Gorlinsky wins season finale at Homestead

John Gorlinsky might not be the 2011 champion of the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship, but the veteran sim racer locked up the runner-up spot with a dominating performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday. Gorlinsky (Manasquan,N.J.) grabbed the pole position and was never seriously challenged, leading all but a few laps during the cycle of green-flag pit stops. Thomas Hazard (Rochester, Minn.) gave a valiant effort in an attempt to secure the second spot in the championship, but ended up 11 points shy with an eighth-place effort.

There were many other spots up for grabs during the final race of the season as well. The top 12 is the cutoff for championship winnings while the top 25 in the standings qualify for an automatic berth in the 2012 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship. With so much on the line and with Homestead's reputation for limited overtaking opportunities, some feared the final race of the season was going to be filled with crashes.

And at times it appeared the race would never get going during the first quarter of the event as the caution flag flew early and often due to some aggressive driving. Even some of the most experienced drivers including Derek Wood (Lincoln, Neb.) and Brad Davies (Wauchula, Fla.) found trouble, seriously hampering their efforts to gain positions in the points. As the chaos unfolded behind him, Gorlinsky made all the right moves out front, mixing-up his restart points in order to keep the lead. Once he was out front, there was no touching him as he easily stretched the lead to nearly two seconds at some points.

As the race wore on and attrition started to take its toll, the race suddenly took a turn for the better with a long green-flag run that included pit stops. Gorlinsky and newly-crowned series champion Ray Alfalla (Cape Coral, Fla.), who was running second, decided to short pit in hopes of using fresh tire to open a gap on those behind them. Others, notably Brian Schoenburg (Moorpark, Calif.) and Jameson Spies (Quartz Hill, Calif.), opted to stay out until they nearly exhausted their fuel in hopes of stealing track position by catching a lucky caution. Unfortunately for them, the race stayed green, forcing everyone to pit road which gave the lead back to Gorlinsky with Alfalla still in hot pursuit.

Alfalla and the rest of the field would get one more chance at the leader when the final yellow of the day flew on Lap 111 of 133, setting up a 19-lap shootout. Once again, though, Gorlinsky checked out on the restart and went on to win ahead of Alfalla, with Thomas Lewandowski (Buffalo, N.Y.), Josh Berry (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and Jeremy Allen (Indianapolis, Ind.) rounding out the top five.

The battle for the top 12 in the standings saw some movement at Homestead, but stayed largely the same. Although Alfalla's championship was secure, Gorlinsky grabbed second while Hazard had to settle for third. Despite finishing 24th at Homestead, Davies bounced back from a tough start to the season to finish fourth in the points while 2011 newcomer Brad Wright's (High Point, N.C.) run to 13th place last night secured fifth place in the standings. The bottom half of the season's top ten includes Schoenburg, Tyler Hudson (Brandon, Miss.), Berry, Wood and Steve Sheehan (Schenectady, N.Y.), with Josh Parker (Cranston, R.I.) slipping to eleventh and Chris Main (Germantown, Md.) rounding out the money spots in 12th.

The battle for the top 25 ended up tight as well. Jean Costa (Mount Pocono, Pa.) and Connor Mackenzie (Truro, Nova Scotia) joined 2010 NiSWC champ Richard Towler (Hull, England) as the final three drivers to lock themselves into next year's championship. Matthew Moose (East Amherst, N.Y.), Justin Lowery (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Jordan Erickson (Bismark, N.D.) just missed the cut and will have to race their way back in through the NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series beginning in November.

With the second NiSWC season now in the books, the future looks bright for the series. There is some great talent waiting in the wings in the Pro Series so it will be tough for the bottom 25 NiSWC drivers to get back in the series next year. Speaking of the NiPS, now that the 2011 NiSWC is history, the focus now shifts to the 61 drivers competing for the top 25 spots in the Pro Series and their guaranteed berths in the 2012 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship. Let the battle begin!

Related: Final Standings