Many Cautions & Spins in the City of Gambling. Our #12 Michael Heilek went to the casino early (engine failure)
The PWA Oval Series and our team made a stop at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Max Lange started from P3, and the other two (Max & Michael Heilek) from midfield. Right from the beginning, it was a restless race. Many spins and some unnecessary actions from the drivers led to multiple interruptions. Unfortunately, all our team drivers were involved. Michael even had to park his car in the pits due to an engine failure. In the end, Max Lange secured a strong 3rd place. Max Heilek was once again able to lead a few laps.
Results from the NASCAR-FAN Store Threewide Racing Team:
•3rd place: Max Lange
•17th place: Max Heilek
•34th place: Michael Heilek
Race Report from Max Heilek #12:
“Las Vegas is a great track today, one that I’ve always felt comfortable on. However, during preparations, it quickly became clear that the car would get loose fast if we weren’t careful. The strategy was to save the tires and move forward during the long run. Unfortunately, those long runs didn’t happen as there were many self-spins, like in the first caution, where a car spun right in front of me, and I took a light hit.
Later, I was able to avoid a crash that involved teammate Max in the #66. The race was shaped by many different strategies, both on and off the track. During the first wave of scheduled pit stops, the #12 didn’t pit because the stage caution wasn’t too far away, and the tires would have worn out by then. Another caution just before this marker allowed for the possibility of using an unusual strategy inspired by the IndyCar Million Dollar Challenge. We pitted from 9th place, with many cars on fresh tires behind us, to grab a set of tires as well.
With four laps to go until the stage end, I wanted to keep the tires fresh and deliberately drove as slowly as possible without losing a lap. This worked well, and I found myself just outside the top 10 for most of the time. During the second pit cycle, I wanted to gamble a bit, as fitting for Vegas, and save a set of tires for the final phase. The cautions had been falling reliably after a certain time, and like in the first race of the season, I was able to showcase my NASCAR-Fan Store Threewide Mustang leading for a few laps.
A further crash occurred later on the Nellis Straightaway, and while my #12 almost made it through, I was clipped at the last moment from the left. Thankfully, the damage was only cosmetic. Sadly, our dream car with the #75 wasn’t as lucky and had to retire with an engine failure.
Knowing I still had two sets of tires left, one more than my competitors, I increased my pace with about 35 laps to go and quickly gained positions, assuming that another caution would come after 10-15 laps, and that we wouldn’t be able to fully utilize our super long-run speed. But just at that moment, the longest run of the day occurred, and I lost several places on the overheated rubber.
In short: The speed was there, but we gambled a bit too much in Vegas, and the #12 team couldn’t show what we’re capable of. The next race in Martinsville will be very different, I think. I expect a mix of bumper cars, survival battles, and a parade behind Fred in the pace car. However, the virtual pit crews from our NASCAR-Fan Store Threewide Racing Team are well-prepared, and I’ll still try to keep the dents and scratches on the #12 to a minimum so that we don’t have to bring out the sledgehammer and grinder!”
Race Report Max Lange #66:
Today’s race took place on the 1.5-mile oval in Las Vegas. There were 35 drivers at the start, and after qualifying, I began the race from 5th place. We had 134 laps to complete, with a stage caution on lap 50. By lap 35, the race had already seen its third caution. I pitted from P1 to get fresh tires, but 12 drivers stayed out, so I restarted from P13.
With only 9 laps left until the stage end, the hunt for bonus points was on. Naturally, the drivers on fresh tires were much faster than those who stayed out. Unfortunately, some drivers still tried to keep pace with the newer tires, and as a result, I got caught in an unnecessary accident in lap 43, where the #5 pushed me into the wall. After repairing the light damage to my car, I fought my way back from P26 and was in 1st place by lap 93.
Most of the drivers made their final pit stop under another caution at that point. I restarted from P3 and then engaged in a multi-lap duel for the lead with the #23. However, this wore my tires down more quickly, allowing the #23 and later the #67 to overtake me.
Considering that not everything went smoothly in the race, I’m very happy with finishing in P3.
Race Report Michael Heilek #12:
With enthusiasm and optimism, I entered the second PWA Oval Series race for the “Nascar-Fan Store Threewide iRacing Team” on the Las Vegas oval. In qualifying, I secured a P20 starting position in the midfield.
Based on the experience from practice, it was clear that the track was very hard on the tires, so I decided to drive in a tire-conserving manner. At first, I lost some positions because of this, but over the distance, I was able to make them up again.
Unfortunately, in lap 17, I was involved in a crash that set me back. After several pit stops, my car was competitive again, and I was hopeful that I could rejoin the midfield and push forward. However, after a caution in lap 97, the restart saw a noticeable increase in aggression from the field. This led to a crash on the backstretch, in which I was involved, and my car suffered an engine failure.
My conclusion: My strategy of staying out of trouble didn’t work out this time. On the bright side, our teammate Max L. finished in 3rd place, and Max H. finished in 17th.
