Chicago Street Course Not Kind to JRM in eNASCAR Coca-Cola All-Star Race

8/3/2022

Briar LaPradd eNASCAR iRacing Ledford Billiard Supply Maconi Michael Conti News WR1 Sim Chassis

The eNASCAR all-stars took on the newly announced Chicago Street Course for last night's exhibition race.

Track Specs: 2.14-mile street course / 16 laps

LaPradd's finish: 18th   

Conti's finish: 21st           

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 3, 2022) -- The new virtual street course through the heart of the Windy City was not kind to JR Motorsports iRacing teammates Michael Conti and Briar LaPradd on Tuesday night, as both drivers made significant contact with the barriers. LaPradd finished the 16-lap eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series All-Star Race in 18th, while Conti wound up in 21st. (Watch the full race.)

The course, which winds through downtown Chicago, is very tight, and those confines bit several cars in the course of qualifying, the heat race and the 16-lap feature. LaPradd, driving his No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply/Maconi Setup Shop Chevrolet, earned his spot in the All-Star race with a pole position at his home track in Nashville. In qualifying, LaPradd found the concrete barriers and was not able to post two clean laps, which put him at the rear of the field for the eight-lap heat race to determine starting positions. In the heat, LaPradd once again found the wall on the tight circuit and would finish 19th.

On the opening lap, LaPradd was following Bob Bryant when the latter tagged the wall, leaving the Tennessee driver nowhere to go. The contact was significant, but LaPradd was able to use a fast reset on pit road. That put him down a lap and he finished in 18th position.

Conti, driver of the No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis Chevrolet for JRM and two-time winner this season, had a good night going, qualifying in fourth position. He would start the eight-lap heat race there and challenged at the front before finishing fifth. That put him in fifth position for the start of the 16-lap main.

Early in the feature race, Conti was chipping away at third-place Blake Reynolds when he locked up the right front tire and missed the entry to Turn 4, slamming into the tire barriers and doing significant damage to his WR1 machine. The impact shunted the New Jersey native back into traffic and several cars made contact. After spending several laps on pit road effecting repairs, Conti got back out and finished 21st.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series returns to regular-season competition on Aug. 16 at the virtual Watkins Glen International course. JRM's two-car team sits eighth in the team standings, 73 off the lead, as the season hits the stretch run.

Briar LaPradd, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply/Maconi Setup Shop JR Motorsports Chevrolet team

"We hit the wall in qualifying, didn't have a great heat race and finished 19th. It was a tough race, as our Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet got caught up in a crash after a car hit the wall ahead of me and I had no place to go. I took a fast repair and got back after it, but we were stuck a lap down and finished 18th. It wasn't a good night for our No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet, but it was fun. Looking forward to The Glen in two weeks."

Michael Conti, driver No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis JR Motorsports Chevrolet team

"Not a long night for our No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis Camaro, but a fun one for the most part. I was pretty pleased with my pace out of the gate, but knew I needed to find a couple of tenths to compete with the top three or four fastest cars. With the way the Chicago Street Course is laid out, there is zero margin for error; unfortunately, I overpitched the car into Lake Shore, locked up the right front and had absolutely no way to not hit the tire barriers. Apologies to the guys collected in my mess, but glad to see the finish of the race was competitive and compelling for those watching. We'll head to The Glen in two weeks and try to do better job of keeping the car out of the tires!"

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