Trevor Bayne wins in both ARCA and Pocono debuts

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There’s something about first-time events that seems to bring out the best in NASCAR driver Trevor Bayne.

In his first Daytona 500 in 2011, Bayne came out of the proverbial nowhere to shock the world by taking the checkered flag one day after celebrating his 20th birthday.

Earlier this week, Bayne and wife Ashton announced that they were expecting their first child in December.

And to top things off, Bayne made his first career start in the ARCA Series on Saturday at Pocono Raceway. Not only did he start the Pocono ARCA 200 from the pole, less than two hours after taking the green flag, Bayne emerged with yet another first: the checkered flag.

He dominated, leading 42 of the race’s 80 laps, including the final 11 laps en route to the victory.

Bayne competed in the race because he wanted to gain more track time at the Tricky Triangle, particularly for Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 Sprint Cup race.

Ironically, even though he’s made 71 career Sprint Cup starts to date, Bayne – in his first full season in the Cup series – has never raced before on Pocono’s 2.5-mile tri-oval.

And if Saturday’s performance, driving for Cunningham Motorsports, is any indication of what happens Sunday for the Tennessee native, it could cap off arguably one of the best weeks of his life.

Bayne has had a difficult go of it in his first full-time Sprint Cup season. He enters Sunday’s race 31st in the standings, with his best finish thus far this season being back-to-back 18th-place finishes at Martinsville and Texas.

Grant Enfinger finished second, followed by Mason Mitchell, Will Kimmel and Matt Kurzejewski.

 

2015 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #8
Pocono Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania, 6-6-15
Pocono ARCA 200
FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 1 22 Trevor Bayne/Knoxville TN Advocare-Cunningham Motorsports Ford 80 Running
2 4 23 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL GMS Racing Chevrolet 80 Running
3 2 78 Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA AM Technical Solutions-MMM Chevrolet 80 Running
4 7 69 Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN 1-800 Auto Parts-Accel Ford 80 Running
5 5 54 Matt Kurzejewski/Mansfield PA Costy’s Energy Services Chevrolet 80 Running
6 9 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Barbera’s Autoland Dodge 80 Running
7 12 6 Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL Musselman’s-Anya Cale Chevrolet 80 Running
8 15 59 David Levine/Highland Park IL Ford Performance-TraqGear Ford 80 Running
9 8 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil-MAV TV Chevrolet 80 Running
10 30 52 Matt Tifft/Hinckley OH Federated Auto Parts Toyota 80 Running
11 3 25 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell Hyflex INTERCEPT-Menards Toyota 79 Running
12 6 55 Cody Coughlin/Delaware OH JEGS Toyota 79 Running
13 19 42 Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY Crosley Brands-T&T Constr-Glad Precision Dodge 78 Running
14 25 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Double H Ranch-Milwaukee Crusher Chevrolet 78 Running
15 14 98 Austin Wayne Self/Austin TX AM Technical Solutions-Pirate Energy Ford 77 Accident
16 17 9 Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL DK-LOK Ford 75 Running
17 21 3 Steve Fox/Hawley PA NormHuttonRacing.com Dodge 74 Running
18 11 12 Tyler Audie/Orlando FL Audie Expo-NP Properties Dodge 73 Running
19 31 97 Bobby Hamilton Jr./Greenbrier TN Nitroforce Industries Titan 1000 Dodge 60 Running
20 13 2 Sarah Cornett-Ching/Summerland BC Race101.net Chevrolet 57 Oil Leak
21 20 20 Tom Berte/New Berlin WI CGS Premier Chevrolet 31 Brakes
22 26 0 Dale Matchett/Cherry Hill NJ Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 23 Brakes
23 27 06 Don Thompson/Carlisle PA Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 23 Suspnsn
24 10 00 Cole Custer/Ladera Ranch CA Haas Automation Chevrolet 18 Axle
25 18 48 James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ Kan Do-Radon.com Dodge 16 Engine
26 16 58 Michael Lira/Port Orange FL Ford Performance-TraqGear Ford 16 Overhtng
27 23 40 Eric Caudell/Piedmont OK Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge 15 Electrical
28 33 15 Kyle Benjamin/Easley SC Greenworks-Cometic Gasket Toyota 12 Electrical
29 29 95 Scott Edwards/London England Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge 11 Transmssn
30 28 49 Rick Clifton/Circleville OH Radon.com Ford 10 Rear End
31 34 08 Tim Viens/Daytona Beach FL Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet 9 Engine
32 32 68 Ray Ciccarelli/Ellicott City MD Kimmel Racing Ford 5 Transmssn
33 24 8 Josh White/Charleston WV Hixson Construction Chevrolet 1 Electrical
34 22 07 Brian Kaltreider/Hanover PA Independent Graphics Ford 0 Accident
Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell:  Trevor Bayne 52.842 (170.319 mph)
Margin of Victory:  4.579 seconds Cautions:  4 for 22 laps
Time of Race:  1:35:57 Average Speed:  125.065 mph
Lap Leaders:  Mitchell 1-8, 64-68 (13); Bayne 9-17, 36-49, 57-63, 69-80 (42); Enfinger 18, 50-51 (3);
Kurzejewski 19-20, 22-35 (16); Williams 21 (1); Tifft 52-56 (5)

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IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”