Hazard dodges hazards to grab victory at Bristol

BEDFORD, Mass. -- In the kind of rock 'em, sock 'em action that's typical of short-track racing, Thomas Hazard took the victory at the high-banked, half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in Round 3 of the NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship. Hazard (Rochester, Minn.) held off his Main Performance teammate Josh Berry (Hendersonville, Tenn.) during a flurry of late-race restarts to take his first-victory in NASCAR's virtual racing series and vault from fourth to second place in the season points standing.

Hazard ran consistently near the front of the field in the caution-flag dotted early portion of the 250-lap event, and then made his move during the long green-flag run that followed. On Lap 156, Hazard took the lead from Brad Wright (High Point, N.C.) who went on to finish ninth. Even with several caution periods late in the race that bunched up the field, no one in a strong field of contenders could get by Hazard.

Hazard summed up his victory, which ultimately came under a yellow flag, with a few words. "I had an excellent car and was able to keep it inside the top five the entire race. Track position was extremely crucial as it was nearly impossible to pass the entire race."

Knowing that track position would be very important, all the drivers put a lot of effort into their qualifying setups. Derek Wood (Lincoln, Neb.) continued his strong showing in qualifying so far this season by scoring his second pole.

With the field for NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship events now increased to 43 cars and the high-banked Bristol track already a bit short on racing room, there might have been just a little more anxiety as the field came down for the green flag. What followed was a typical short-track race -- early cautions, a long run in the middle, and the final stanza punctuated by several yellow periods, including one that ended the race.

Wood led the field to the green and stayed there until the first caution and accompanying pit stop. The first 90 laps of the race saw spins and crashes, and consequently a number of broken race cars. Drivers who were otherwise strong contenders knocked out of the running by misfortune, including outside pole-sitter Connor Mackenzie (Truro, Mass.), as well as Daniel Pope (Smyrna, Tenn.) and Thomas Lewandowski (Buffalo, N.Y.).

At this point the race settled down for a long green-flag run, one that separated the contenders from the pretenders. Points leader and winner of the season-opening race at Daytona, Ray Alfalla (Miami, Fla.), joined Berry, Hazard and Wright in a four-car breakaway at the front that pulled away from the rest of the field.

Dealing with lapped traffic proved a challenge for the leaders all day, especially toward the end of a long run, when everyone was on worn tires. The only way to pass was to wait for the driver in front to make a mistake -- or perhaps to induce one.

The turning point in the race occurred as Hazard came up to lap Ben Sexton. Hazard ended up making contact, Sexton (Chandler, Ariz.) spun and that brought out the yellow. Beating his foes out of the pits, Hazard kept the lead, and that turned out to be the winning move.

The final 80 laps were full of short runs and more crashes as some drivers ran out of patience. With the race track's bottom groove proving clearly faster, the inside line was definitely the place to be on the restarts. The last of the 16 cautions finally ended the two-hour, 250-lap marathon with Hazard cruising to victory under the yellow with Berry in tow.

Jeremy Allen (Indianapolis), Alfalla, and Richie Davidowitz (Holbrook, N.Y.) rounded out the top-five finishers, all of them but Alfalla representing the Main Performance team. Runner-up Berry, always a front-runner and himself a familiar face in the winner's circle, noted that he'd "never been so happy to finish second in a race."

With his fourth-place finish, Alfalla (124 points) continues to lead the points, but only by a slim two markers over Hazard (122). Josh Parker (Cranston, R.I.) is only 10 points back of the lead while Wood and Chris Main (Germantown, Md.) round out the top five after three races.

Staying out of trouble and racking up consistent top-10 finishes is the key to championship success with the new NASCAR points system. With Martinsville Speedway hosting Week 4 action on March 29, maintaining that consistency will not get any easier. The paper-clip shaped Martinsville half-mile has even tighter quarters than Bristol -- and that suggests more rough-and-tumble racing.