The fifth round of the official Verizon IndyCar Sim Racing League powered by iRacing.com and RACER, proved to be a triumph for some and heartache for others as the series took to the oldest continually operating motorsport facility in the world – the Milwaukee Mile.

For the first time this season the grid was bereft of any IndyCar or Lights drivers, but the competition remained tight: little over one second covering the grid, with Tim Holgate claiming pole position. For the next 150 laps, the 23 sim racers navigated the historic circuit under the lights in a relatively clean race, although there were a few intense moments.

One such incident occurred on lap 57, when Brandon Traino made a bold move on the inside of Holgate, clipping his wing in the process. Both cars shot to the outside wall and ended their night early, which will have serious championship implications for Holgate.

As the race continued on, pitlane strategy came into play as several cars lost time making stops. With lap times of only about 21 seconds and cars having to pit multiple times throughout the night during green flag conditions, several drivers went a lap down when the final caution came out with only 10 laps to go.

Deciding to roll the dice with a late pitstop, Tim Doyle, the last car on the lead lap, elected to take fresh tires. As the green flag dropped with seven laps to go, Doyle’s gamble paid off as he had a perfect restart and was able to gather up several positions in the process.

Catching up to the race leader Brandon Trost, Doyle made a risky move on the outside and made it stick. From there, Doyle made a breakaway dash to the finish and took the win by a healthy margin. Paul Jennings, who qualified in 15th, masterfully worked his way up to finish in second as Trost was relegated back to third ahead of Vick Caudill and Joe Branch.

Next week, the series is back to road racing at Road America.