Two weeks ago, all signs pointed to Alex Bergeron and Timothy Smith facing off for the 2022-23 iRacing World of Outlaws Carquest Sprint Car Series championship over the final two rounds at Weedsport Speedway and The Dirt Track at Charlotte. But the drivers don’t run the races on paper, they run them in the sim—and sometimes things can change in an instant. And so they did: after two phenomenal weeks of action, it was Tyler Schell who took his first career series title, the lion’s share of the $25,000 series purse, and a trip to the DIRTcar Nationals next month.
After keeping Timothy Smith out of the Weedsport final to jump to second in points, Schell capitalized on a strong qualifying run to win the second heat and start on the front row, while Bergeron would have to weather one of the last chance races to start near the back. Schell would shadow polesitter Aiden Forster in the early stages of the race as Bergeron made his charge through the field, and as both drivers battled with those around them, the points lead changed lap by lap until the first caution flag of the night flew.
From there, it was about which driver could rise to the occasion. Bergeron began to falter after driving so hard to get back in points contention, while Schell ping-ponged between fourth and first in a four-car battle for the lead with Forster, James Edens, and Kenny Miller. Finally, on Lap 27, Schell took the point for good, leading his first laps of the season in the process. Edens made a final charge coming off the last corner, but Schell hung on in a photo finish split by just .016 seconds.
When all was said and done, Schell won the title by eight points as Bergeron faded to 10th at race’s end. The Pennsylvania native will now get ready to head to the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida next month, where he’ll receive VIP treatment as he claims his $10,000 champion’s prize and series trophy. Bergeron will lead a group of 14 other drivers who are in position to be invited back next season, while the bottom 20 will need to qualify their way back in.
iRacing World of Outlaws Carquest Sprint Car Series results from The Dirt Track at Charlotte were as follows:
Fin. | St. | No. | Driver | Laps | Interval | Led | Best | Pts. |
| 1 | 2 | 85 | Tyler Schell | 35 | 9 | 13.932 | 78 | |
| 2 | 8 | 52 | James Edens | 35 | -0.016 | 0 | 14.033 | 74 |
| 3 | 1 | 20 | Aiden Forster | 35 | -0.377 | 25 | 13.952 | 72 |
| 4 | 19 | 1 | Mason Hannagan | 35 | -0.891 | 0 | 14.149 | 64 |
| 5 | 5 | 86 | Timothy S Smith | 35 | -1.067 | 0 | 13.913 | 65 |
| 6 | 3 | 23 | Kenny Miller | 35 | -1.634 | 0 | 14.040 | 63 |
| 7 | 11 | 24 | Tanner Pettit | 35 | -1.774 | 0 | 13.948 | 58 |
| 8 | 7 | 00 | Kendal Tucker | 35 | -1.847 | 0 | 14.124 | 56 |
| 9 | 4 | 5 | Braden Eyler | 35 | -2.360 | 0 | 14.016 | 54 |
| 10 | 17 | 12 | Alex A Bergeron | 35 | -2.801 | 0 | 13.983 | 47 |
| 11 | 6 | 41 | Logan Rumsey2 | 35 | -3.684 | 0 | 14.069 | 48 |
| 12 | 15 | 13 | Aiden Bierlein | 35 | -4.166 | 0 | 14.138 | 44 |
| 13 | 13 | 16 | Blake Giglio | 35 | -4.466 | 0 | 14.202 | 42 |
| 14 | 18 | 9 | Tanner Miller3 | 35 | -4.666 | 0 | 14.077 | 39 |
| 15 | 16 | 22 | Bryce Lucius | 35 | -5.138 | 0 | 14.100 | 38 |
| 16 | 9 | 48 | Dylan Yeager | 35 | -5.738 | 0 | 14.108 | 37 |
| 17 | 12 | 25 | Tyler Ducharme | 35 | -6.539 | 0 | 14.089 | 35 |
| 18 | 20 | 14 | JD Brown | 35 | -6.571 | 0 | 14.137 | 29 |
| 19 | 14 | 11 | Kenny Hoffman | 35 | -9.002 | 0 | 14.229 | 30 |
| 20 | 10 | 4 | Ross Keiser2 | 21 | -14 L | 0 | 14.202 | 29 |
iRacing World of Outlaws Carquest Sprint Car Series points are as follows:
- Tyler Schell, 610
- Alex Bergeron, 602
- Timothy Smith, 581
- James Edens, 565
- Kendal Tucker, 500
- Kenny Miller, 487
- JD Brown, 486
- Mason Hannagan, 451
- Aiden Forster, 446
- Braden Eyler, 411
For more information on the iRacing World of Outlaws Carquest Sprint Car Series, visit www.iracing.com/woosc. For more information on the World of Outlaws, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
