NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series 2018 Power Rankings: Race 16 (Atlanta)
In the last round of the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series season, Logan Clampitt claimed his first victory since 2016 at the Brickyard — a welcomed win despite the fact he’s not competing in this year’s playoffs. The series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway Tuesday for the third race of the playoffs. As the Round of 8 continues, the only driver guaranteed a shot at the championship in Miami is Darlington winner Michael Conti. Here’s how the eight stack up.
1: Ray Alfalla (+1)
Ray Alfalla has led laps in all six of his starts at Atlanta, never finishing worse than 14th (2010), and riding a streak of four consecutive top fives. This is one of Alfalla’s best shots to lock himself into the Championship 4.
2: Ryan Luza (-1)
Despite missing three races this season, Ryan Luza holds a 28-point margin over the cut line after not finishing outside of the top 10 since March. Luza has never made a start at Atlanta, but we’re not expecting that stat to slow him down.
3: Michael Conti (+4)
While a 16th-place effort at Indianapolis after leading laps wasn’t the result Michael Conti expected, the pressure’s off at Atlanta. Conti dominated the 2014 race, but came home second at the end of the day.
4: Matt Bussa (+4)
Matt Bussa has been a pleasant surprise this season’s playoffs, finding himself above the cut line — barely, for now. The consistency might be enough to keep him afloat for now, particularly if he matches his 2014 sixth-place effort at Atlanta.
5: Keegan Leahy (-2)
Canada’s lone playoff driver had a disastrous race at the Brickyard, finding himself on the outside looking in with two races before Miami. Things simply haven’t gone his way since his victory at Pocono in August.
6: Bobby Zalenski (-2)
Slip Angle Motorsports driver Bobby Zalenski has found himself slipping out of playoff contention in recent weeks. Since his third-place finish at Chicagoland in July, Zalenski hasn’t finished in the top 10 once — and he’s never made a start at Atlanta.
7: Nick Ottinger (-1)
Nick Ottinger’s four-race top 10 streak came to an end after a disappointing 27th-place finish at Indy. With an average finish of 23.3 at Atlanta, it might be the end of the road for the Daytona winner.
8: Nickolas Shelton (-3)
With two races remaining before Homestead, Nick Shelton needs some serious help to get back into contention — 23 points' worth of help, specifically. The good news for the rookie? Atlanta is a 1.5-mile track, and his only top fives this season, including his victory at Charlotte, have come on similar tracks.