The 15th season of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series kicked off at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday night with a first-time winner. Wyatt Tinsley took his first career points-paying victory in eNASCAR Overtime, making the move on Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bobby Zalenski into Turn 3 on the final lap with M80’s Steven Wilson, the 2023 series champion, tucked up right behind.
Off of the final turn, Wilson looked to make a move, as did Spire Motorsports’ Malik Ray back in third. As the two bounced off one another behind him, Tinsley came across the line to win, becoming the 65th different driver to win a race at the Coke Series level. He was also the eighth different first-time winner at Daytona, joining the likes of the last two winners at the track, Femi Olatunbosun and Tucker Minter, as well as NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr, who won the first ever race here back in 2010.
Opportunity knocked for Wyatt Tinsley and he answered!@MrWyat5 wins the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series opener at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/5pVeV5WwOQ
— iRacing (@iRacing) February 14, 2024
Two weeks ago, the QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming driver made his way into eNASCAR victory lane in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Clash at Daytona exhibition. Tinsley won both his heat race and the main event that night, and Tuesday’s win completes the Daytona sweep for the season. He found it hard to describe the winning feeling while soaking in the victory for the Kansas City-based team, a win that came just days after the Kansas City Chiefs took the Lombardi Trophy home after winning Super Bowl LVIII.
“It’s unimaginable,” an exuberant Tinsley said post-race. “Words can’t describe how happy I am right now. To be a part of the series, and to be a part of winning that race, I have no words… The overwhelming support is just amazing. Everyone from the Kansas City Pioneers have been texting me, and my Grandma and Dad were watching. Words can’t describe it, man. It’s just amazing.”
Tinsley started the race third, behind 2020 series champion Nick Ottinger of William Byron eSports and newcomer Quami Scott of Letarte eSports on the front row. Ottinger led the first lap, but it was the Altus eSports-backed trio of Michael Cosey Jr (Front Row Motorsports), rookie Seth DeMerchant (fgrAccel eRacing), and Ryan Doucette (Pittsburgh Knights) who set the tone early.
The first half of the race would go green, but there were still some tense moments. Tyler Garey, driving for eRacr this season, got into a slide on Lap 16 after a bump gone wrong with Dylan Duval (Nitro Circus Sim Racing). A few laps later, the Altus trio broke up as Williams Esports’ Parker White moved into the top spot on Lap 25 following a huge shove from RFK Racing’s Collin Bowden. Doucette was the odd man out, getting caught in the middle. As he attempted to move back into line, the hole closed up and he made contact with BS+COMPETITION eSports’ Garrett Lowe. Luckily, all were able to continue on.
Pit stops came right after the halfway point, with the entire field managing to make it safely on and off the pit lane and only two speeding penalties for Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Jimmy Mullis (on entry) and Nitro Circus Sim Racing’s Matthew Zwack (on exit). The field accordioned, and everyone tried to figure out where they were supposed to be. As a result, the first caution flew on Lap 50 as Olatunbosun got turned sideways and collected numerous others, including Minter. Duval took the worst damage in the incident and was forced to retire.
On the restart, BS+COMPETITION eSports’ Jordy Lopez led the way with 23XI’s Keegan Leahy, the 2021 series champion, tucked up behind in second. Now in the race to the finish, bumping became more aggressive as drivers hoped to traverse the pack. Lopez slammed the wall on the backstretch following some bumping gone wrong behind him, but the race stayed green. Tinsley’s teammate Graham Bowlin found his way to the front of the field, but the second caution flew after he was turned sideways in the middle of the lead pack.
The rest of the race would be filled with cautions and ensuing restarts, each resulting in a new running order. The Spire Motorsports duo of Ray and 2022 series champion Casey Kirwan was formidable, but the Norse Force Racing alliance, which included Tinsley, Wilson, and Williams Esports’ Donovan Strauss, were also in the hunt.
Towards the end, Zalenski managed to put himself into the lead with no backend support. His closest ally was his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Faulkingham, but he was mired on the fringe of the top 10. The race entered eNASCAR Overtime after the fourth and final caution flew on Lap 78. Taking the white flag, Zalenski was a lone wolf in a sea of Norse Force and Deadzone drivers.
Wilson was tucked up right behind Tinsley down the entire backstretch, water temps pushing the absolute limits. There was no lifting, however, as the two made a synchronized move to the double yellow line entering Turn 3. As Zalenski fell out of contention, Ray and Kirwan managed to sneak into the conversation. Wilson looked to make a move, but Ray also made a move at the same time. The two made contact, but they kept it straight. That was all Tinsley needed to capture his first win.
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race 1 at Daytona results were as follows:
Fin.
St.
No.
Name
Team
Laps
Interval
Led
Best
Pts
1
3
20
Wyatt Tinsley
QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming
83
0.000
7
43.949
40
2
34
10
Steven Wilson
M80
83
-0.023
0
43.950
35
3
25
7
Malik Ray
Spire Motorsports
83
-0.080
10
43.921
34
4
30
77
Casey Kirwan
Spire Motorsports
83
-0.195
2
43.989
33
5
24
18
Bobby Zalenski
Joe Gibbs Racing
83
-0.221
6
44.341
32
6
12
51
Donovan Strauss
Williams Esports
83
-0.367
0
44.727
31
7
39
8
Kaden Honeycutt
JR Motorsports
83
-0.534
0
44.435
30
8
7
54
Daniel Faulkingham
Joe Gibbs Racing
83
-0.656
1
44.400
29
9
28
23
Keegan Leahy
23XI
83
-0.694
2
43.799
28
10
5
38
Michael Cosey Jr
Front Row Motorsports
83
-0.819
23
44.370
27
11
11
55
Ryan Doucette
Pittsburg Knights
83
-0.907
0
44.636
26
12
15
45
Michael Guest
23XI
83
-0.913
0
44.611
25
13
32
12
Garrett Manes
fgrAccel eRacing
83
-0.900
0
44.623
24
14
13
66
Kollin Keister
Tony Kanaan eSports
83
-0.931
1
44.676
23
15
27
11
Vicente Salas
Tony Kanaan eSports
83
-1.069
0
44.761
22
16
10
88
Briar LaPradd
JR Motorsports
83
-1.429
0
44.871
21
17
14
53
Parker White
Williams Esports
83
-1.477
13
44.722
20
18
19
5
Zack Novak
OXYGEN Esports
83
-1.824
0
44.584
19
19
1
25
Nick Ottinger
William Byron eSports
83
-1.845
3
44.621
18
20
37
34
Darik Bourdeau
Front Row Motorsports
83
-1.827
0
44.488
17
21
16
89
Garrett Lowe
BS+COMPETITION eSports
83
-1.954
0
44.737
16
22
40
99
Matthew Zwack
Nitro Circus Sim Racing
83
-2.078
0
44.767
15
23
35
22
Femi Olatunbosun
OXYGEN Esports
83
-2.274
0
44.476
14
24
31
42
Tyler Garey
eRacr
83
-2.280
0
44.465
13
25
33
17
Collin Bowden
RFK Racing
83
-2.547
0
44.587
12
26
20
6
Timothy Holmes
RFK Racing
83
-2.569
0
44.693
11
27
38
97
Tucker Minter
William Byron eSports
83
-2.699
0
44.381
10
28
9
14
Seth DeMerchant
fgrAccel eRacing
83
-3.691
2
44.461
9
29
21
33
Taylor Hurst
Team Dillon Esports
83
-3.702
0
44.588
8
30
26
69
Ray Alfalla
eRacr
83
-3.871
0
44.741
7
31
36
80
Ryan Luza
M80
83
-3.974
0
44.748
6
32
23
62
Matt Bussa
Kevin Harvick Inc.
83
-6.483
0
44.650
5
33
8
3
Jonathon Dulaney
Team Dillon Esports
83
-7.239
0
44.796
4
34
29
48
Graham A. Bowlin
QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming
83
-9.518
3
44.605
3
35
4
40
Dylan Ault
Letarte eSports
83
-9.634
0
44.414
2
36
17
27
Cody Byus
Pittsburg Knights
83
-13.965
0
44.717
1
37
6
29
Jimmy Mullis
Kevin Harvick Inc.
82
-1L
0
44.875
1
38
22
90
Jordy Lopez
BS+COMPETITION eSports
82
-1L
10
44.279
1
39
2
36
Quami Scott
Letarte eSports
74
-9L
0
44.736
1
40
18
41
Dylan Duval
Nitro Circus Sim Racing
51
-32L
0
44.678
1
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Driver’s Standings through Round 1 are as follows:
Wyatt Tinsley, 40 (1 WIN)
Steven Wilson, 35
Malik Ray, 34
Casey Kirwan, 33
Bobby Zalenski, 32
Donovan Strauss, 31
Kaden Honeycutt, 30
Daniel Faulkingham, 29
Keegan Leahy, 28
Michael Cosey Jr, 27
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Segment 1 Standings through Round 1 of 4 are as follows:
Wyatt Tinsley, 40
Steven Wilson, 35
Malik Ray, 34
Casey Kirwan, 33
Bobby Zalenski, 32
Donovan Strauss, 31
Kaden Honeycutt, 30
Daniel Faulkingham, 29
Keegan Leahy, 28
Michael Cosey Jr, 27
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Team Standings through Round 1 are as follows:
Spire Motorsports (#7/#77), 67
Joe Gibbs Racing (#18/#53), 61
23XI (#23/#45), 53
Williams Esports (#51/#53), 51
JR Motorsports (#8/#88), 51
The first race also means the first Segment of the season is underway. While the points will be scored through the season as normal, extra bonus points and cash are on the line for winning one of the three Segments of the season. Segment #1 will also include races at Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Richmond.
Tinsley leads the way in both standings by five points over the defending series champion, Wilson. Spire Motorsports, with their drivers third and fourth, takes ownership of the Team Championship lead early on, by six points over Joe Gibbs Racing and 14 over 23XI.
Las Vegas will be the first Intermediate challenge for the 40 top-rated eNASCAR drivers in two weeks. Last season, the 2014 series champion, Michael Conti, took his #ItsBeenGr8 retirement tour to victory lane for his 15th and final career victory in the series.
Tune in on Tuesday, February 27th, at 7:30 p.m. ET for the Countdown to Green. Race coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels.
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.
