MISSISSAUGA, Ont. and OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — Story by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman —
Real Sim Racing announced this week their finalized schedule for the 2015 =RSR= Full Throttle Cup Series (FTCS), the sanction’s highest league on the iRacing service.
The schedule will consist of 33 races, up from 32 in 2014, with 23 races making up the regular season and 10 races comprising the “Chase for the Full Throttle Cup”.
Just as in 2014, the Chase format will utilize the NASCAR Sprint Cup elimination format, with three rounds of three races apiece before the championship race to determine the 2015 FTCS champion.
The season kicks off with the Full Throttle Duels from Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16 to set the field for the season-opening points race, the Daytona 250, on Feb. 23. Highlights on the schedule include a return to the Bristol Motor Speedway twice, on April 20 and Aug. 24; two road course races at Sonoma Raceway (June 29) and Watkins Glen International (Aug. 10); a 225-mile marathon race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 18; and the Chase, beginning at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 21 and concluding at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 23, the day after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be crowned.
Eric Brundies is the defending Full Throttle Cup Series champion, after he won six races and finished second in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the trophy at the end of 2014. Chad Cole (2013) and Landon Huffman (2012) are the other former champions of the sim-racing league now in its fourth full-time season.
Veteran FTCS competitor and four-time winner in 2014 Adam Benefiel offered his thoughts on the upcoming 2015 season, and says that this year’s run may be the best yet for the rapidly expanding sim-series.
“I think the 2015 season is gonna be a lot harder, more competitive than last year,” Benefiel said. “There’s a lot of really good teams and drivers coming in for the 2015 season — and the schedule looks like it’s going to be really fun, with Bristol coming back onto the schedule and of course some of the traditional great stops like Michigan and Texas.”
“You’re not going to be able to count out the guys that have been around, especially with someone like Chad Cole coming back. This should be one of the best Full Throttle Cup Series seasons yet!”
Garry Mercer Trucking, Inc. returns as the series’ presenting sponsor for the 2015 season.
Real Deal Grafix (RDG) has also signed on as sponsor of the “Full Throttle Grand Slam”, officially called the Real Deal Grafix Challenge for 2015 and comprising the season-opening event at Daytona, the pre-Memorial Day race at Charlotte, the summer race at Indianapolis and the fall Chase race at Talladega. If any driver wins two of the four events (a “Small Slam”), they will receive a $50 bonus from RDG, while if one driver wins three of the four events (a “Large Slam”), that driver will earn a $100 bonus courtesy of SDG.
The =RSR= Team’s Championship will also return in 2015, with teams being made up of four member drivers and taking the highest point total of three of the team’s drivers in each race. At the end of the season, the team with the most points will claim the FTCS Team’s title.
Once again, LiveSimRacingTV (LSRTV) will televise all 33 races of the Full Throttle Cup Series season live, airing on Monday nights at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.
For more information on the =RSR= Full Throttle Cup Series and Real Sim Racing, visit www.realsimracing.com.
2015 =RSR= Full Throttle Cup Series Schedule
Date — Race — Location
Feb. 16 — Full Throttle Duels — Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 16 — Full Throttle Shootout — Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 23 — Daytona 250 — Daytona International Speedway
Mar. 2 — Peach State 200 — Atlanta Motor Speedway
Mar. 9 — Sin City 200 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Mar. 16 — Phoenix 200K — Phoenix International Raceway
Mar. 23 — Auto Club 180 — Auto Club Speedway
Mar. 30 — Garry Mercer Trucking 200 — Martinsville Speedway
April 13 — Real Deal Grafix 300K — Texas Motor Speedway
April 20 — Thunder Valley 225 — Bristol Motor Speedway
May 4 — Full Throttle 225 — Talladega Superspeedway
May 11 — Commonwealth Clash — Richmond International Raceway
May 18 — World 225 — Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 1 — Monster Mile 180 — Dover International Speedway
June 8 — Pocono Mountains 200 — Pocono Raceway
June 22 — Pure Michigan 180 — Michigan International Speedway
June 29 — Save Mart/Sonoma 150 — Sonoma Raceway
July 13 — Firecracker 200 — Daytona International Speedway
July 20 — Bluegrass 200 — Kentucky Speedway
July 27 — Brickyard Challenge — Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 10 — Full Throttle at the Glen — Watkins Glen International
Aug. 17 — Irish Hills 180 — Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 24 — Ford Performance 225 — Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 31 — Southern 200 — Darlington Raceway
Sept. 14 — The Rumble at Richmond — Richmond International Raceway
Chase for the Full Throttle Cup
Sept. 21 — GMercer.com 200 — Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 28 — New England 200K — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 5 — Delaware 180 — Dover International Speedway
Oct. 12 — NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 — Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 19 — Kansas Lottery 200 — Kansas Speedway
Oct. 26 — South Alabama Shootout — Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 2 — Real Deal Grafix 200 — Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 9 — Garry Mercer Trucking Challenge — Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 16 — Copper World Classic — Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 23 — iRacing.com 200/Full Throttle Championship — Homestead-Miami Speedway
