iRacing Road-To-Pro Week 3 – Homestead Stats, Quirks, and Social Media Buzz

THE VIRTUAL HOMESTEAD-MIAMI, Fla. – Round three is in the books for the 2020 iRacing Road-To-Pro Series. Homestead-Miami Speedway played host to 19 splits on Tuesday evening, with Jordy Lopez, Jr. (7149 iRating, 1st in points) once again taking the top honors in the Top split.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is well known as it’s time as the championship decider, the season ending race weekend for the Top 3 NASCAR divisions, but in 2020, it was moved to earlier in the calendar year, replaced at the end with Phoenix Raceway for the foreseeable future.
A 1.5 mile oval that was reconfigured in 2003 to it’s current layout, Homestead-Miami Speedway is once of the most unique courses on the NASCAR schedule. Unlike most 1.5 mile-ovals, there is no tri-oval or quad-oval on the front stretch, but simply a pair of long straightaways connected by two sets of long, sweeping corners.
In the closing laps in the Top split, Lopez, Jr. was able to hold off Daniel Roeper (7433 iRating, 149th in points), last week’s Top split winner, Ryan Doucette (7271 iRating, 2nd in points), and Donovan Strauss (7465 iRating, 13th in points) for the win, with all of the Top 4 trucks under a blanket after 134 caution-free laps.
The other split winners from Tuesday night included:
2nd Split: Nicholas Morse (7052 iRating, 76th in points)
3rd Split: Brad Wright (6345 iRating, 5th in points)
4th Split: Ethan Lane (5937 iRating, 8th in points)
5th Split: Rajah Caruth (5541 iRating, 17th in points)
6th Split: Josh Parker (5004 iRating, 80th in points)
7th Split: Brandon Coppinger (4681 iRating, 98th in points)
8th Split: Johnathan Shipman (4546 iRating, 97th in points)
9th Split: Keith Maiato (3715 iRating, 347th in points)
10th Split: Adam Matz (3466 iRating, 156th in points)
11th Split: Luis Salmaso (3182 iRating, 439th in points)
12th Split: Ryan Gemmell (2918 iRating, 244th in points)
13th Split: Ken Robnett (2465 iRating, 501st in points)
14th Split: Shawn Kimball (2344 iRating, 298th in points)
15th Split: Zach York (2050 iRating, 561st in points)
16th Split: Michael Henry4 (1812 iRating, 385th in points)
17th Split: Bill Schoonover (1543 iRating, 634th in points)
18th Split: Andrew Schroeder (1486 iRating, 488th in points)
19th Split: Jonathan Lovero2 (867 iRating, 791st in points)
Four drivers earned their second victory of the 2020 Road-To-Pro season at Homestead.
-Lopez, Jr. won at Daytona International Speedway in week one.
-Lane, Kimball, and Henry4 were winners in week two at Rockingham Speedway.
60 drivers have at least one win on the season after three races.
Dan Lowther (1134 iRating, 803rd in points) led the most laps out of anyone on Tuesday night, 106 laps led in the Bottom split, but he ended up finishing in second.
Robnett, in the 13th split, only led one lap, but it was the most important one, the last one.
132 drivers led at least one lap, with 113 of those drivers leading multiple laps.
Only four splits went into eNASCAR Overtime (3rd, 10th, 14th, and 16th splits). As mentioned before, the Top split went caution-free. The 16th split ran the most laps, completing 150 laps for a scheduled 134 laps.
Seven drivers have finished in the Top 5 in all three events so far, including series points leader Lopez, Jr.
The current Top 20 in the points:
- Jordy Lopez, Jr.(7149 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 1160 points
- Ryan Doucette (7271 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 1052 points
- Seth DeMerchant (8202 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 1026 points
- Mitchell Hunt (6601 iRating, 2nd split in Week 3) 1013 points
- Brad Wright (6345 iRating, 3rd split in Week 3) 980 points
- Brodie Kostecki (6349 iRating, 3rd split in Week 3) 945 points
- Zack Nichols (6812 iRating, 2nd split in Week 3) 941 points
- Ethan Lane (5937 iRating, 4th split in Week 3) 940 points
- Adam Gilliland (6580 iRating, 2nd split in Week 3) 921 points
- Drew Faryniarz (7383 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 921 points
- Cody Byus (7302 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 886 points
- Jake Matheson (6922 iRating, 2nd split in Week 3) 884 points
- Donovan Strauss (7465 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 873 points
- Christian Pedersen (6043 iRating, 3rd split in Week 3) 865 points
- Jacob Hall (7206 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 853 points
- Jarrett Liebert (7108 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 847 points
- Rajah Caruth (5541 iRating, 5th split in Week 3) 824 points
- Aaron Rodgers (4867 iRating, 6th split in Week 3) 813 points
- Darik Bourdeau (7389 iRating, Top split in Week 3) 813 points
- Mitchell deJong (6646 iRating, 2nd split in Week 3) 802 points
Strauss, Liebert, Caruth, Rodgers, and deJong are new additions to the Top 20 after the third event of 2020.
Six drivers in the Top 20 in the standings participated in splits outside of the Top split and 2nd split in Week 3, most notably Caruth and Rodgers, 17th and 18th respectively, currently in from the 5th and 6th splits.
The following drivers fell out of the Top 20 from Week 2 to Week 3:
Joey Israelson (5725 iRating, 65th in points, 4th split in Week 3)
Brian Mercurio (6648 iRating, 22nd in points, 2nd split in Week 3)
Collin Bowden (5980 iRating, 57th in points, 3rd split in Week 3)
Will Norton (7050 iRating, 44th in points, Top split in Week 3)
Ryan Libby (5021 iRating, 23rd in points, 6th split in Week 3)
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QUIRKY STATS
Five drivers scored zero points in Week 3. Six drivers altogether have scored zero points through the entire season, only having attempted one race each.
244 drivers were incident free on Tuesday night at Homestead-Miami.
Shawn Parker6 (1846 iRating, 999th in points) was the only driver who incurred a Stop-and-Go pit penalty for going over the 17-incident mark, as he had 19 incidents on Tuesday.
No driver in three weeks has hit the 25-incident limit and gotten disqualified from their race.
That is impressive. Good job, all!
Dylan Ackart (3949 iRating, 188th in points) now has the most incidents in the entire series, at 38 incident points through three weeks.
Kristoffer Hamann (2323 iRating, 931st in points) makes the report for the same, wrong reason again. Hamaan again has the least amount of points with three starts, only with 33 points earned over said races.
In the two week period, it should be noted that Hamann did increase his iRating by over 600, and he did more than quadruple his earned points from Week 2. Still, he has won this title for another week.
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ROAD-TO-PRO RACE WEEK 3 IN TWEETS
Here are some of the community highlights from Tuesday night’s race at Homestead-Miami:
WOOOW! LETS GO!!! ANOTHER WIN! Started P11 and drove to the lead on a full green flag race! SHOUTOUT TO @MalikRayTTV FOR SPOTTING AND MY TEAM @HRZNracingteam FOR THE WINNING TRUCK! 100 point lead! ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/auhOyt9BlH
— Jordy (@JordyLopez30) April 8, 2020
I won!!! This is what happiness looks like. Wooohoooo!!!!!#enascar #simracing #iracing #2020RTP pic.twitter.com/GlvF8Gh1Dh
— Nicholas Morse (@NicMorseCO) April 8, 2020
How about that?? First win!! Ran out right at the line after running 50+ laps on a tank. 5th split too. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/UpWViLHpny
— Rajah Caruth (@rajahcaruth_) April 8, 2020
First win in the @iRacing #RTP series since my championship back in 2009, pumped to do it in throwback colors! Big shout out to @JeremyRAllen02 for crew chiefing a great race.
PC 📸: @justinmelillo pic.twitter.com/pkCtMMz4Xz
— Josh Parker (@JoshParker81) April 8, 2020
P2 Finish by .130 in the @iRacing Road to Pro series. Got too far behind on the 2nd run but we had a great truck. Happy to raise some awareness for Autism this month as well as a special person on the door tonight who lost their battle with COVID-19. Onto Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/VXABOcTaAJ
— Dan (@danroeper) April 8, 2020
Had the privilege to shoot @rajahcaruth_ during his first @iRacing Road to Pro Series win, maybe I’m a good luck charm? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/fRX23eaaqi
— Ethan Smith (@SmithPandD) April 8, 2020
Took a couple more screenshots after the Road to Pro race on Tuesday at Homestead. Super proud of our performance with P3 and I’m excited to carry that momentum to Atlanta. Thanks again to @Gus_TheAnt for all of his help on the box.
@Lowline_Racing@iRacing@HotLapPodcast pic.twitter.com/7s2iqtfXXt— Blade Whitt (@Blade_Whitt) April 9, 2020
P5 tonight in @iRacing RTP… Leading til I ran out of gas on the last lap hahaha. P21 in points which is radddd
— Mike Rasimas (@mmmmmmroosevelt) April 8, 2020
P5 in RTP at Homestead. Wasn’t the fastest but truck still had a lot of speed. Happy with the performance thus far. #iRacing #ProximityRacing pic.twitter.com/UCh5MWfACu
— Keaton (@keatonmj77) April 8, 2020
🚨🚨 @JordyLopez30 CLUTCHH UNDER PRESSURE!!!! For anyone that’s curious, this is his 2ND SOF win OVER 7,000…2nd!! Majority of us in the @eNASCARCocaCola don’t even have 1 of those. To say you have NOT ONE, BUT TWO of those is very impressive. Happy for you broski 🏁 https://t.co/7dbx93ktTK pic.twitter.com/DSFBqEUdpp
— Malik (@MalikRayTTV) April 8, 2020
Sometimes, it just isn’t your night and for our Road to Pro drivers, that was the general feeling coming out of @HomesteadMiami. The final results (split in parenthesis):@bryanblack33 P23 (1)@casey_tucker P26 (1)@TretowRacing P26 (2)@CC30MHM P23 (3)@Jon_Adams84 P19 (3) pic.twitter.com/4tXhsKNfJV
— Slip Angle Motorsports (@TeamSlipAngle) April 9, 2020
Fastest lap, lead the second most laps, but missed the adjustments for a late race restart finishing 4th in week 3 of Road to Pro. I need a nap. #Phase2 #GearheadCoffee #RTP pic.twitter.com/9lQcgbEv5j
— Dustin Kleba (@Dustball_2012) April 8, 2020
Congrats to the winners this week at @HomesteadMiami!
– Top: @JordyLopez30
– 2nd: @NicMorseCO
– 3rd: Brad Wright
– 4th: Ethan Lane
– 5th: @rajahcaruth_ #nascar #iracing #enascar #2020rtp @nascar @iRacing pic.twitter.com/zBux3zsN5A— HPM (@TheOfficialHPM) April 8, 2020
Welp that wasn’t what we wanted tonight. P14 after starting 5th and running top 5 early. We made some bad adjustments but those adjustments taught us a lot about what we were missing vs the field. Can’t wait for Atlanta, proud of everyone at @gritmmarketing. Had a blast today pic.twitter.com/v9snysfCpx
— 🅻🅸🅰🅼 (@Liam_Brotherton) April 8, 2020
P4 tonight! Can’t thank everyone at @HRZNracingteam for all the hard work especially @Merch_N57 for the awesome car. Congrats to bro and teammate @JordyLopez30 on the W! Sitting P13 in points heading into Atlanta! One step at a time pic.twitter.com/DfuGjRb2bD
— Donovan Strauss🏁 (@dstrauss51) April 8, 2020
Thank you Nexxus for the absolute rocket ship! Raced our way from 28th to 7th and was the fastest car in the field, only to have our fuel get unchecked on our last pit stop. As disappointed as I would expect to be, I’m so excited for what lies ahead! Big lesson learned tonight!
— Mr. F4 Speed (@MrF4Speed) April 8, 2020
Big dig in the virtual Zoopals Silverado finishing P3 in top split Road to Pro after starting 16th
PC: @jl2designs pic.twitter.com/LIpDcLO42n— Ryan Doucette (@RacerRyan77) April 8, 2020
Not quite the night I was expecting. Knew we had long run pace but could never show it after getting damage on Lap 1. Still hung on there, made some good strategy calls and finished P17 in 2nd split. Worst finish of the season thus far, but I’m already excited for Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/1DGXvy14tS
— eBrian eMercurio (@Dr_Bob41) April 8, 2020
First race of a busy week starts tonight!
The third @iRacing NASCAR Road to Pro round is going down in 1 hour.
Very new form of racing for me this year, but I’ve been having a blast learning how to oval. 💪
Fresh @realVRS livery for this one courtesy of @andwerndesign. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sgfftldUQF— Mitchell deJong (@MitchelldeJong1) April 8, 2020
P6! We had a hell of a piece for the first 75 but couldn’t drive the tightness in the later portions. Thanks to Nexxus eSports for the insane piece and @Cosmin_Ioanesiu for spotting! pic.twitter.com/DWhQGmZSYn
— Jarrett Liebert (@jl2designs) April 8, 2020
We made it all the way.
P12 not even close to indicative of how well I ran tonight in 15th split.
Third fastest lap time of the race, and ran between 4th and 7th for the majority of the night.
Bad pit call at the end, and couldn’t march back through.
I’m beat. #TReSports #RTP pic.twitter.com/Jrr69j9QRy
— Justin Melillo (@justinmelillo) April 8, 2020
***If you’d like to GUARANTEE your Week 4 Road-To-Pro tweet featured on the next TRE stats recap, add #TReSports to the tweet!***
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Next Tuesday, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series heads to Richmond Raceway for the fifth round of the 2020 season. Broadcast will be on eNASCAR.com/live at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020.
In two weeks, the Road-To-Pro will be at Atlanta Motor Speedway for their fourth event of the season. Broadcast of the Top split will be live on Podium eSports at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, April 21st, 2020.
The next eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series event is expected to be live on FOX and FOX Sports at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday, April 19th, 2020, live at the virtual Richmond Raceway.
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