Off Turn Four - Issue 06

Contents 06 BRL Late Models Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at New Symrna Speedway.

12 PGRL Premier Series Pretty Good Racing League Premier Series at Circuit of the Americas.

20 BRL Super Late Model Series Bootleg Racing League Super Late Model Series at New Symrna 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

#69 Aiden Young celebrates opening his Season 22 account with a momentum building win at New Smyrna Speedway in Round 1.

Bootleg racing league

late models Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 1 Late Model Series | New Smyrna Speedway Written by: Ryan Senneker Tyler Shadduck began the race on pole position, with Aiden Young starting alongside him. As the green flag dropped, Young settled into second place behind Shadduck, while Michael Goodman and Jason Menda engaged in a fierce battle for third, running side by side for the first five laps. Goodman eventually managed to secure the position.

On lap 14, the first caution was called due to contact between Rubin Altice and Steve Hilbert, which spun Hilbert around on the 6

track. When the race resumed on lap 20, Menda and Goodman found themselves battling once again for third place, with neither driver willing to back down. Unfortunately, on lap 21, the two drivers made contact, causing a large pile-up on the track. Shadduck, who had been forced onto the grass to avoid a car that was trying to turn around on the track, had to pit to have his right front fender fixed. He rejoined the pack in eighth place.

Photographer: Mike Goodman

#55 Stephen Spies just misses out on Round 1 top 10 points by finishing 11th on the day.

Photographer: Mike Goodman

As racing resumed on lap 27, Young was still leading, with Goodman in second place.

However, on lap 29, the third caution was called after Mike Allen and Bruce Pearson collided coming out of turn three. When the green flag was waved again on lap 35, Shadduck was pushing aggressively through the pack to try and regain his position at the front. He quickly overtook Adam Schoen and Matt Hoose before setting his sights on Jeffrey Hardin for fourth place. On lap 54,

“I just had to stay smooth... i wasn’t giving this one up. i just knew i had to stay focused and forget the mirror was even there.”

- aiden young

#6 Kurt Smith finishes 8th place on the day after starting from the 10th position.

Shadduck managed to clear Stephen Spies to take third place.

The fourth caution came out on lap 57 due to a collision between Joseph Snyder and Donny Moore, which resulted in Snyder spinning on the track and collecting several other A good time to be Young #69 Aiden Young shows his stuff at New Smyrna by leading 79 laps and taking the victory.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#52 Steve Hilbert finds trouble in the turn during Round 1 BRL action at New Smyrna Speedway.

drivers. Young was still leading when the green flag was waved on lap 62, but Shadduck was hot on his heels.

Goodman managed to defend his position in third place, while Hardin moved up to fourth. Meanwhile, Menda was making a strong recovery from his earlier incident and had worked his way back up to sixth place.

On lap 65, the fifth caution was called when Spies and Hardin collided, causing another large pile-up on the front stretch. When the race resumed on lap 71, Shadduck used the restart to overtake Goodman and move into second place behind Young. The sixth caution was called on lap 73 after Menda and Schoen collided coming out of turn two, causing several drivers to spin.

With only 12 laps remaining, Young was working hard to defend his position against Shadduck, who was putting pressure on him. Menda attempted to overtake Shadduck for second place, but was unable to do so. In the end, Young managed to hold on to his lead and cross the finish line first, with Shadduck coming in second and Menda in third. Goodman was named the “Soup of the Day” driver, with an over-under set at fifth place.

He ultimately finished the race in fourth place, while Matt Hoose rounded out the top five.

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When interviewed after the race, Young said, “I just had to stay smooth… I wasn’t giving this one up. I just knew I had to stay focused and forget the mirror was even there.”

Fans of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series are no doubt looking forward to the next event with excitement and anticipation. Lowell Jewell finished the night in 15th place, but he had reason to celebrate nonetheless. His performance during the race earned him pole position for the next Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series event, which would take place on April 8th at 8:55PM ET at Myrtle Beach Speedway.

A Tough Night at Hickory Photographer: Derek Henry

Above: #22 Bruce Pearson duels with #81 Joseph Segalla in Round 1 of the BRL Late Model Series.

Photographer: Derek Henry

Below: #45 Jason Menda bests #28 Michael Goodman for a podium finish.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#55 Stephen Spies barely missed out on a top 10 finish in Round 1 of the BRL Late Model Series by finishing 11th of 20 competitors.

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bootleg racing league late model series Off Turn Four

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Pretty Good racing league

Next Gen Stock Car Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 6 Premier Series | Circuit of the Americas Written by: Ryan Senneker The “It’ll Be Something Grand Prix” presented by Brian Yaczik at the Circuit of the Americas was the place to be for racing fans. Woody Mahan had the pole position, thanks to his win of the Mahan Industries “You Finished Last” pole award. However, Colton Salek managed to steal the lead from him on the first lap, leaving Mahan struggling. Unfortunately, Mahan got into a collision with Jordan Harnish and both drivers fell out of the top 20.

Meanwhile, Vincent Crow took the lead on the second lap and began to pull away from Jake Silvia, who was in second place. Scott Eckrich started in 19th place, but he was already up to 8th by the fifth lap, ahead of

Photographer: Derek Henry

#70 Scott Eckrich shows he is not limited to oval victories with a Round 6 win at COTA.

“i love these technical tracks; it makes it kind of fun in the drivers hands.”

- Scott Eckrich Cody Dempster. Jeff Ward, who started in 24th place, was running in 10th at that point.

Photographer: Derek Henry

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#83 Vincent Crow remains at the top of the points standings after a second place finish in Round 6.

Crow had stretched his lead to more than 7 seconds by the tenth lap of the race, with Mike Rasimas in second place. Eckrich had climbed up to fourth place and was quickly closing the gap to third. Silvia and Rasimas were fighting for second place, with neither driver able to gain a clear advantage.

Eckrich now only 12 points behind crow

Photographer: Derek Henry

#18 Jake Silvia finished on the podium at COTA after starting 6th and finishing 3rd.

Eckrich was pressuring both drivers as he proached its halfway point. closed in on them on lap 12.

The battle between Silvia and Rasimas conWard came down pit road on lap 12 with a tinued to intensify, with both drivers fiercely unique pit strategy, dropping back to 13th competing for the last podium spot. Drivas he rejoined the track. Eckrich made quick ers began cycling through their pit stops on work of Silvia and Rasimas, overtaking both lap 17, with the exception of Ward, who had drivers and clearing into second place, still come down five laps earlier. Crow was still in more than 9 seconds behind Crow. Thomas the lead as the second half of the race began, George broke into the top 10 as the race ap- claiming the PGRL stage points. Crow and Off Turn Four

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Eckrich came down pit road together at the beginning of lap 18, followed by Rasimas and Silvia. Eckrich caught up to Crow on lap 20 and began to overtake him for the lead soon after in turn 20.

Ward caught the battle between Silvia and Rasimas, and the three drivers were aggressively swapping positions, fighting over third place. Ward came down pit road again before lap 24, opting for a two-stop strategy and falling back to 10th place under pressure from Thomas George with 11 laps to go.

points lead, finishing 12 points ahead of Eckrich at the end of the night.

Eckrich was thrilled with his performance and commented, “I love these technical tracks; it makes it kind of fun in the driver’s hands. You know, just like get out here, see what you got, wheel it as hard as you can.”

Next week, the drivers head to Richmond Raceway for the “Skitter Creek Motorsports Group 200” on April 4th, with the action brought to fans live at 8:50 PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!

In the closing moments of the race, Eckrich was putting down the fastest laps of any driver and extended his lead to more than 18 seconds over Crow, taking the checkered flag. Silvia was able to take third place away from Rasimas in the end. Crow held onto the Photographer: Derek Henry

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#94 Cosmin Ioanesiu finishes within the top 10 in Round 6 action at COTA.

Photographer: Derek Henry

#9 Jeff Ward just misses out on a top 5 finish by finishing 6th place at the Circuit of the Americas in Round 6 of the PGRL.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#70 Scott Eckrich drives his Winternode machine to victory lane at COTA in Round 6.

#72 Michael Chrobok graphic.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#24 Cody Dempster secures his first top 5 of the season with a 5th place finish at the Circuit of the Americas in Round 6 of the Pretty Good Racing League.

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Pretty Good Racing league PGRL Premier Series Off Turn Four

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#03 James Tiernan cruises to a Round 1 victory after leading 95 of the 200 lap race at New Smyrna Speedway.

Bootleg Racing League James Tiernan took the first win of the new Super Late Model Series season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Written by: Ry Super Late Model Series at New Smyrna Speedway ahead of Aiden Young and Tyler Shadduck. “On the other broadcast, I called out all the late model guys to come over and try our stuff, so I figured I come over here”, Tiernan shared with us as he considers himself a primarily sprint car driver. Admitting that he never had to deal with pit strategies before tonight, he joked, “I’m surprised about how well I did after that pit cycle… Once I re- front 4 drivers breaking away from the rest alized the people on the lead lap would kind of the field. of shuffle back through the pack even if they With the first 25 laps behind them, Shadduck pit I was like ‘Oh, well, I should do that!’” began to build up a gap between himself and Tyler Shadduck with Refined Motorsports Shepherd as Tiernan moved up into 3rd and led the 22-car field around to take the green was challenging Shepherd for 2nd. Coming flag on opening night for Season 21 with Aid- out of tour four on lap 30, Shepherd made en Young to his outside. Off the jump, J R contact with the outside wall and Tiernan Shepherd was able to get under Young clear- was left with nowhere to go spinning Sheping up into 2nd as the front runners were herd down to the infield dropping far back aggressively going after positions early in in the running order. Shadduck still had a the night. Young was able to slot into 4th be- strong hold on the lead with over 1 second hind James Tiernan while Shepherd kept the back to Tiernan and another 2 seconds from pressure up on Shadduck out front with the Tiernan back to Young.

bootleg rac

Super Late M

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Tiernan On a Tear At New Smyrna #03 James Tiernan jumps out to 1st place in the standings with his season opening win in Round 1.

e | Season 21 | Round 1 | New Smyrna Speedway yan Senneker

“I’M SURPRISED ABOUT HOW WELL I DID AFTER THAT PIT CYCLE.. ” - JAMES TIERNAN

struggled to keep pace leading to contact between the two drivers as Tiernan got around into the lead as they approached the halfway point of the run. Matt Hoose was the first car to come down pit road signaling to the rest of the field to come down in 2 or 3 car groups lap after lap with Tiernan regaining the lead as all drivers completed their pit cycle and resumed racing with 84 laps remainLap traffic became an issue 50 laps into the ing. Shadduck was running in 2nd but found night. Tiernan continued to pressure Shad- himself being challenged by Young as the duck trying to get his nose under the leader laps counted down. several times unsuccessfully with Shepherd multiple laps down from his earlier incident Young was patiently working on Shadduck close on Tiernan’s bumper trying to get one when he got loose and made hard contact of his laps back. Shepherd was able to tuck in with the outside wall on lap 157 coming down behind Shadduck after Tiernan touched the pit road under caution for tires and rejoinoutside wall losing enough momentum for ing the track still on the lead lap in 2nd place Shepherd to quickly clear around him while while Shadduck stayed out to take the lead Shadduck aggressively negotiated through and was running on almost 60 lap old tires.

Off the jump, Young quickly single filed out dense traffic. behind Shadduck to block Tiernan’s advance Tiernan was getting impatient as Shadduck in the first corner, but Tiernan made contact

cing league

Model Series

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Round 01 New Smyrna Speedway Photographer: Derek Henry #63 Rory Collins suffers early damage but continues on in Round 1.

Photographer: Derek Henry #71 John Heyn leads #81 Joeseph Segalla with his damaged car.

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going into turn three sending Young around ing the first win of the season with Aiden Young, Tyler Shadduck, Jeffery Hardin, and in the middle of the track.

Mark Hertzog rounding out the top 5 tonight Young was able to recover the spin and con- at New Smyrna Speedway. tinue running in 3rd with 37 laps to go. Jeffery Hardin was having a quiet race patient- James Tiernan starts the season off strong ly making his way up through the field and coming out of the night with the points lead found himself closing on Young and the bat- ahead of Aiden Young and Tyler Shadduck. tle for the lead between Tiernan and Shad- The drivers of the Bootleg Racing League duck. Tiernan took the lead which allowed will be back in 2 weeks to tackle Myrtle Beach Young to dive low and follow him around into Speedway on April 7th with the action going 2nd as Shadduck struggled on the older tires. live at 8:10PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Going into the final moments, James Tiernan Network! was proving to be dominant tonight claim-

Photographer: Derek Henry

#7 Chris Davis just barely misses out on a top 10 finish in Round 1 of the BRL SLM series action at New Symrna.

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Photographer: Derek Henry

#98 J R Shepherd has a hard day in the office at New Symrna with a 10th place finish after starting 3rd.

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Bootleg Racing League Super Late Model Series Off Turn Four

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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 continues on April 7th 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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