By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
The sim racing community came together on iRacing for the George Floyd 100 at the virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
The Mission
The George Floyd 100 was the brainchild of NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver Rajah Caruth, Rick Ware Racing engineer Monon Rahman, and road course racer Brad Perez. The 100-mile race was created to honor George Floyd after his controversial death at the hands of a police officer just over one week ago.
Despite the success of the event, Rahman admitted that one sim race will not spark change and that more work is yet to be done:
The trio raised over $1,300 to both the George Floyd Fund and the NCAAP Legal Defense Fund. Trading Paints also committed to donating $1 for every unique viewer of the broadcast stream on STN Racing. In total, over 100 iRacers entered the charity event.
Rahman explained what the support of the sim racing community means to him and his community:
On lap 20, a powerful moment took place as the entire field, led by pole sitter and race leader Brian Mercurio, ducked onto pit road. They stopped for a three-minute moment of silence to remember the lives of those lost to violence and call for change.
(Photo by SETH EGGERT for KICKIN’ THE TIRES / iRacing)
The Race
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series driver Jake Nichols took the victory after spinning his No. 24 Mode Media House machine on the opening lap. Nichols took the lead from eNASCAR iRacing Road to Pro driver Allen Boes with under five laps to go. He cruised to a 3.886 second victory over fellow Coca-Cola Series driver Zack Novak.
“That was a crazy one,” admitted Nichols. “Man, it was so fun. The Roval is so intense. I’m really glad they (Caruth, Perez, Rahman) chose this because one little mistake and you’re going back. It definitely made things interesting. I don’t know if wrecking the car on lap one and having to pass the whole field smart on my hand, but it made it very fun for me.
“I had a lot of fun racing with the best out there. There was a lot of great talent in the race, over 100 entries, and you’re going to have an amazing group of drivers and people. I can’t thank everyone involved for putting this race on. There’s so much more than winning this race behind the scenes it’s only a part of it. I’m honored to win it and to be a part of it. Just a lot of emotions going on.”
(Photo by SETH EGGERT for KICKIN’ THE TIRES / iRacing)
Nichols was aided in the fact that much of his competition ran into adversity. Boes, saving fuel dropped off the pace. Novak missed the backstretch chicane with six laps to go and suffered damage. Finally, with about 10 laps to go, Mercurio and Santiago Tirres collided.
Mercurio had been dominating the race prior to his contact with Tirres. After pit stops under the only caution, he lined up in fifth. In his charge through the field, unfortunate timing cost him and Tirres, who did not pit, an opportunity at the victory.
The field was not limited to eNASCAR drivers. iRacing Production Assistant Jake Poulin, Motorsport.com’s Nick DeGroot, and streamers Justin Botelho and David Schildhouse were just some of the diverse field.
Rahman credited the blend of drivers for making the event a success:
“Having such a great blend of drivers across iRacing definitely helped our event a lot. This event would not have been possible if we didn’t have eNASCAR and Road to Pro drivers showing that they signed up for the event across social media.
“I think that helped boost interest and get some more people involved. I can’t thank everyone who shared our event on social media – we were able to get eyes on it from pros, fans, motorsports media members, NASCAR Diversity, and many other groups.”
The Finish
1. Jake Nichols [6], 2. Zack Novak [10], 3. Kenny Brady [11], 4. Allen Boes [5], 5. Austin Johnson [17], 6. Brian Mercurio [1], 7. Michael Frisch [41], 8. Chase Alvey [12], 9. Santiago Tirres [2], 10. Evan Rice [25], 11. Jake Poulin [23], 12. Mike Rasimas [4], 13. Blake Sasser [18], 14. Jacob Fischer [20], 15. Ethan H Smith [19], 16. Ray Alfalla [22], 17. Daniel Silvestri [7], 18. Garrison Hogan [40], 19. Liam Brotherton [3], 20. Justin Botelho [31], 21. Nick Olsen [27], 22. Shawn M. Butler [26], 23. Austin Drake [33], 24. Nick DeGroot [34], 25. Brandon Hauff [15], 26. Tre Shuttlesworth [35], 27. Leigh Overton [30], 28. Eric R. Prewitt [37], 29. Julian Perez [38], 30. Covy Moore [36], 31. Jonathan Taylor [24], 32. Rajah Caruth [9], 33. Brandon Buie [8], 34. Zachery Robinson [16], 35. Dylan Ault [13], 36. Steven Rosales [28], 37. Ethan Kurtz [39], 38. Donovan Strauss [14], 39. David Schildhouse [29], 40. Chris Overland [32], 41. Nate S. Stewart [21].
Laps Led: Brian Mercurio 18, Jake Nichols 12, Allen Boes 8, Santiago Tirres 6.
Hard Charger: Michael Frisch (+34)
Cautions: One for five laps.
Margin of Victory: 3.886 seconds
Time of Race: One hour, 12 minutes, 11.477 seconds.
Average Speed: 83.379 mph.
Pole Winner: Brian Mercurio, one minute, 19.121 seconds, 103.740 mph.
Fastest Lap: Santiago Tirres, Lap 26, one minute, 19.252 seconds, 103,568 mph.