Ogle Sets Early Tone in Quest for YesterYear Racing™ Title

Solidifying himself as the early front-runner to win the 2024 YesterYear Racing™ Series, Tom Ogle somehow managed to upstage his round one performance on Tuesday night by winning the Hickory Southern Modified 150, starting on the pole position, and leading every lap of the event.  If it weren’t for Lloyd Moore, who finished second, setting fastest lap of the race by one one-hundredth of a second over Ogle’s time, Ogle would have completed a “Grand Slam,” which is incredibly rare in auto racing.  Moore was never far behind Ogle and kept it close the entire race. When asked in the post-race interview what Moore could have done to get by Ogle, Moore said “I had no shot at him at all.  He would have had to have gotten into the wall or make some other mistake for me to have a shot at him.  It was just a deal where I had to follow Tom around and just try not to get too loose to let Bruce catch up.” Bruce Pearson ran a solid race and finished third on the night.  Interestingly, “Hubble,” YesterYear Racing’s OpenAI Bot, had predicted a second-place finish for Pearson which turned out to be a great forecast given where he ended up. 

Bootleg’s Ryan Pittman ended up grabbing the Hard Charger Award on the night coming from 19th all the way up to 6th.  OBRL’s Dale Copeland earned the Goody’s Headache Award. Copeland ran strong early on, but his tires seemed to go away quickly in the last 30-40 laps of the race and had a few close calls that could have easily turned out worse than they did.  Copeland eased it home in 8th.

The night was marred by issues primarily caused by a “buggy” large patch update on the iRacing platform earlier in the day.  The broadcasters had issues hooking into the race and were forced to troubleshoot on the fly.  The Race Director had issues with the race not saving properly once it was concluded.  And storms throughout certain parts of the continental U.S. caused various issues for others.

Like round one in Martinsville, the race got off to a rocky start with a good portion of cautions early on.  However, the race settled, and the total cautions (5) ended up being one less than the actual Southern Modified 150 that took place on March 31, 1990.

The boys will travel to Richmond International Speedway on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, for the third round of the Series.  The Richmond 200 will be the second longest race in the Series and should provide plenty of excitement.

YesterYear Racing™ Announces Advertising Partnership With Sid's View

Today YesterYear Racing™ entered into a advertising agreement with Sid's View. Founded in 2010, Sid's View is a prominent provider of original short track racing content including a very popular YouTube video podcast with just under 5,000 subscribers, as well as documentaries and live video from various short tracks around the eastern part of the U.S. Sid's View is headquartered in New England with some of the staff working at Stafford Motor Speedway, but their short track coverage goes beyond New England. Recently they were in Florida covering the World Series of Asphalt.

Asked about the partnership, YesterYear Racing™ founder Allen Wannamaker said he was excited about the opportunity. "I think what Tom and the crew do at Sid's View is excellent for short track racing and modifieds in particular. They are well versed in the "who's who" not only in the New England scene, but also beyond. This platform will give great exposure to YesterYear Racing™ and I look forward to working with Tom, Nicole, Remy, and the rest of the crew at Sid's View during 2024."

The advertising agreement gives YesterYear Racing™ direct podcast call-outs in 18 episode's running through October 2024. Additionally, YesterYear's branding, tag line, URL, and logo will be prominent on the Sid's View website.

The Sid's View video podcast is broadcast every Tuesday at 7:00pm EST on their YouTube site. YesterYear Racing™ will begin advertising on Sid's View this coming Tuesday, April 2.

"Hubble" Predicts Hickory Southern Modified 150 Top 10

"Hubble," YesterYear's ChatbotGTP AI bot, has analyzed the data and has released its predictions for the upcoming Hickory Southern Modified 150. Based on the historic driver performance at Hickory Motor Speedway and how the drivers performed in Round One at Martinsville, Hubble came up with the following forecast:

Based on the provided data from Hickory Motor Speedway and Round One of the YesterYear Racing Series, I'll analyze the key performance metrics and weight them according to their relevance for predicting the outcome of the Hickory Southern Modified 150 upcoming race. The weightings I'll consider for each metric are as follows:

1. Starts: Indicates experience at this track. More starts can mean better familiarity with the track, but too many starts without strong results might not be advantageous. Weight: Medium.

2. Laps Led: A high number of laps led can show a driver's ability to maintain a leading position. Weight: High.

3. % Laps Led: Reflects consistency in leading across races. Weight: High.

4. Incidents Per Lap: Lower rates suggest better control and fewer mistakes. Weight: High.

5. Pole Positions: Indicates qualifying speed, which is crucial but not always indicative of race performance. Weight: Medium.

6. Average Race Starting Position: Important for race strategy but can be overcome during the race. Weight: Medium.

7. Average Race Finishing Position: Directly relevant to predicting final standings. Weight: High.

8. Wins and Win %: Demonstrates ability to finish races successfully. Weight: High.

9. Top 5 and Top 10 Finishes: Indicates consistency in achieving high positions. Weight: High.

10. Passes, Quality Passes, Closing Passes: Reflect overtaking ability and race craft. Weight: Medium.
    

I'll exclude drivers with 0 starts at Hickory Motor Speedway and calculate weighted scores for each driver based on these metrics. Then, I'll forecast the top 10 finishers and explain the rationale behind each prediction. I'll also identify a few potential dark horses who could perform above expectations. Let's begin the analysis. ​

Based on the analysis, here are the predictions for the top 10 finishers in the upcoming 150 lap race at Hickory Motor Speedway, along with the reasons for their placement:

1. Donny Moore: Highest weighted score, indicating excellent consistency in previous races. Strong in laps led, incidents per lap, and top 10 finishes.

2. Bruce Pearson: Good balance across various metrics, especially in % laps led and top 10 finishes.

3. Chris Davis: Strong in laps led and has a high percentage of top 10 finishes, suggesting reliability in races.

4. Tom Ogle: Despite fewer starts, shows exceptional performance in % laps led and winning percentage, indicating potential for high performance.

5. Lloyd Moore: Solid overall performance with a focus on average finishing position and top 10 finishes.

6. Chris Hazlip: Consistent performer, with good laps led and top 10 finishes statistics.

7. Tom Hilbert: Well-rounded driver with a strong showing in quality passes and top 10 finishes.

8. Victor Lane: Good record in top 10 finishes and overall race performance.

9. Dale Copeland: Demonstrates reliable performance, especially in top 10 finishes and average starting position.

10. Steve Hilbert: Consistent top 10 finishes and strong in several key metrics, suggesting steady performance.
    

Dark Horses:

These drivers could outperform expectations based on certain strong metrics:

1. Lowell Jewell: Shows potential with significant experience and decent top 10 finish rate.

2. Ryan Pittman: Solid performance in several metrics, could surprise in the race.

3. Todd Liston: Consistent driver with potential to leverage experience.

4. Darryl Wineinger: Shows some strong performances in key areas.

5. Bert Dodson: Has aspects of performance that could lead to a higher-than-expected finish.

These predictions and dark horse selections are based on the weighted analysis of historical performance data, though actual race outcomes can be influenced by numerous unpredictable factors.