News

Team Penske eSports eNASCAR Heat Pro League Race Report

Track:                  Virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race:                   Round 12 – NASCAR Cup Series
Date:                   July 22, 2020
 

No. 2 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Brian Tedeschi (ShellVPower22)

Console: Xbox One
Start: 11th
Finish: 7th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 60/60
Segment Points: 5th (-48)

Notes:

• Brian Tedeschi (ShellVPower22) narrowly missed out on a top-five finish in the final race of the regular season for the Xbox division of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League at virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday night.
• A subpar qualifying effort on Monday night placed Tedeschi in the 11th starting position when the green flag flew to start the 60-lap event. After visiting pit road on lap 25 from the fifth position, the virtual Shell-Pennzoil crew had an unfortunate pit stop that dropped their driver to ninth in the order when the pit stops cycled through.
• From there, Tedeschi teamed up with two other competitors to try and chase down the race leaders to no avail. He could see the bumper of the fifth-place finisher, but the laps wound down before he could make the necessary passes to secure a top-five finish.

Quote: 

“First off, I was really happy with how we all raced each other tonight. There was only one caution, and while that might not make for the most exciting race it is what we needed after last weekend. I thought the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was strong tonight, but we had a terrible first pit stop and it seemed like we spent the rest of the race trying to rebound from there. Let’s go to Daytona and see what we can do to earn a spot in the championship race.”
 

No. 22 Wurth Ford Mustang – Corey Rothgeb (Wurth_2)

Console: PlayStation 4
Start: 1st
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 60/60
Segment Points: 9th (-44)

Notes:

• Corey Rothgeb (Wurth_2) endured a rollercoaster race in the final race of Segment Three for the PlayStation 4 division of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League (eNHPL) on Wednesday night at virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• The winner earlier in the season at virtual Talladega Superspeedway for the first eNHPL win of his career, Rothgeb scored the pole position for this 60-lap event. He led the field for the first 10 laps of the race before losing the handling on his No. 2 Wurth Ford late in the stint.
• Rothgeb made his first trip to pit road on lap 21 and after losing spots during the pit cycle would setting into the 11th position.
• After working his way back inside the top 10, Rothgeb had a great shot at victory following a late-race caution on lap 57 when, after missing the incident, the Waynesboro, Va. native would restart in the fourth position with two laps to go.
• When the race resumed, lots of contact ensued as the drivers jockeyed for position over the final laps. After being shuffled back to the rear of the field once again, Rothgeb was able to take advantage of additional contact with other competitors to finish in the sixth position.
• Team Penske eSports is now sixth in the team standings for the 2020 eNHPL season. The next event is the wild-card race on Wednesday, July 29 at virtual Daytona International Speedway with the winner receiving the last spot in the championship finale.

Quote: 

"It’s hard to believe this is the last regular season race for the year. We found some qualifying speed in the Wurth Ford Mustang and were able to start on the pole. We were able to stay out front for a few laps before the handling started going away, which made the decision to start saving fuel a bit easier. I was able to go one lap longer and I think that would have been the winning strategy had the race stayed green at the end.”