Off Turn Four - Issue 05

Contents 06 BRL Late Models Bootleg Racing League Late Models at Five Flags Speedway.

14 PGRL Premier Series Pretty Good Racing League Premier Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

22 BRL Dirt Street stocks Bootleg Racing League Dirt Street Stock Series at Lanier Speedway.

28 BRL Dirt Super Late Models Bootleg Racing League Dirt Super Late Model Series at Lanier Speedway.

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Featured Topics

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Virtual Grip network News Recent news and upcoming broadcasts from VGN.

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Off Turn Four News

Additional information about Off Turn Four.

our vision Off Turn Four aims to contribute to the efforts of Virtual Grip Network by creating something that will hopefully bring people together in checking out our weekly magazine that highlights those within our sim racing community.

Utilizing articles written by Ryan Senneker, photos, and contributions from our community members, we hope to create a point of interest for people to enjoy and discuss.

In the end, our goal is to promote the continuation of the respectful and competitive racing community that Virtual Grip Network has become known for covering.

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Contrib How long you’ve been working with VGN? - I’ve been working with VGN since our first broadcast, which was the BRL 2021 Dirt Shootout, where I was brought in to do race recaps. Lowell asked in the league Discord if anyone would be willing to do write ups for VGN events and, although I’ve never done anything like that before, I figured I’d give it a shot and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

What is your title with VGN? Ryan Senneker

Virtual Grip Network Broadcast Director

- Like most people with VGN, I fill many roles. My title was “Staff Writer/Social Media” for the first year or so until I added “Broadcast Director” to the list What do you do in that role for VGN? - As a broadcast director, I work closely with our talented race announcers. I control what is seen and heard during the racing events from on-screen graphics and camera angles to ad placement and audio levels as well as being the person responsible for actually streaming the races to YouTube live. Again, not something I had any real experience with before VGN, but it always amazes me what a person is actually capable of when they are open to try new things in life.

How long you’ve been working with VGN and what led you to the creation of VGN? - I founded VGN in August of 2021 with the goal of promoting the sim racing community with quality broadcasts of league events.

What do you do in that role for VGN? Lowell Jewell

Virtual Grip Network Producer

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- My Producer duties take place in the background. I work closely with league owners and advertisers, finding ways to showcase their products. I’m involved in a large amount of data gathering and processing so that our broadcast overlays can provide said info. I also search for and recruit on-air talent and handle all scheduling for Commentators and Directors. I am in constant contact with Senneker as we look for ways to improve our product.

butors Why create Off Turn Four magazine?

- My hope by creating this magazine is to give a home and outlet for those in our sim racing community that want to appreciate or contribute to the design side of the sim racing sphere.

How do you feel about being a part of VGN? Derek Henry

- I feel extremely grateful to be included as a part of Virtual Grip Network. It has been many years that I have been looking for an organization like that of VGN.

Designer + Editor

Do you enjoy designing more than actually racing?

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- I would say that I do but maybe that is due to feeling more confident with design as compared to my skill on the track. The benefit of designing is that I have no chance at ruining someone’s night with a bad racing decision. With that being said, I have never felt more comfortable and encouraged to race before joining Bootleg Racing League.

How did you get introduced to sim racing?

- Derek, my partner, introduced me to sim racing. It was the next logical step after taking me to see a dirt track race at Lawrenceburg Speedway, his hometown track.

Do you have a favorite racing series?

- I am still familiarizing myself with the different types, but I really enjoy watching non-wing sprint cars.

MJ Dunne

Off Turn Four

Writer Social Media + Marketing Manager

How do you feel being a new addition to Off Turn Four magazine?

- I am very excited to be a part of the team. Derek and I love to collaborate and bounce ideas off of each other, and this partnership takes it to the next level. In this role I am able to try different things and learn new skills in an exciting industry.

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Photographer: Mike Goodman

#39 Joseph Snyder finds his first Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series victory in the last race of season 21 with a end of the race pass on #8 Mathew Thunhorst.

Bootleg racing league

late models Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 11 Late Model Series | Five Flags Speedway Written by: Ryan Senneker Joseph Snyder with Rougarou Racing took his first win in the series and the final checkered flag of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series presented by Gargamel’s Kitchen at Five Flags Speedway ahead of Mike Holloway and Michael Goodman.

“All I worked on this week was saving tires and I guess it paid off there because the guys I let by early, they kind of lost their tires and I got back into it”, Snyder shared with us as drivers were putting their cars on the trailers.

Michael Goodman threw down the quickest lap in qualifying clocked at 16.679 starting the night off in 10th from the Bootleg Racing League grid invert with Kevin Nunn sitting on the pole. “It’s a little bit of pressure”, Nunn commented before returning to his car to grid up, “I did learn a lot last week since I had the front tire blow at 82 laps, so I know I’m going to

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Photographer: Mike Goodman

#6 Kurt Smith and #26 Donny Moore battle for position in front of #39 Joseph Snyder.

Photographer: Mike Goodman

try to conserve a bit more this time around.”

Coming out of turn 4, Nunn had a strong launch and quickly went single file ahead of Donny Moore.

Most of the field shuffled to get slotting in single file in the opening laps looks to preserve their equipment with so many laps ahead of them. Mathew Thunhorst was running back in 10th and was patiently taking one position after another as he moved up

“All I worked on this week was saving tires and i guess it paid off there because the guys i let by early, they kind of lost their tires and i got back into it” - Joseph Snyder

#87 Todd Liston leads the field through turn 1 and 2 at Five Flags Speedway in Round 11.

through the field. Moore took advantage of a mistake made by Nunn on lap 16 to overtake for the lead resulting in Nunn getting stuck on the outside and dropping far down in the running order. Snyder looking under Moore but could make it work allowing Lowell Jewell to take a look Michael Goodman with a Good Time #28 Michael Goodman sets quick time in Round 11 BRL action at Five Flags Speedway.

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Photographer: Mike Goodman

#55 Stephen Spies starts strong before falling back to finish 7th in the final round of BRL LM Series action.

under Snyder pushing him back to 8th before slotting back in line behind Michael Goodman.

Thunhorst was up to 5th with the first 30 laps completed as Moore continued to lead the field around with Jewell tight on his bumper. Lowell saw his chance and dove low taking the lead going into lap 35 with Todd Liston following him through. Thunhorst took advantage of the situation to get around into 3rd place. Thunhorst started to turn up the aggression getting around Liston for 2nd and closing on Jewell only 40 laps into the night. Going into lap 42, Thunhorst secured the lead and started to break away from the rest of the field with Jewell and Liston still running 2nd and 3rd.

Matt Hoose was up 5 spots running in 4th and quickly closing on Liston going into the 2nd half of the night with Snyder close behind making a strong recovery.

Liston was able to get a nose under Jewell with Hoose following him through pushing Jewell back to 4th with Stephen Spies closing the gap with a group of cars following him as the field merged back together from 2nd place back to 10th. Thunhorst had nearly a 3 second lead going into lap 60 as Hoose overtook Liston for 2nd.

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With the laps quickly counting down, Thunhorst had extended his lead out to over 5 seconds with 25 laps remaining. Hoose still held onto 2nd place with Michael Goodman now running in 3rd. Spies was under pressure from Snyder making a strong charge back to front of the pack. Snyder continued his impressive pace making quick work of the drivers ahead clearing into 2nd place with 14 laps to go.

Going into the final 10 laps, the gap between Snyder and Thunhorst was shrinking quickly.

Snyder continued to push in the final moments gaining on Thunhorst fast closing by 0.4 seconds each lap. Snyder

A Tough Night at Hickory Photographer: Derek Henry

Above: #28 Michael Goodman drives hard at Five Flags to secure a top 3 finish in Round 11.

Photographer: Derek Henry

Below: #8 Mathew Thunhorst leads #87 Todd Liston during the

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#21 Matt Hoose keeps things quick through turns 1 and 2 in the last round of Season 21 for the Bootleg Racing League’s Late Model Series.

caught Thunhorst in turn 3 making contact just as the caution flag and white flag came out together when Thunhorst had to check up unexpectedly with his right front tire giving out. Joseph Snyder lead the drivers around the final lap under caution to take the checkered flag with Mike Holloway, Michael Goodman, Kurt Smith, and Mathew Thunhorst round out the top 5 tonight at Five Flags Speedway.

J R Shepherd ran away in the point stand-

ings taking the season championship tonight with 471 points. Michael Goodman held onto 2nd place with 419 points. Lowell Jewell secured 3rd place with 377 points over Mathew Thunhorst with 344 points. Joseph Snyder rounds out the top 5 drivers with 342 points going into the final round of the season. Next season for the Bootleg Racing League kicks off at New Smyrna Speedway on March 25th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

Photographer: Derek Henry

#39 Joseph Snyder put on a great show to secure his first Bootleg Racing League Late Model of the season.

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Pretty Good racing league

Next Gen Stock Car Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 5 Premier Series | Atlanta Motor Speedway Written by: Ryan Senneker Scott Eckrich with Loud Pedal Motorsports claimed his first win of the season tonight in the Everything Gets Better with Age 250 presented by GamingGuyL with the Pretty Good Racing League at Atlanta Motor Speedway ahead of Jeff Ward and Adam Jurski “This is one of those tracks where you can definitely undercut but with the aero the way it is if you get stuck behind somebody if you try to over cut it you just you don’t really get a lot of gains so you gotta get kind of luck on that front”, Eckrich shared with us regarding his pitting strategy “It’s a super fine line you gotta run to not blow the right rear off and also, you know, maintain the lead for those guys ripping the lip on the

Photographer: Derek Henry

#70 Scott Eckrich tops off a stellar performance with the victory in Round 5 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“It’s a super fine line you gotta run to not blow right rear off..”

- Scott Eckrich restarts and stuff”

Photographer: Derek Henry

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#11 Joseph Hassert runs a strong race to finish 24th in round 5 action at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Creighton Carter started off on the pole to take the green flag with Kevin Bartelt to his outside. Alex Graetz didn’t waste any time jumping out ahead to take the lead away from Carter going into the 2nd lap. Cody Dempster was aggressively pushing up through the field on his way to the front up 2 spots from his 6th place starting position and closing on Cosmin

Eckrich jumps to 3rd in points Ioanesiu. Graetz had extended his lead out to almost 2 seconds with the first 10 laps completed when he lost his car in the corner and went sliding across the infield handing the lead of the race over to Ioanesiu.

Photographer: Derek Henry

#44 Saif Faries flys down the frontstretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Saif Faires was making a hard charge through the field battling Bartelt for 3rd from his starting position back in 13th. Dempster continued his strong pace and had slowly reeled the leader in 30 laps into the run and was able to clear around Ioanesiu after several intense laps. The first driver to come down pit road was Thomas George on lap 40 trying to undercut the field as the rest of the field came down for their stops a few cars at a time over

the next 10 laps as differing strategies split the field up.

George inherited the lead up 32 spots from his 33rd place starting position when the pit cycle was complete with Michael Chrobok in 2nd place almost 2 seconds behind him. Eckrich had cleared around Chrobok and was quickly closing on George with the fresher tires between the two drivers taking the lead Off Turn Four

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away fairly effortlessly on lap 58. Eckrich was pushing his equipment trying to break away from Chrobok behind him building up a large gap between them to secure the bonus stage points going into the 2nd half of the night.

Chrobok and Jeff Ward battled over 2nd place as George was again the first to come down pit road looking to undercut the field again.

The first caution of the night came out as Dempster lost control of his car going 90 laps into the run giving Eckrich, and many other drivers, an opportune chance to come down pit road while holding onto the lead for the restart. Racing resumed with 64 laps remaining with Eckrich jumping out to a strong lead ahead of Ward.

away from the rest of the field. Ward got to the inside of Eckrich but couldn’t complete the move with the laps quickly counting down. Going into the last 30 laps, the drivers started working through their last pit cycle. Eckrich was again one of the last cars to come down pit road rejoining the track in 12th. George’s early stop strategy that he’s been running all night put him up into 7th for the last stretch.

Eckrich was making quick work of traffic on his way back up to the front. Eckrich cleared around Adam Jurski into 2nd place and was closing on the rear bumper of Ward for the lead. Going into lap 151, Eckrich dove low to get under Ward to take away the lead and started pulling away from Ward. Coming Ward was pressuring Eckrich for the lead out of the final corner, Scott Eckrich took with Ioanesiu close behind as the top 3 broke the checkered flag 1.9 seconds ahead of Jeff Photographer: Derek Henry

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#84 Woody Mahan finds the wall alongside #78 Ryan Rose while racing hard in Round 5 of the PGRL.

Photographer: Derek Henry

#94 Cosmin Ioanesiu sports a sharp looking Sunoco paint scheme in at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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with 166 points, Thomas George drops back to 4th with 165 points, and Jeff Ward rounds out the top 5 with 163 points. The Pretty Good Racing League next heads to Phoenix Raceway for the “MARSS Properties Vacation Rentals 250K” Vincent Crow further extends his lead with 215 on March 14th with all the action broadcast live points with Jake Silvia now 36 points behind at 8:50PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip him. Cosmin Ioanesiu jumps up 5 spots into 3rd Network! flag with Scott Eckrich taking 2nd place away from Cosmin Ioanesiu in the end. Colton Salek and Mike Rasimas round out the top 5 tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Photographer: Derek Henry

#19 Will Farmer leads his namesake #06 William Farmer through the corner at Atlanta.

#22 Jordan Harnish cutout graphic.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#59 Joshua O’Conner just barely missed out on a top 10 finish in round 5 of the Pretty Good Racing League at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Pretty Good Racing league PGRL Premier Series Off Turn Four

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Dirt Street Stocks

Bootleg racing league

Bootleg Racing League | Season 14 | Round 11 Dirt Street Stock Series | Lanier National Speedway Written by: Ryan Senneker

Photographer: Derek Henry

#00 Billy Northcutt leads sweeps the final round of the BRL Dirt Street Stock Series with Quick Time and the Feature win.

“ANYTIME THAT I CAN WIN IN HERE... IT’S JUST A BLAST FOR ME AND FOR MY FAMILY AND EVERYBODY WHO WATCHES SO YEAH THAT WAS DEFINITELY A GREAT WAY TO GO OUT ON THAT” - BILLY NORTHCUTT Billy Northcutt with Dirt Panda claimed ways just been probably my best track, the final checkered flag in a bitter- the one I’ve run the most laps at… kind sweet moment for the Bootleg Racing of feels like that hometown track, you League Dirt Street Stock Series at Lani- know.” er National Speedway at Lanier National Speedway ahead of John Heyn and Jason “I don’t think anything will compare to Best. “Anytime that I can win in here… the fun and camaraderie that we had it’s just a blast for me and for my fam- here so if I jump right into something ily and everybody who watches so yeah else, I feel like I would just hate it… I kind that was definitely a great way to go out of want to miss it before I start jumping on that”, Northcutt shared with us as the into all that”, Northcutt commented in night came to a close, “That track’s al- regards to future plans within sim rac22

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ing as the finality of the moment started to set in, “When I joined this league to run I told my mom that I was never going to win in here because everyone was too good and she never got to see me race in it, but here we are. I won a lot of races in here and it was really a lot of fun and I’m going to miss it.”

Billy Northcutt came into the evening strong throwing down the fastest lap in qualifying at 16.458 and dominating the first heat to secure the pole in the upcoming feature event.

John Heyn showed the field why he’s known as “The Professor” as he took the field to school claiming the

checkered flag in the 2nd heat over Chris Hill. Jason Best broke away from the field to take the win in the B Main consolation race wrapping up the preliminary events of the night.

Leading the field out of turn 4, Northcutt took the green flag for the final time as the field roared into the first corner with Northcutt quickly cleared ahead of Heyn. Chris Davis was running side by side with Hill over 3rd place claiming the position going into lap 3 with Best looking to follow him through. Aiden Young and Jeffery Hardin battled hard over 6th place directly behind the battle between Best and Hill.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#69 Aiden Young finishes Round 11 action in 5th place and pairs it with an equal season standing finish of 5th.

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Round 11 Lanier National Speedway Photographer: Derek Henry #7 Chris Davis fends off #69 Aiden Young at Lanier National Speedway.

Photographer: Derek Henry #47 Jason Best successfully fights for a podium finish in Round 11.

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Best secured 4th and immediately went after Davis in 3rd diving low. Hill fell back further as he found himself in a 3-wide battle for 4th. Best cleared into 3rd as Young moved up into 5th and was looking to challenge Davis ahead of him. Hill cleared Hardin for 6th moving forward as the field crossed the halfway point of the night. Northcutt had more than a 1 second lead over Heyn with another full second from Heyn back to Best with all of the action happening from 4th on back through the field.

Stephen Spies was working on making up for a rough start to the night climbing up from the back of the field trying to working his way around Hunter Hill for 10th. Young closed the gap to Davis and was pressuring looking for a way to get under Davis for 4th but Davis was defending well going into the final laps. Best was slowly reeling Heyn in setting his sights on 2nd place with 5 laps remaining. Taking the white flag, Billy Northcutt had a commanding lead over the field taking the checkered flag 1.3 seconds ahead Photographer: Derek Henry

of John Heyn. Jason Best, Chris Davis, and Aiden Young round out the top 5 tonight at Lanier National Speedway.

Billy Northcutt finished up the final season of the Bootleg Racing League Dirt Street Stock Series as the season champion with 734 points. Jason Best held onto 2nd place with 603 points. Chris Hill moved up into 3rd place with 520 points as Jeffrey Hardin dropped back to 4th with 519 points and Aiden Young rounds out the top 5 with 514 points. The Bootleg Racing League has closed the doors on dirt racing but is coming back next week on the asphalt for the new Super Late Model Series on March 24th for 200 laps of action at New Smyrna Speedway with all of the action brought to you live at 8:10PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!

#119 Dakota Proud leads #13 Bobby Hayes through turns 1 + 2 at Lanier National Speedway in Round 11 Bootleg Racing League action.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#69 Aiden Young leads teammate Stephen Spies through turns 1 and 2 in Round 11 action at Lanier National Speedway.

Aiden Young with Gambler Motorsports took the final checkered flag tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Dirt Super Late Model finale at Lanier National Speedway ahead of teammates John Heyn and Stephen Spies. “I was just having fun, having a blast out there kind of looking at the rear view looking at my teammates battle it out,” Young shared with us as the night came to a close.

Aiden Young threw down the fastest lap in qualifying at 13.178 jumping to the top of the timing and scoring boards ahead of his Gambler Motorsports teammates Stephen Spies and John Heyn. The 3 chased each other through the heat with Young able to take the win securing the pole for the upcoming feature event. Spies followed it up by winning the B Main consolation race to wrap up the preliminary events before the 30-lap feature event began.

Bootleg Racing Leagu Dirt Super Late Model Series Written by: Ry

bootleg rac dirt super l themselves for the lead. Spies looked to the inside of Young several times but wasn’t able to make anything of it before being forced to run defensively as Heyn started looking around him for 2nd.

The battling over 2nd place allowed Young to start to pull away with the lead with Spies and Heyn trying both high and low lines looking for speed. Going into the 2nd half of the night, Heyn and Spies were still batYoung took the green flag and again found tling each other for position as Young took himself being hunted by his teammates as the advantage of the situation to run away with 3 Gambler Motorsports drivers pulled away the lead… Young was almost 1 second ahead from the rest of the field to battle amongst of the rest of the field with 10 laps to go.

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Young Runs Quick Time in Rd. 11 #69 Aiden Young puts down the quickest qualifying lap in Round 11 action at Lanier National Speedway.

ue | Season 1 | Round 11 s | Lanier National Speedway yan Senneker

cing league late models On lap 25, Heyn threw a slider to clear ahead of Spies forcing Spies to checkup hard to avoid serious contact. Coming around to take the white flag, Aiden Young completed the final lap unchallenged taking the checkered flag with John Heyn, Stephen Spies, John Wilson, and Michael Smith rounding out the top 5 tonight at Lanier National Speedway.

Jason Dill walks away with the season championship tonight with 725 points after fight through mechanical issues. Aiden Young was able to move up to 2nd place with 697. Thomas Vickers fell back to 3rd with 671 points, Stephen Spies jumped up to 4th with 594 points,

“I WAS JUST HAVING FUN, HAVING A BLAST OUT THERE KIND OF LOOKING AT THE REAR VIEW LOOKING AT MY TEAMMATES BATTLE IT OUT” - AIDEN YOUNG On lap 25, Heyn threw a slider to clear ahead of Spies forcing Spies to checkup hard to avoid serious contact. Coming around to take the white flag, Aiden Young completed the final lap unchallenged taking the checkered flag with John Heyn, Stephen Spies, John Wilson, and Michael Smith rounding out the top 5 tonight at Lanier National Speedway.

Jason Dill walks away with the season championship tonight with 725 points after fight through mechanical issues. Aiden Young was able to move up to 2nd place with 697. Thomas Vickers fell back to 3rd with 671 points, Stephen Spies jumped up to 4th with 594 points, and Michael Smith rounds out the top 5 with 592 points. The Bootleg Racing League has closed the doors on dirt racing but is coming back next week on the asphalt for the new Super Late Model Series on March 24th for 200 laps of action at New Smyrna Speedway with all of the action brought to you live at 8:10PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!

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News

Skitter Creek Super Late Model Series The Skitter Creek Motorsports Group will be the title sponsor for season 21 of the Super Late Model Series. This series will be broadcast live on Fridays at 8:10pm ET on the Virtual Grip Network with legendary hosts Bill “Soup” Zahn, DJ Clark, and Sean Ambrose! The season kicks off March 24th and will feature the SLM stock cars racing 200 laps on short tracks all across the USA.

VGN on Youtube

Upcoming Broadcasts Above are a few of the upcoming races that will be covered by Virtual Grip Network.

Please visit us at virtualgrip.net to see the most up-to-date coverage schedule.

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Did you know that you can catch all VGN action live or past recordings on the Youtube page?

Head on over to our page and check out the latest races, make sure you are getting notified when we go live, and subscribe so that you do not miss out on any of the action.

Social Media Growth

news

Off Turn Four is pushing for growth with our social media. Please feel free to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter for custom driver card graphics of the previous week’s race winners, current points leaders, and standout community members.

Twitter twitter.com/offturnfour

Instagram instagram.com/offturnfour

Social Media Driver Cards Off Turn Four social media has stepped up it’s game and will now be including driver cards from the week’s outstanding performers. These cards will highlight current league position, wins, poles, and more.

Facebook facebook.com/offturnfour

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Where to Read Off Turn Four Off Turn Four has decided that Issuu.com will be our hosting platform. Allowing for a lot of features that will continue to be added to the magazine as time goes by and the publication continues to grow. issuu.com/offturnfour

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A Sincere Thank You

Thank you to our readers and to everyone involved in the community. My hope with this magazine is to give back to this community that I enjoy so much.

Thank you all, Derek Off Turn Four

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