Surprised How This Went | iRacing V8 Supercars at Watkins Glen

Back in the iRacing Gen 3 Supercars, this time taking on Watkins Glen. This race had a slightly different feel to it before we even got started. Two of the heavy hitters who are normally at the front of this time slot, James Chasty and Stacey Boyd, weren't able to race this week. That was a bit of a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, that potentially opened up a couple of positions compared to where I would normally expect to finish. On the other, without their rather substantial iRatings contributing to the field, the Strength of Field was lower and there were fewer championship points on offer. I did get one other benefit from them not racing, though. Both of them were hanging out in my Twitch chat, offering advice and cheering me on throughout the race. Usually having really fast drivers watching me makes me self-conscious enough that I'm liable to do something stupid, so we'll see if I can avoid that this time. This ended up being a 2048 Strength of Field race with 23 cars, and I came in as the number 5 car. Unfortunately, qualifying didn't go particularly well. Watkins Glen isn't one of my stronger tracks. It's not necessarily a difficult circuit to drive, but I find squeezing those last few tenths out of a lap here especially challenging. I ended up starting 12th on the grid, leaving me with plenty of work to do. My launch wasn't great, although it wasn't a disaster either. One of the cars behind me got a particularly strong start, and then things got messy in Turn 1. I managed to avoid the carnage, although it compromised me a bit in the process. I wasn't too worried. Given how I felt about my pace coming into the race, my goal was pretty simple: survive. Could I keep the car underneath me and make it to the finish without any major mistakes? Or, with a little help from the guys in chat and whatever happened around me, could I somehow manage to do more than survive and actually thrive? Watch the full race to see how it all played out in the Gen 3 Supercars at Watkins Glen. Watch live @   / thepiltdownman   #iRacing #v8supercars #watkinsglen