Wednesday Night Trans-Am Support Races

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	Boost Syndicate	2059.615	1	1	2060	2060.327	1
2	V12 Quantum	2020.273	2	2	2020	2022.078	2
3	RIOT ChevyPower	2005.795	3	3	2006	2007.906	2
4	GTDon2	1998.284	4	4	1998	1998.284	0
5	Latte Speed	1961.959	5	5	1962	1961.959	0
6	SevenZero TA	1959.746	6	6	1960	1959.746	0
7	GoSox2000	1953.501	7	7	1954	1953.501	0
8	AAR OneShot	1939.375	11	8	1952	1941.103	2
9	EZT TomCat7	1941.856	10	9	1948	1942.747	1
10	smoothbanana1	1945.999	9	10	1944	1944.860	-1
11	Poennaninova	1950.991	8	11	1941	1945.284	-6
12	Midnite Rider	1935.692	13	12	1939	1936.149	0
13	Papa creech172	1938.818	12	13	1937	1937.958	-1

A clean race really.  Most of the field finished exactly where the computer ratings predicted they would, except for Nova.

Don't forget the rule for the Wed night Support race, when in season, you must use a car that you haven't driven before.  You can never use the same car twice in other words.

Also, don't be the guy who holds up the leaders.  if you are in a Factory car and are being lapped Just give them the room to make a clean pass AND LET THEM GO!

Well, that was odd and rare.  A total lag out of the entire room on lap 15!

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	Boost Syndicate	2039.557	1	1	2040	2041.714	2
2	RIOT ChevyPower	1968.246	5	2	2023	1984.328	16
3	IllRattlesnake	1969.259	4	3	1991	1975.673	6
4	CRC Skitchin	1975.751	3	4	1973	1973.966	-2
5	GTDon2	2006.446	2	5	1969	1985.715	-21
6	Latte Speed	1952.593	8	6	1966	1956.450	4
7	smoothbanana1	1944.279	12	7	1958	1948.341	4
8	GoSox2000	1947.134	11	8	1953	1948.800	2
9	SevenZero TA	1963.201	6	9	1951	1956.617	-7
10	Poennaninova	1953.02	7	10	1950	1951.179	-2
11	AAR OneShot	1949.48	10	11	1948	1948.835	-1
12	Midnite Rider	1944.201	13	12	1946	1944.643	0
13	EZT TomCat7	1949.867	9	13	1944	1946.772	-3
14	Papa creech172	1937.824	14	14	1938	1937.824	0

now im back to 1941.103...i started last nights race at 1949.480.. from saturday night,
with 1 point that should be over 1950. your using last wednesdays info and not saturday

AARONESHOT wrote:now im back to 1941.103...i started last nights race at 1949.480.. from saturday night,
with 1 point that should be over 1950. your using last wednesdays info and not saturday

Nope, just a typo. I'll fix and thanks for the good eye.

Really hard clean racing out there today!

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	RIOT ChevyPower	2017.35	1	1	2017	2020.562	3
2	CRC Skitchin	1996.43	2	2	1996	2000.927	4
3	FRB JcCarr	1949.563	7	3	1993	1961.842	12
4	GTDon2	1981.191	4	4	1981	1981.191	0
5	ZHP 2004	1989.368	3	5	1979	1983.469	-6
6	SevenZero TA	1953.482	6	6	1953	1953.482	0
7	Latte Speed	1976.093	5	7	1952	1962.579	-14
8	Poennaninova	1945.044	12	8	1949	1946.282	1
9	AAR OneShot	1949.263	8	9	1949	1948.858	0
10	GoSox2000	1946.108	10	10	1946	1946.108	0
11	Papa creech172	1937.971	13	11	1946	1940.240	2
12	Midnite Rider	1945.847	11	12	1945	1945.626	0
13	EZT TomCat7	1947.789	9	13	1942	1944.334	-3

Congrats to ZHP 2004 and his first IFCA win!  Fastest lap congrats to DinoGrumps in his 65 Mustang with a 2:09.698!  And, uh Carrot, you still need to pay attention to what build you are in.  You should have been in a Factory build for this race.  But now you are in a Privateer.

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	ZHP 2004	1981.491	3	1	2090	2013.307	32
2	GTDon2	1977.849	4	2	2016	1989.029	11
3	DinoGrumps	1958.753	6	3	1998	1970.294	12
4	RIOT ChevyPower	2015.162	2	4	1980	1995.641	-20
5	Latte Speed	1967.121	5	5	1967	1967.121	0
6	EarnedCarrot925	1947.914	9	6	1963	1952.295	4
7	GoSox2000	1946.427	11	7	1956	1949.253	3
8	Poennaninova	1948.481	8	8	1948	1948.481	0
9	AAR OneShot	1947.213	10	9	1948	1947.500	0
10	SevenZero TA	1953.482	7	10	1948	1950.227	-3
11	EZT TomCat7	1943.658	13	11	1947	1944.580	1
12	Midnite Rider	1945.271	12	12	1945	1945.271	0
13	Papa creech172	1941.540	14	13	1944	1942.393	1
14	CRC Skitchin	2017.201	1	14	1943	1976.170	-41

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	RIOT ChevyPower	2009.049	1	1	2009	2011.379	2
2	CRC Skitchin	1974.942	4	2	1996	1980.012	5
3	GTDon2	1974.045	5	3	1980	1975.582	2
4	Latte Speed	1977.64	3	4	1976	1976.898	-1
5	DinoGrumps	1970.855	6	5	1974	1971.723	1
6	ZHP 2004	1983.330	2	6	1972	1977.346	-6
7	SevenZero TA	1954.655	8	7	1967	1957.533	3
8	AAR OneShot	1948.811	11	8	1959	1951.151	2
9	GoSox2000	1950.789	9	9	1951	1950.789	0
10	Poennaninova	1949.848	10	10	1950	1949.848	0
11	Midnite Rider	1944.995	12	11	1949	1946.029	1
12	EZT TomCat7	1941.878	13	12	1947	1943.077	1
13	EarnedCarrot925	1962.580	7	13	1943	1952.051	-11
14	Papa creech172	1940.859	14	14	1941	1940.859	0

Due to a mistake in reading the results page Skitchin's car was correct.  So, this requires a re-calculation of the ratings as we add him back into the results.  Apologies everyone.

updated

FYI, Our first Wed Nighter with the Triple Crown cars will be for ratings points and top 7 practice lap times only.  There won't be a participation bonus half-point until Wed June 10th prior to the race on June 13th Saturday.

If you are already locked in with a team as posted, your change of rating will not bump you off your team.

Just to reaffirm, we are setting up a Triple Crown race tonight.  It will simulate a single stint during the actual race of 35laps and 2 pit stops with a rolling start of 90mph.  JUst for fun we will have a traditional 4lap qualy prior to the race.

This is a rated race, but it doesn't affect your current team status if you are part of a published team. 

You will get top 7 credit for fastest practice lap IF you use your season car too.

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	AMR KARTz	2045.186	1	1	2045	2045.824	1
2	RIOT ChevyPower	2013.077	2	2	2013	2014.586	2
3	GTR LuckyVII	2012.999	3	3	2013	2013.528	1
4	GTDon2	1974.521	6	4	1995	1976.219	2
5	ZHP 2004	1976.738	5	5	1977	1976.738	0
6	Latte Speed	1976.898	4	6	1976	1976.200	-1
7	DinoGrumps	1967.821	7	7	1968	1967.821	0
8	SevenZero TA	1957.501	8	8	1958	1957.501	0
9	GoSox2000	1947.272	11	9	1955	1947.874	1
10	Papa creech172	1941.970	14	10	1950	1942.675	1
11	AAR OneShot	1949.384	10	11	1948	1948.803	-1
12	Poennaninova	1951.524	9	12	1947	1948.835	-3
13	Midnite Rider	1943.795	13	13	1944	1943.795	0
14	GR Redneck	1945.999	12	14	1943	1944.285	-2

That was impressive.  Everyone ran very well and according to their rating for the most part.  Everyone except KartzFM that is.  

Kartz is highly underrated even as a 2045.824 Gold skill level driver.  You may ask why this is?  It's because he hasn't had the opportunity to race with other pro-level Platinum drivers.  Kartz is one of the few pro-level Platinum drivers who races in leagues with more average drivers.  Because of this the IFCA computer won't allow him to gain huge points from us mere mortals even if he takes an extra pit stop, as he did in his win last night. lol

As an estimate Kartz's true rating is somewhere north of 2400.000

Okay, not the usual start we like to see.  And though there are no season points for the Support race and no penalties either, I did take a look at the replay to see what went on.  

It was strongly suggested that some may have jumped the start, but it appeared in the replay everyone waited to accelerate when they got to the start/finish line as they are supposed to do. As for the messy contact, there was a lot of minor bumping and dumb driving but nothing intentional.  It did result in some major contact, however. Had this been a Saturday season race warnings for contact and careless driving would have been issued to a lot of drivers.

I think what we need to do is remind everyone that these are hour-long stints and there will be plenty of time to make up for a slower and more careful start.  This is not a sprint race.  No one needs to go into the first few turns of the opening lap like their hair is on fire.  Take it easy, it's a long race.  There will be a lot of time to gain on your rivals and make smarter cleaner passes.

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	KartzFM	2045.824	1	1	2046	2047.433	2
2	RIOT ChevyPower	2014.586	2	2	2015	2018.191	4
3	GTR LuckyVII	2013.528	3	3	2014	2014.769	1
4	GTDon2	1976.219	5	4	1995	1980.042	4
5	ZHP 2004	1976.738	4	5	1976	1976.595	0
6	Latte Speed	1976.2	6	6	1976	1976.200	0
7	GoSox2000	1947.847	12	7	1975	1953.314	5
8	FRB JcCarr	1955.934	9	8	1965	1957.787	2
9	AAR OneShot	1948.803	11	9	1956	1950.313	2
10	Papa creech172	1942.675	15	10	1952	1944.638	2
11	Poennaninova	1948.835	10	11	1949	1948.826	0
12	FRB Powell	1956.613	8	12	1948	1952.055	-5
13	XMMX PANDA	1944.999	13	13	1945	1944.999	0
14	FRB Unfathomed	1973.587	7	14	1944	1957.533	-16
15	Midnite Rider	1943.795	14	15	1943	1943.487	0

As you all know, next Wed is the beginning of the special IFCA Triple Crown 3 race season.  Everyone who races Wed will get their participation half point.  This means a team could earn 1.5 points, and with such a short season, this is huge.

After Daytona week is finished and rated it sets the grid for Sebring.  Grid is set based on a combined team rating.  So although the current grid is set, collecting more ratings points next Wed, and the following Sat will adjust the grid for Sebring.  

Admittedly with such a long race and format grid position hardly matters as was demonstrated last Wed when ChevyPower and Lucky were at the back.  They eventually finished exactly where the IFCA computer predicted they would based on their ratings anyway.

Speaking of ratings, some of you may have noticed when looking at the ratings table of every race a certain obvious pattern.  In every rated race what we see are single-digit finishes at the top and larger double digits at the bottom.  This means that in general and on average drivers are finishing in their predicted places according to their rating.  That is, the IFCA computer program is working correctly and accurately in the way it values your skill as a driver.

Generally speaking, if your rating in a given group says you should finish in the top 5, that is where you are going to finish barring a lag out.  If your rating indicates you are going to finish in the lower 5 that is where you will end up almost every time.  

What this means is that the ratings are reliably accurate and can be used to compare skill levels with certainty.  For example, a 1970.000 rated driver is almost always going to finish in front of a 1940.000 rated driver.  

With so many drivers who have dozens of rated races to their credit, it means their ratings are fairly stable. It also means that few ratings points will be exchanged because everyone is performing as predicted and finishing where they are supposed to.  So if you finish 5th and that's where you are predicted to finish you will gain or lose nothing beyond a fraction of a point.  We do weight wins slightly heavier however so that winning a race has slightly more points value.

The ratings understand are merely a snap shot of a recent performance.  It doesn't mean or say you can not defy the odds next week and finish better than the computer predicts, it only means that this is how you performed on the day you were rated.  Driver ratings can change dramatically if a driver puts some effort in and beats some drivers rated higher than he is.

I'm always looking to enhance the fun of the hobby with new or improved events here at the IFCA.  Much of what we have done has been embraced or in the case of T10 flat out stolen in times past.  One of the cool formats that we did in the past back in FM1-2 was a single-elimination match race event not unlike what has been seen in the first ForzaRC.

Basically it's a one on one match race between 2 drivers, the winner moving to the next round. A ladder is created that pits the slowest against the fastest so that the final two undefeated drivers are likely to be the best drivers left.

I've noticed that our drivers tend to hang around after our Wed night Support race, and even after our Sat night main event.  People don't seem to be too tired not to race some more.  So, my thinking is, since we have everyone together at those times, why not offer an added attraction or featured event?

The new featured event piggybacking on the Wed or Sat race would be called "The IFCA Showdown!"  To make things more fair and competitive we would select a stock car at random that would be used by everyone, but, if you are a Bronze or Tin level driver you would be allowed to use anti-roll bars, the widest tires and a race differential. Silver and Gold drivers have to be totally stock.

All the matches would be 4laps in ghost form except for the 8lap final in solid form.  The track would be the same for all rounds.    

Pairings would be based on your IFCA ratings.  The highest rated drivers would be pitted against the lowest rated drivers each round until there were only 2 undefeated drivers left for the final Showdown.

Let's say we have 16 drivers paired into 8 matchups.  After 1 round there would be 4 pairs left, and after the 2nd round just 2 pairs left.  Once the semi-final is over we have 2 drivers left for the final Showdown.  It could be fun.  And would only take 30 min about.

What do you think?

We ran a bunch of different cars with the help of Bronze rated driver AAR OneShot and Silver rated driver ZHP 2004 to see how it (the formula) would work.  We determined that the Bronze level car with its race anti-roll bars, race differential, and widest stock tires was worth about 1.75sec per lap on average at Laguna Seca.  This advantage was enough to allow AAR OneShot to run near equal lap times to Silver drivers in totally stock cars and be a real threat for the win in a 4lap ghosted race.  He actually won one of the half dozen or so races we did.

Our conclusion is that this is the right equalizer for the Bronze rated drivers to be competitive and be a real threat to at least the Silver rated if not the Gold rated.   The Bronze level car build P.I. advantage ranged from 9 to 21 depending on the car.

I'll be posting the rules/format and time in its own thread topic to see what kind of interest we can get.  We would need at least 16 drivers for format viability.

I'm in!

		Prerace	Expected	Actual	Performed	Postrace	Gained/
Plc	Racer	Rating	Finish	Finish	Like	Rating	Lost
1	RIOT ChevyPower	2005.816	2	1	2081	2020.676	15
2	KartzFM	2050.776	1	2	2028	2038.412	-12
3	ZHP 2004	1977.831	4	3	1992	1980.728	3
4	GTDon2	1978.917	3	4	1978	1978.618	0
5	GoSox2000	1963.512	7	5	1975	1965.710	2
6	Latte Speed	1970.584	6	6	1971	1970.584	0
7	AAR OneShot	1958.736	8	7	1967	1960.393	2
8	Poennaninova	1950.815	9	8	1961	1952.870	2
9	Midnite Rider	1943.487	10	9	1955	1945.737	2
10	Papa creech172	1971.251	5	10	1947	1957.996	-13

 

Amazing performance by KartZ using a GT-40 with the incorrect tune, a Daytona tune with no aero and still finishing 2nd, running the same lap times as anyone else!  In fact, he had the fastest lap time by 0.023sec! He ran a 1:56.416 besting GTDon's Chaparral with a 1:56.439.

Congratulations on the win ChevyPower

What is the purpose of qualifying for the Wednesday race? Might as well just put us up by our IFCA ranking, since apparently that's how it goes after yesterday. There were two drivers that did not even get a clean lap yet I was put at the back of the pack. Granted I would finish last anyway, just curious.

Midnite Rider wrote:What is the purpose of qualifying for the Wednesday race? Might as well just put us up by our IFCA ranking, since apparently that's how it goes after yesterday. There were two drivers that did not even get a clean lap yet I was put at the back of the pack. Granted I would finish last anyway, just curious.

I generally agree with you Rider.  Sorry about the misplaced grid, I didn't realize two were dirty.  

The reason for traditional qualifying on Wed is in part because we don't on Saturdays.  Some drivers like the pressure and intensity of qualifying even if it doesn't really change the grid order that much. The other reason is that we generally have fewer drivers Wed which makes setting the grid easier via qualifying.

And maybe the last reason is, Wed races are a little more laid back and less serious than Sat.  Adding qualifying hypes Wed up a little more but from an already lower pressure position than a Sat race.  Sort of adding some pressure to an otherwise more casual event.