Team Penske eNASCAR Pro Heat Race Report - Road America

July 17, 2020

Team Penske eSports eNASCAR Heat Pro League Race Report

Track:                  Virtual Road America
Race:                   Round 11 – NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date:                   July 16, 2020

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

Console: Xbox One
Start: 14th
Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 14/14
Points: 6th (-25)

Notes:

• Brian Tedeschi (ShellVPower22) had an amazing drive from the rear of the field to score a fifth-place finish in the Xbox race for the eNASCAR Heat Pro League on Thursday evening at virtual Road America.
• In a race that featured only 14 laps – due to the four-mile length of the Road America course – Tedeschi was forced to use aggressive driving to work his way through the field. The Purdue University graduate was especially strong under braking, helping him make necessary passes.
• The Xbox race saw lots of contact among all of the competitors and Tedeschi didn’t escape unscathed. He was a victim of an incident that caused slight damage to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang, but caught a break when a caution flew on lap seven to allow him to make repairs for a run the finish.
• Tedeschi restarted ninth with two laps to go. He avoided much of the carnage on the final laps to drive through the field and score a top-five finish.

Quote: 

“For some reason I didn’t feel really comfortable with the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang all week, and that showed in qualifying. Road America is one of my favorite race tracks to visit, but it is really tough and technical in NASCAR Heat. With all of the contact and all of the cautions we had in this race I am just as shocked as anyone that we were able to salvage a fifth-place finish tonight. It just shows how perseverance and grit can pay off.” 
 

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

Console: PlayStation 4
Start: 11th
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 14/14
Points: 6th (-47)

Notes:

• Corey Rothgeb (Wurth_2) drove through a wild finish to the PlayStation 4 race for the eNASCAR Heat Pro League to score a sixth-place finish at virtual Road America on Thursday night.
• After starting from the 11th position at the four-mile Road America circuit, Rothgeb tried to put together smooth laps as the PlayStation 4 race started much tamer than their Xbox counterparts.
• Rothgeb ran as high as sixth position during the first pit cycle but was only able to cycle to the 10th position once pit stops were completed.
• While the start of the PlayStation 4 race was caution free, the end of the 14-lap event was anything but calm. Rothgeb and the rest of the field fought through several late-race restarts and on the final restart he kept the No. 22 Wurth Ford Mustang on the racing surface and moved through the field to grab a sixth-place finish at the checkered flag.
• Team Penske eSports is now seventh in the team standings for the 2020 eNHPL season. The next event is Wednesday, July 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Quote:  

"Wow, there isn’t much to say about the race tonight at Road America. I didn’t qualify that well and I’m not much of a road course racer. I’m kind of like my teammate, Brian Tedeschi, in that I’m not really sure what happened on the last lap. I restarted 11th and somehow crossed the finish line in sixth. I will definitely take that finish, especially with the amount of damage I had coming across the finish line. I can’t wait to get to Las Vegas.”