Hey Ma!! We did it!!!!!!!!!!
We finally won our Daytona 250 race in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series! So many years of a virtual wrecked car to finally winning just one, is special. It is without question for our #05 team, our most cherished win to date. It is surreal. This was a total team effort and then some. There is no question with the talent pool the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series has to offer that wins are extremely hard to come by.
Nick had this to say “This Daytona win is really special for us. We had a great week of testing our plate cars. Passing was tough in the clash race that took place a week before and we expected the same if we couldn’t get two lanes forming. Our car was strong, I noticed that halfway in the race when I pushed fellow competitor Taylor Hurst to the lead. Matt and Brandon communicated during the whole race on what certain strategy we should do. No question, the two of them helped propel all three of our cars to the top 3 spots heading into the final laps. After our team winded down, I told Matt and Justin, I did not look in the windshield but for two brief moments that entire last lap, the entry to both corners. Justin Weaver, simply put, done the best job he has done yet. His calls on when drivers were getting more of a push from the driver behind, was really key. Without Justin, there is no question that we would not have been in position to keep the lead on the last lap. My Crew Chief, Matt Holden, kept mentioning after our race had ended, “I don’t know how these Cup drivers and Crew Chiefs deal with this pressure. This is just crazy!” Controlling the pack on the last lap, was one of the most disciplined laps I have ever ran on the virtual track and a lot of that credit goes to Matt and Justin for making the right calls on the box and the spotter stand. I’m super proud to represent the Radicals banner on the oval side of racing. Even more proud to get them their first official NASCAR win in the top level of oval sim-racing“
Matt brought the #34 home in 7th here’s his thoughts “Daytona is a race where luck typically determines your result. However, this year’s edition of our season opener involved significant strategy calls that handed Radicals Online a well-deserved win with my teammate Nick Ottinger. My race was a little frantic, as I experienced computer issues that left me with no sound and no team communication all race long. Ottinger and our corporate teammates at Team Conti devised a brilliant strategy that got them the lead. I was thankfully able to watch the strategy unfold and joined in with a late pitstop for only a splash of gas. After a wild final restart, we brought home the #34 Radicals Toyota in 7th place. I’m very happy to start off the new partnership with Radicals by bringing home a top 10 finish. I look forward to Phoenix, a track where I very much enjoy racing, and hope to get the 34 machine into victory lane. Thanks to all of Radicals partners for supporting our 2018 NPAiS effort”
