Wild conclusion to Indy 500 sim race

It's been a season of ups and downs for many drivers in the official Verizon IndyCar Sim Racing League. Over the past 12 weeks, sim-racers from all over the world traded paint with the likes of Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Sage Karam as they battled for victory. It all culminated to the final event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which proved to be the deciding factor in who would be crowned champion.

With qualifying taking place last week, only the 29 fastest drivers gained entry to the virtual Indy 500 and it was Bradley Walters who grabbed pole position ahead of Tim Doyle and Tim Holgate. Brandon Trost and Christian Steele rounded out the top-five.

No professional drivers were present as the green flag waved to start the 200-lap race. Proving to be a relatively clean race with only a handful of cautions, the leaders fought hard but fair as they looked to keep their noses clean and finish the online race.

With drivers sticking to fuel numbers and running tight strategies, the data couldn't be crunched fast enough for some as several drivers had to make last minute fuel splashes if they hoped to make it home.

One such driver was championship contender Tim Holgate, who had to pit for fuel with just two laps remaining. Running in second at the time, the stop not only cost Holgate a chance for the race win, but also the championship. A devastating blow after a great season, Holgate would finish in 12th, one lap down.

After 500 miles, the race win came down to a difference of just 0.052 of a second as Joe Branch and Christian Steele fought to take the win. In the end, Branch was able to hold off Steele and claim victory at Indy to drink the virtual milk.

Hanging back in third and watching the battle unfold in front of him was Matt Pawelski who, due to Holgate's fuel run, only needed to maintain his position to take the championship and that's exactly what he did as he crossed the line.

Aside from the bragging rights of winning the championship, Pawelski also wins a 2016 IndyCar Hard Card, an Indianapolis 500 Commemorative Champagne Gift set autographed by Tony Kanaan, a set of Firestone tires along with a slew of other prizes.

Looking ahead, Pawelski will be the man to beat as drivers look to the start for the next season of the Verizon IndyCar Sim Racing League powered by iRacing.com and RACER.