iRacing Off-Road: Jarrett Liebert wins again; Connor Barry wins in photo finish at Wild West

Justin Melillo
iRacing’s Off-Road Championship returns for 2023. In the ninth and tenth races of the 2023 season, Jarrett Liebert and Connor Barry were victorious.

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:

FINSTATRUCK #DRIVERINTERVALLEDPTSAGG. PTS
1125Jarrett Liebert [R]16 LAPS165055
221Connor Barry+0.315 sec04852
335Killian Dall’olmo+1.207 sec04649
4414Quentin Dall’olmo+1.454 sec04446
5527Joel Blewitt [R]+2.842 sec04243
662Keaton Swane+3.222 sec04040
7134Josh Edmundson+4.378 sec03838
8829Justin Kaye [R]+6.244 sec03636
91022Trenton Briley+7.828 sec03434
10918Keith Jeffery+9.159 sec03232

Wild West Race #10 – Top 10 Results:

FINSTATRUCK #DRIVERINTERVALLEDPTSAGG. PTS
171Connor Barry16 LAPS150102
232Keaton Swane+0.023 sec44888
3514Quentin Dall’olmo+0.789 sec04692
4427Joel Blewitt [R]+1.528 sec04487
565Killian Dall’olmo+2.274 sec04291
6129Justin Kaye [R]+3.161 sec114076
7825Jarrett Liebert [R]+3.720 sec03893
8922Trenton Briley+4.754 sec03670
9168Christopher Plumley+5.464 sec03454
101319Crystal King+6.238 sec03258

2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Standings:

POSTRUCK #DRIVER NAMEPOINTSBEHINDWINST5’sT10’s
11Connor Barry459LEADER1910
22Keaton Swane447-122610
325Jarrett Liebert [R]438-21359
427Joel Blewitt [R]405*-541810
55Killian Dall’olmo366-93057
64Josh Edmundson330*-129037
714Quentin Dall’olmo301*-158035
810Jakob Rafoss295*-164044
920Tyson Miller273-186015
1022Trenton Briley260*-199005
Other winners outside the Top 10 include Nicholas Dachelet, Alex A Bergeron and Parker Retzlaff
* = penalty points assigned

2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Schedule

WeekDateTrackLaps
128-JuneWild West Motorsports Park16 | 16
25-JulyCrandon International Raceway10 | 10
312-JulyBark River International Raceway11 | 11
419-JulyWild Horse Pass Motorsports Park16 | 16
All-Star26-JulyCrandon International Raceway – SHORTTBA
52-AugustWild West Motorsports Park16 | 16
69-AugustBark River International Raceway11 | 11
716-AugustWild Horse Pass Motorsports Park16 | 16
823-AugustCrandon International Raceway10 | 10
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