After The Line Vol. 7 (May 13-26

Rainy Days In Europe
The Beer League's 7th season of competition has gotten off to a wild start, with record-setting grids in the first two races back in April. As May trundled on though, it looked like the rains would be there to stay. Defending champion Alex Koffard requested a wet-to-dry race at Portugal's Portimao, a race that saw plenty of strategy between wet and slick tires as the conditions changed.

The 4th round in the Netherlands at Zandvoort though would prove to be a whole different beast. Qualifying was marred by huge downpours, soaking the track to its core for the sprint. Thick fog overhanging the track didn't help matters either, and it wasn't until nearly halfway in the feature event before the track would fully dry. With rain still being a new addition to the iRacing service, it still seems as though the rain is here for the long haul.

Attrition Takes Center Stage
A string of three races on GreenFlagTV saw attrition levels skyrocket, with both TNGG and HTRL series swinging to Martinsville, while the Classic Indycar Series tackled Gateway. The HTRL race saw a 200 lap race, and 13 yellows would strike throughout the race, though there was still some decent green flag running. This was no doubt a sight TNGG drivers envied, as they were struck with a stunning 27 cautions from start to finish of a 220 lap race, including overtime, as well as seeing two drivers being disqualified for retaliation during the race.

Perhaps the most incredible sight though was the CIS race from Madison Illinois. The 1.25 mile oval proved a significant challenge for the field. While there were minimal cautions, turn 2's banking transition caught several out, and one by one cars would spear into the inside wall, being forced to retire. 19 cars started the race, however only 5 would finish the race, and only 3 of those were on the lead lap. Cameron Dance won his first race of the season, finally getting a win he has been chasing since the start of the season.

Championship Battles
Championship brawls are starting to pick up in two different series, with both ASRL Nextgen Cup Series, and Speed Tires Plus Cup Series titles in their final stages.

Joshua Heagy won the first of three races in the ASRL playoffs, currently sitting just 5 points above Hunter Engrav, a driver that has dominated the entirety of the regular series season. Engrav is going to be seeing red in Texas as he tries to take the title back.

Meanwhile in Speed, the championship battle is coming down between Ryan Shelton and Jason Gracias, two drivers that are never far apart on the race track. Shelton has so far swept the chase, winning 2 of the 5 races with 3 to go. The last 2 wins have meant Shelton has now scored the hat trick, taking 3 in a row, and 5 in total for the series. While it is a long shot, there is still a chance Shelton could do like Spenser Ray, and pull off a championship sweep.