Conti Scores Second Win of 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Season at Richmond

Images via Justin Melillo

If JR Motorsports’ Michael Conti had any fear that one win might not be enough to secure his 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff berth, he removed all doubt on Tuesday night at Richmond Raceway. The 2014 series champion, already a winner in Las Vegas, became the first driver to visit the winner’s circle twice this year, giving himself an additional tiebreaker if the series sees more regular season race winners than playoff spots once again.

Conti led a race-high 53 of the race’s 130 laps, surviving caution after caution in the late stages and holding off Charlotte Phoenix’s Graham Bowlin in the final handful of green-flag laps. 2020 series champion Nick Ottinger of William Byron eSports was third, while Team Dillon Esports’ Corey Vincent and Jim Beaver eSports’ Michael Guest, the latter of whom came from 38^th on the grid, completed the top five. Polesitter Taylor Hurst, Vincent’s Team Dillon Esports teammate, led 48 laps and finished sixth.

Richmond is traditionally a high-attrition race with numerous cautions, and with double-digit yellow flags, Tuesday night was no exception. Despite all the incidents, however, 35 of the 40 starters were able to stay on the lead lap with damaged cars. Among the only drivers to call it quits early were RFK Racing’s Parker Retzlaff and William Byron eSports’ Logan Clampitt, who tangled to set up the final restart of the night, and XSET’s Casey Kirwan, who led 29 laps on an alternate pit strategy but couldn’t parlay the track position into a win.

Tuesday’s action also tightened up the points race, with the top five in series standings now separated by just nine points. Atlanta winner Steven Wilson of Stewart-Haas eSports leads Conti by one point, Ottinger by three, and Daytona winner Femi Olatunbosun of Clint Bowyer Racing by four, while Bowlin completes the top five. In the team standings, Jim Beaver eSports is the new leader, as Guest (sixth) and Blake Reynolds (tied for ninth) make them the only team with both drivers in the top 10.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Richmond Raceway were as follows:

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series points through four rounds are as follows:

1. Steven Wilson, 115
2. Michael Conti, 114
3. Nick Ottinger, 112
4. Femi Olatunbosun, 111
5. Graham Bowlin, 106
6. Michael Guest, 102
7. Bobby Zalenski, 100
8. Matt Bussa, 98
9. Jimmy Mullis, 93 (tie)
10. Blake Reynolds, 93 (tie)

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season makes history two weeks from now at Bristol Motor Speedway, when the series takes to the dirt for the first time. Broadcast coverage begins on Tuesday, April 12 at 8:30PM ET with Countdown to Green before the 9PM ET green flag. Live coverage of all the action can be seen at enascar.com/live.

For more information on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit www.enascar.com or www.iracing.com/enascar. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.