There’s a new name on top of the 2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series standings, and by new, I mean just to this season which has been led by Keaton Swane from the get go.
The defending series champion, Connor Barry, was able to take control of the points lead in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night (2nd August), winning against Swane at Wild West Motorsports Park by only 0.023 seconds, the closest finish in series history, in the 10th race of the season.
Barry was able to add to that the race before after finishing in second to rookie Jarrett Liebert. Now with three victories on the season, Liebert leads the league in wins and sits third behind Barry and Swane with three events, or six races remaining.
Like two weeks ago (before the All-Star event at Crandon short), Liebert once again score the pole position and stunk up the show in the first race of the night. It wasn’t easy, however, as he had Barry breathing down his neck the majority of the race.
Barry took a few looks, maintaining the runner-up spa while simultaneously keeping a pair of Dall’olmos (Killian and Quentin) in the rear-view mirror. Liebert was able to hold strong and take the opening race while the invert would play into the hands of another rookie, that being Justin Kaye who finished eighth.
As seems to be the norm this season, the second race was a bit more chippy, with competitors getting more aggressive and the flips becoming more common. Kaye was able to get away as Swane, rookie Joel Blewitt and Josh Edmundson got together in the second corner, sending Edmundson out of contention.
Kaye led the opening 11 laps, but Swane kept on his tail, taking advantage on the 12th lap to take the lead, hoping to gain some points back on Barry after finishing sixth in the opening race and provisionally losing the lead in the standings. Barry, however, was able to fight through the calamity and take second away from Kaye.
As Kaye fell out of the picture (and down to sixth by the end of the race), Swane had to play defense on the final lap with Barry taking every chance. It didn’t happen in Turn 1, but in the second corner, they made contact. Barry couldn’t get there through Turn 3, but in the final corner, they were leaning on one another.
It was a little physical, but perhaps it was just what Barry needed to change the narrative of the season as the two drag raced to the line. The gap was 0.023 seconds, the closest finish in series history.
Barry outscored Swane by 14 points between the two races and qualifying, and that means entering the final six races, Barry will lead the points by 12.
Blewitt would be third, 14 points behind, but instead, he’s 54 points back after incurring 40 points in penalties. Liebert instead holds that spot, 21 points back.
Wild West Race #9 – Top 10 Results:
| FIN | STA | TRUCK # | DRIVER | INTERVAL | LED | PTS | AGG. PTS |
| 1 | 1 | 25 | Jarrett Liebert [R] | 16 LAPS | 16 | 50 | 55 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Connor Barry | +0.315 sec | 0 | 48 | 52 |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | Killian Dall’olmo | +1.207 sec | 0 | 46 | 49 |
| 4 | 4 | 14 | Quentin Dall’olmo | +1.454 sec | 0 | 44 | 46 |
| 5 | 5 | 27 | Joel Blewitt [R] | +2.842 sec | 0 | 42 | 43 |
| 6 | 6 | 2 | Keaton Swane | +3.222 sec | 0 | 40 | 40 |
| 7 | 13 | 4 | Josh Edmundson | +4.378 sec | 0 | 38 | 38 |
| 8 | 8 | 29 | Justin Kaye [R] | +6.244 sec | 0 | 36 | 36 |
| 9 | 10 | 22 | Trenton Briley | +7.828 sec | 0 | 34 | 34 |
| 10 | 9 | 18 | Keith Jeffery | +9.159 sec | 0 | 32 | 32 |
Wild West Race #10 – Top 10 Results:
| FIN | STA | TRUCK # | DRIVER | INTERVAL | LED | PTS | AGG. PTS |
| 1 | 7 | 1 | Connor Barry | 16 LAPS | 1 | 50 | 102 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Keaton Swane | +0.023 sec | 4 | 48 | 88 |
| 3 | 5 | 14 | Quentin Dall’olmo | +0.789 sec | 0 | 46 | 92 |
| 4 | 4 | 27 | Joel Blewitt [R] | +1.528 sec | 0 | 44 | 87 |
| 5 | 6 | 5 | Killian Dall’olmo | +2.274 sec | 0 | 42 | 91 |
| 6 | 1 | 29 | Justin Kaye [R] | +3.161 sec | 11 | 40 | 76 |
| 7 | 8 | 25 | Jarrett Liebert [R] | +3.720 sec | 0 | 38 | 93 |
| 8 | 9 | 22 | Trenton Briley | +4.754 sec | 0 | 36 | 70 |
| 9 | 16 | 8 | Christopher Plumley | +5.464 sec | 0 | 34 | 54 |
| 10 | 13 | 19 | Crystal King | +6.238 sec | 0 | 32 | 58 |
2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Standings:
| POS | TRUCK # | DRIVER NAME | POINTS | BEHIND | WINS | T5’s | T10’s |
| 1 | 1 | Connor Barry | 459 | LEADER | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Keaton Swane | 447 | -12 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | 25 | Jarrett Liebert [R] | 438 | -21 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | 27 | Joel Blewitt [R] | 405* | -54 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 5 | 5 | Killian Dall’olmo | 366 | -93 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | 4 | Josh Edmundson | 330* | -129 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | 14 | Quentin Dall’olmo | 301* | -158 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | 10 | Jakob Rafoss | 295* | -164 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | 20 | Tyson Miller | 273 | -186 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | 22 | Trenton Briley | 260* | -199 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
* = penalty points assigned
2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Schedule
| Week | Date | Track | Laps |
| 6 | 9-August | Bark River International Raceway | 11 | 11 |
| 7 | 16-August | Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park | 16 | 16 |
| 8 | 23-August | Crandon International Raceway | 10 | 10 |
