Forsythe’s “Chronic Fuel Saving” Pays Off in Photo Finish at Fontana

Fontana, CA — The ISRA Sim Gaming Expo Open Wheel Series opened its third season with a blistering, brain-burning duel at the virtual Auto Club Speedway, where raw speed took a back seat to discipline, patience, and technical precision. What unfolded over 125 laps was less a sprint and more a high-speed chess match, one that ended in a jaw-dropping three-wide drag race to the line. When it was over, Craig Forsythe emerged victorious by just 0.01 seconds, edging out two-time defending champion Kyle Klendworth in one of the closest finishes the series has seen.

Mason Mitchum led the field to green from the pole under warm Southern California skies, guiding a tightly packed group of Dallara IR-18s into an early rhythm defined by restraint. The draft was so strong that the field quickly formed a peloton, nose-to-tail and wheel-to-wheel, with the lead pack punching a hole in the air that kept everyone locked together. Klendworth and Hugo Galaz traded looks at the front, but the real story early was not who was leading, it was how little anyone wanted to. Drivers deliberately ran lean fuel maps, sacrificing short-term speed in hopes of stretching their windows far enough to unleash full power at the end.

That careful balance was shattered on lap 43 when the race’s only caution flew. A four-wide squeeze on the front stretch turned chaotic when contact between Garry Lovern and Matt Taylor cascaded into Jim Herrick being sent hard into the outside wall. The yellow flag triggered a pit cycle that instantly reshaped the running order, and for several contenders, it was catastrophic. David Sirois, Mike Rigney, Mason Mitchum, and Chris Stofer all picked up pit road speed penalties, effectively erasing their chances in a race where track position and clean execution were everything.

As the field regrouped, one of the most impressive charges of the night took shape. Mark Murphy, who had started deep in 20th, committed to the high line that many others avoided and began carving through traffic with confidence and momentum. In just a handful of laps, Murphy gained 17 positions, muscling his way into the lead pack and proving that Fontana still rewarded bravery when paired with control.

Complicating matters further was the IR-18’s hybrid system, which demanded constant attention. Klendworth later explained that brake bias management was critical, as regenerative braking could abruptly shift stopping power rearward if the driver wasn’t proactive, a mistake that could easily snap the car around, especially entering pit road. Those who managed the system well stayed alive; those who didn’t quietly fell back.

By the final ten laps, the race had distilled itself into a five-car showdown featuring Craig Forsythe, Kyle Klendworth, Mark Murphy, Richie Hearn, and Chris Ragan. Forsythe, self-described as a “chronic fuel saver,” had played the long game all night, sitting in the draft, sipping fuel, and refusing to show his hand. That patience paid off when it mattered most, allowing him to run full power for the final sprint while others were still rationing.

The last lap was pure theater. The leaders went three-wide through Turns 3 and 4, Klendworth glued to the bottom, Murphy charging the high side, and Forsythe threading the needle in the middle. With the finish line rushing toward them, Forsythe found just enough momentum to surge ahead at the stripe. Four cars crossed the line within 0.05 seconds, but it was Forsythe who claimed the win by the slimmest of margins.

The victory was a masterclass in restraint and execution, a reminder that in modern open-wheel racing, intelligence can be just as lethal as outright pace. With the season now underway, the series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 2, and the rest of the field will be tasked with finding an answer to the quiet, calculated approach that just rewrote the script at Fontana.