Our last IROC championship was contested in a series back in 2023, in which George Peters (GP Designs) dominated a four race series. This year, the IROC champions were crowned after one day of four challenging IROC races on SR3’s Fast Esses course.
The Short Story
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 320 | 239 | 2559.583 |
| 2 | Aaron Castro | 316 | 227 | 2572.115 |
| 3 | George Peters | 261 | 185 | 2646.445 |
| 4 | Eric Lane | 282 | 157 | 2676.138 |
| 5 | Kevin Webster | 272 | 144 | 2682.804 |
| 6 | Jerry Pearson | 145 | 82 | 1060.941 |
Qualifying
| Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane) | |||
| Date: Nov-02-2024 11:36 | |||
| Class: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified (i) | |||
| Descr: | |||
| Name | Lap Time | Speed (Mph) | Place |
| Steve Stewart | 5.907 | 557 | 1 |
| George Peters | 6.065 | 543 | 2 |
| Aaron Castro | 6.599 | 499 | 3 |
| Jerry Pearson | 6.894 | 477 | 4 |
| Eric Lane | 6.982 | 471 | 5 |
| Kevin Webster | 7.738 | 425 | 6 |
Race 1: Team Forza Viper V-SPEC “IROC” Lexan Camaros (15v)
The first race used Aaron’s newest IROC set of way-cool Camaros, which were fast and extremely capable cars. While Home Cook’n bagged the top podium spot, George and Aaron had a major battle throughout the entire race. At the end of five segments, Eric Lane was done with his rotations and sitting in second place but not enough points to seal the deal. Home Cook’n was also out with a perfect score of 80 laps and 64 points. The final segment was a dogfight for the second and third podium spots between Aaron Castro and George Peters. Both drivers finished on the same lap, with Aaron taking the win and points. However, because Aaron went into the final segment a lap down on George, George bagged the second podium spot with fewer points but just one more total lap than Aaron. Very close racing! Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 80 | 64 | 405.175 |
| 2 | Aaron Castro | 79 | 56 | 406.204 |
| 3 | George Peters | 80 | 50 | 411.984 |
| 4 | Jerry Pearson | 75 | 44 | 414.991 |
| 5 | Kevin Webster | 72 | 40 | 439.161 |
| 6 | Eric Lane | 70 | 28 | 429.451 |
Race 2: Viper-Jets V-SPEC L4 Can-Am Lexan (15v)
Race 2 would utilize the venerable Viper-Jet platform, which would be a bit more challenging for the drivers since the downforce on these cars is considerably less than the previous Viper V-SPEC class with L4 traction magnets. This race saw a dogfight between the top three finishers and quite a battle between the 4th and 5th place finishers. The lone Sportsman driver, Eric Lane would best two Expert drivers with a nice 4th place finish. In the end, Aaron Castro took the win with one lap over George Peters in 2nd and two points over Home Cook’n in 3rd. Aaron clearly showed that he’s one of the top drivers at Stewart Raceway and won a great win with a reasonably loose platform. Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Aaron Castro | 80 | 58 | 629.645 |
| 2 | George Peters | 79 | 58 | 601.541 |
| 3 | Steve Stewart | 80 | 56 | 633.531 |
| 4 | Eric Lane | 68 | 40 | 634.46 |
| 5 | Jerry Pearson | 70 | 38 | 645.95 |
| 6 | Kevin Webster | 68 | 32 | 619.642 |
Race 3: Retro Vipers “Maximum Leeway” Lexan
This one was everybody’s favorite race (NOT!). The Retro Viper platform was certainly the loosest car in the mix, and the runtimes clearly proved it. With almost no downforce and basically a L4 Viper V-SPEC chassis, this car is a handful to drive, especially on a road course. This one was a battle mostly between Home Cook’n and Aaron Castro, with the win going to Home Cook’n by just two laps. T-Jet ace George Peters was strangely not a big factor in this one as he struggled to dial in his setup while Eric Lane seemed to have a good handle on the tricky platform, finishing in 4th with more laps, but short just three points. Nice driving by the lone Sportsman driver! Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 80 | 61 | 847.047 |
| 2 | Aaron Castro | 78 | 55 | 847.81 |
| 3 | George Peters | 65 | 45 | 881.049 |
| 4 | Eric Lane | 70 | 42 | 889.339 |
| 5 | Kevin Webster | 66 | 32 | 907.174 |
Race 4: Fast Lane Racing’s MegaG+ 1.7 “Scooby Doo” Vans
To cap off the challenging IROC championship, we decided to run Eric “Fast” Lane’s “Scooby Doo” vans for the final race of the day. Eric has been refining this set since first introducing them to us in 2023. With the high center of gravity and heavier resin-molded body, these cars are challenging but way fun to drive. Eric Lane came out swinging, winning the first segment with the fastest lap time over Home Cook’n in 2nd. With George still struggling, this one was a battle between Aaron Castro, Eric Lane, and Home Cook’n. Going into the final segment, Kevin Webster led the race but done with his rotation without enough points to maintain his position. In the end, Home Cook’n bagged the win by just one lap, tying with 2nd place, Aaron Castro on points. Eric “fast” Lane had a great final race, bagging the win in the first segment and finishing on the podium in 3rd. Great driving, Eric! Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 80 | 58 | 673.83 |
| 2 | Aaron Castro | 79 | 58 | 688.456 |
| 3 | Eric Lane | 74 | 47 | 722.888 |
| 4 | Kevin Webster | 66 | 40 | 716.827 |
| 5 | George Peters | 37 | 32 | 751.871 |
Okay, the 2024 IROC Champs are crowned and on their way to the Stewart Raceway Wall of Fame.
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time | Category |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 320 | 239 | 2559.583 | Expert |
| 2 | Aaron Castro | 316 | 227 | 2572.115 | Expert |
| 3 | George Peters | 261 | 185 | 2646.445 | Expert |
| 1 | Eric Lane | 282 | 157 | 2676.138 | Sportsman |
| 4 | Kevin Webster | 272 | 144 | 2682.804 | Expert |
| 5 | Jerry Pearson | 145 | 82 | 1060.941 | Expert |
Stay tuned for videos of each race, including qualifying. Thanks to all of you who made the trek to this way fun event!
Okay, shut up and drive!
