got to start up front due to a server problem in HH. 24 cars took the green flag but only made it to Lap 2 when contact between Darrell Hidelbaugh and Dillon Harville brought out the first of three yellow flags. The majority of the field made it through that caution unscathed and after the restart ran the next 12 laps without incident. Many cars did not pit during the 1st caution so it was time for pit stops around Lap 18. The 88 of Cam Brown had led 13 laps at that point was the first car to duck in for a green flag stop. He unfortunately ran into a problem on pit entry that caused him to lose control and shoot back out in front of the pack. This caused the Big One involving half the field and several contending cars including the 88 saw their nights end early.
The race restarted on Lap 23 with 15 cars still on the track but only 10 ultimately able to keep going. The race stayed green until the Scott Dyche's 73 machine lost it's engine on lap 42 to bring out the final caution. Darryl Griffith, Kris Doud, Kinnard Furtick and Scott Pryor took turns leading during the final run as it was essentially a five-car race at that point. The last green flag stop proved to be the difference maker as Doud, Pryor and Ed Vaughn were able to come out together and keep a cushion between themselves and the remaining cars until the closing laps. Doud suffered an engine failure with four laps to go but got the car down out of the groove and the race stayed under green. Furtick and Joey Staton were closing fast when the white flag came out but needed one more lap to catch the leaders. Scott Pryor took the checkers followed by Vaughn, Furtick, Staton and Griffith rounding out the Top 5. Furtick led the most laps.
The Fusion Cup Series returns to Daytona next Thursday for the Daytona 175. Last night was a good shakedown run, but the points battle begins for real on March 1.
By Steve Metzler
10 February 2012 -- 2011/2012 Winter Series Concluded
The Fusion Winter Series concluded last night with the eighth event of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dave Lesnick led Darryl (Dewski) Griffith by 10 points going into the race, but with 17 drivers in the field there was more than enough room for that to change. Dewski's best chance was to lead the most laps, win the race and hope Dave finished 7th or worse.The race was uneventful early on. After a couple of early cautions everyone settled in for a long run that included a round of green flag stops. After the third caution Dewski found himself at the front of the field hunting for the win and a chance at the points title. Nobody was less happy to see the fourth caution come out with 9 to go. Pit strategy was to play a part in the finish from there.
Dewski and the rest of the lead lap cars rolled into the pits while Kinnard Furtick, Steve Gallagher and Lesnick stayed out. Barring a race-ending wreck Lesnick was going to finish on the lead lap, no worse than 8th and was running 3rd on the restart with four to go. Dewski restarted behind him and knew he had to charge to the front in a hurry. He used his fresh rubber to get around the 49 of Lesnick and started working on the 29 of Gallagher for 2nd while setting his sights on the leader Furtick. As the field took the white flag Lesnick was in 4th, one lap away from wrapping it up. Dewski was trying to make the pass for 2nd on the outside in Turn 3 on the final lap when contact with the 29 sent him spinning to an eight-place finish. Kinnard Furtick led 15 laps won and Dave Lesnick came in third and won the series points title. Doug Manning was second, Corbin Huffman fourth and Steve Gallagher led the most laps (26) on the way to a fifth-place finish to round out the top 5.
Thanks to all drivers who participated in the Winter Series. The car count was great (15 cars average) for an off-season series and there was a lot of good, green-flag racing each week. The next league event is the Fusion Nationwide Series non-points event at Daytona on Monday February 20th. The track will then be open for Cup practice on Tuesday the 21st to get ready for the Fusion Shootout on Thursday the 23rd.
By Steve Metzler
08 February 2012 -- Fusion 2012 Series Registrations Now Open
Much belated congratulations go out to the 2011 Fusion Series Champions: Cup Series Champion - Steve Gallagher
Nationwide Series Champion - Greg Checovetes
Offline Cup Series Champion - Jeff Garner
Offline Truck Series Champion - Tim Shinoski
The team championship in the Cup series was a close battle that saw both frontrunners take turns leading. When the dust settled it was the Redline Motorsports crew of Doug Manning, Steve Gallagher, Howard McLeod and Steve Metzler that came out on top edging out ITDH for the Cup Series team championship. ITDH returned the favor in the Nationwide series by taking the team championship there. That race was never close as ITDH drivers Greg Checovetes, Carey Henderson, Danny Boswell and Patrick Wilson asserted their series dominance early on and never looked back.
2012 season registrations are underway for both online series. The offline series are getting started also. In the Cup Series we will be running the Bullring 2011 Sprint Cup Series mod while our Nationwide series will be running the Nationwide Series 2011 mod from Sim Racing Design. The Cup series is an open setup series that uses the weather conditions from the actual race weekend. Nationwide is a fixed setup, fixed weather series. Both series use 2x tire wear, realistic damage and allow aids. This year we will be using the Chase format in both series to determine the points champion. If you are interested in running with us at Fusion all you need to do is get a forum account and send a registration request to the series admin using the email link provided on the appropriate series' page.
Teams are recruiting drivers, cars are being painted and Daytona is just around the next turn. The first event is the no-point Fusion Sim Racing Kickoff to the Nationwide season on Monday February 20th. The first Cup event is the no-point Fusion Shootout on Thursday February 23rd. Join us for what is sure to be another great season of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season action at Fusion Sim Racing.
By Steve Metzler
05 September 2011 -- From FSR HEADQUARTERS
The “Chase for the Championship” is right around the corner. Cup Series drivers’ head to Richmond International Speedway this week – the final race of the regular season. This year “Chase” format will remain the same as last years in that the top twelve in driver points will earn their ticket to compete for the championship. However, instead of the 10-point bonus per race win the Fusion Sim-Racing Cup Series winners in the “chase” will earn 3 points per race win.
Looking at the current standings positions ten through thirteen are in a close battle for the last two “chase” spots. Also, those who have secured their ticket to
the playoff are all strong runners at Richmond International Speedway – cannot count any of them out for securing those three additional points. Still in a constant battle, one that started at Daytona race number one and will not finish until Homestead race number 36, is the team points championship.
ITDH Racing is the reining champion from the 2010 season. They outraced Redline Motorsports in a battle that became evident in the middle of the season all the way to the last lap of the final race in Homestead. That year Redline Motorsports came up short by two points. This year ITDH maintained the lead in team points up until Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although Redline Motorsports leads ITDH by 7 points this battle is far from finished. Expect the team championship along with the driver champion point standings to flip-flop throughout the remainder of the season. This is setting up to be an exciting playoff season. Good luck to all drivers’ and teams in the final 11 events.
By Steve Gallagher
10 July 2011 -- Off-Line Cup Series Announces The New Format For The Chase To The Championship!
From the Director of the Series we have information on the scoring format to be used for the final races of the season which will determine the Champion of the Cup Off-Line Series.Below is the new format:
1. The Chase will consist of eight (8) races starting with Indianapolis. The Fusion Chase to the Championship includes one road course, Watkins Glen!
2. Eligible drivers will be all who signed up at the start of the Season and who participate in that first race at Indianapolis.
3. All drivers start the Chase with 0 points, but will have bonus points according to the number of wins. Each win earns 3 bonus points. Example, a driver with 9 wins in the regular season will start the Chase with 27 points; a driver with 4 wins will start the Chase with 12 points, etc.
4. The season will end at Homestead. The winning driver and his family will have the opportunity to spend 2 weeks at Disney World……... at their expense.
Fusion Off-Line Cup Series wishes all drivers the best of luck in this the inaugural series in our League!
We also want to take this opportunity to post the standings of the top 5 drivers in this series after the race at Infinion. We also include the points for one notable late comer, Scott Felthousen.
1st Place #14 - Shaggy-ITDH - 640 Points
2nd Place #34 - Mike Johnson - 605 Points
3rd Place #77 - Tim Shinoski - 545 Points
4th Place #03 - Roger Dickson - 467 Points
5th Place #839 - Dave Nestor-ITDH - 351 Points
12th Place #28 - Scott Felthousen - 165 Points
In celebration of the inaugural Cup Off-Line Series, the winner will receive a certificate showing his accomplishment and dedication.
By Gus Campuzano
02 May 2011 -- FSR Nationwide Series First Trip To Virginia
The Fusion Nationwide Series returned to the short tracks this week at Richmond International Raceway for the Bubba Burger 120. Newcomer Calob Mclaughlin started on the pole in his Fusion Sim Racing debut and the field got a couple of good green flag runs in early. Mclaughlin led every lap between the start and Lap 113 with the exception of a couple of lead changes that occurred under yellow. Passing on the outside was tough and nobody gave up positions easily on the low line. Restarts were where most of the action occurred (there were 9 cautions for a total of 47 laps) and true to form the deciding moment came on the restart on Lap 113. The #4 car of Kirk Bosma got a great restart and was able to pull up alongside the #83 of Mclaughlin going into Turn 1. Bosma held his line and Mclaughlin came down a bit to pinch him - they touched sparking a melee that involved the top five cars. Dave Lesnick was able to successfully navigate the maze of spinning cars to take the lead with 6 to go. The race finshed under caution with Lesnick claming his second Nationwide win of the season. Mike Johnson, Carey Henderson, Joey Staton and Steve Metzler rounded out the top five.Despite being involved in the final wreck while running 3rd Greg Checovetes hung on to finish 12th and maintains a 22 point advantage over Darryl Griffith in the points chase. The race for 3rd is heating up as only 11 points separate positions 3-6. ITDH is still running away with the team points race and Joey Staton shaved two points off Murray Bonzono's lead in the ROY race. The series is at Darlington next week. The Track Too Tough To Tame promises to make an entertaining race - don't miss it.
By Steve Metzler
12 April 2011 -- FSR Nationwide Series In The Lone Star State
The Fusion Nationwide series pulled into Texas Motor Speedway on Monday April 11th for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 150. The evening started with the threat of severe weather hanging over several drivers, forcing at least one to drop just before qualifying. Greg Checovetes took his first pole of the season by an ever-so-slim margin of .005 seconds over ITDH teammate Danny Boswell who was unfazed by the threat of tornadoes in his area. Greg led the field to the green and led the first two laps before Danny was able to pass him and led until Forrest Sparks and Steve Gallagher got together to bring out the first caution on Lap 6. Darrell Hidelbaugh Sr. stayed out and assumed the lead when the rest of the field pitted. Shortly after the restart Steve Metzler ran into the back of Murray Bonzono to bring out the second caution on Lap 13. The field settled in after that and went on a 45 lap run that included a round of green flag stops and five different leaders.As the saying goes though, cautions breed cautions and the final 38 laps were marred by 6 yellows. The restart on Lap 96 proved to be the decisive moment - Darrel Hidelbaugh Sr. had led the previous 13 laps but had trouble getting going on the restart, allowing Patrick Wilson to pass low to take the lead. The field bunched up behind the leaders bringing out the final caution setting up a green-white-checker finish. Patrick led the field to the restart but this time Danny spun his tires while running second when the green/white flags waved. Steve Metzler was able to get by but the rest of the field got caught up allowing Patrick to cruise around to the checkers to claim his third win of the season with Steve finishing .6 seconds behind. Point leader Greg Checovetes nursed his banged-up car home third with Ted Sullivan and Darrell Hidelbaugh Sr. rounding out the top 5.
Next week the Nationwide Series will be at Talladega for the Aaron's 151.
By Steve Metzler
28 March 2011 -- FSR Offline Cup Series Gaining Momentum
The FSR Sprint Cup Off-Line Series is gaining momentum and a powerhouse is emerging. After 2 events, car #14 driven by Jeff Garner, aka Shaggy has taken the lead in points. Jeff won the inaugural race at Las Vegas in a convincing manner, giving notice to the rest of the drivers that a tough battle laid ahead. Roger Dickson who had trouble qualifying and started sixth, finished second and Tim Shinoski took home third. Bristol saw a very competitive race and Shaggy managed to pull another win. Mike Johnson finished second and Dave Nestor third. Tim Shinoski got the worst of Bristol as he was involved in an accident that took him out of the running early in the race. Shaggy again, showed the strength of ITDH Racing by winning Bristol. The standings, after two races show Jeff Garner in first place with 93 total points. Tim Shinoski, despite his bad fortune at Bristol is in second place with 83 total points and Mike Johnson is third with 71 total points.This week, FSR Sprint Cup heads to Fontana, California. Will car #14 show its dominance again or will some other driver take home the trophy? We’ll have to wait and see.
By Gus Campuzano