The 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season has not been short of late-race drama. On Tuesday night at the virtual Nashville Superspeedway, Rise eSports’ Jimmy Mullis added fuel to that already lit fire, stealing victory from the clutches of defeat by use of the front bumper on Jim Beaver eSports’ Garrett Lowe, who passed him just two corners earlier on the final lap in eNASCAR Overtime.
During a late-caution pit cycle at Lap 88, Mullis opted to stay on track and maintain the lead he earned by passing both Front Row Motorsports’ Allen Boes and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Steven Wilson. Roughly a quarter of the remaining field also chose to stay out with Mullis for track position instead of a set of fresh right-side tires, the popular call on pit road throughout the night. Back in 16th on the ensuing restart was Lowe, who decided to pit from 10th.
A couple of late-race incidents set up the final overtime restart on Lap 103. Mullis managed to get a great restart, but the life in Lowe’s tires allowed him to hook the bottom on the first lap, crossing the line in second as they took the white flag. Mullis held on through Turns 1 and 2, but Lowe was there. On the backstretch, Mullis moved low to block and Lowe looked to the high side, which was not the preferred lane. With the better virtual right-side rubber, Lowe made it stick and all but passed Mullis as they entered Turn 4. Not to be denied, Mullis gave it some gas and slid up into Lowe’s door, enough to slow him down on exit. Lowe maintained the lead for a brief moment, but with some momentum and an opportune knock between bumpers, Mullis sent Lowe into the wall as they came to the line. Mullis took the win, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Dylan Duval pulled off second place and Lowe had to settle for third.
Lowe’s Jim Beaver eSports teammate Malik Ray managed to pull off a fourth-place effort while Vicente Salas from Williams eSports and polesitter Nick Ottinger from William Byron eSports finished fifth and sixth, respectively. All three of those drivers led at some point throughout the race, with Ottinger leading on two occasions, losing the lead to Ray the first time and Salas the second time.
Pit road was an interesting place to be, and the varied strategies worked to add some flavor to the battle for the win. Throughout the night, most drivers opted for two-tire pit calls, citing how the left sides could benefit from not being changed and maintaining heat within. There were times when the right call was to take no tires, namely when Ottinger stayed out on Lap 18 to lead and again when Boes had taken the lead just before halfway, leading 24 laps on the night.
It wasn’t the best of nights for some of the championship favorites either. JR Motorsports’ Michael Conti, the Team Dillon eSports duo of Tucker Minter and Jordy Lopez, and 2022 Championship 4 competitor Graham Bowlin for the Charlotte Phoenix all had off nights as all four finished outside the top 20. All but the latter have wins to fall back on, which all but locks them into the 2023 eNASCAR Playoffs in a few weeks. Bowlin, on the other hand, will now have to watch out for new winner Mullis, as well as the points runners right behind. Bowlin is now tied with Ray for eighth on the playoff grid as it stands, with Front Row Motorsports’ Michael Cosey Jr. now in that 10th and final spot. However, if Mullis can gain five points on the top-20 elimination line, his win will guarantee him a place in the battle for the 2023 championship.
If Mullis is unable to get there, Cosey Jr. then has to worry about William Byron eSports’ Matt Bussa, only nine points behind, as well as the possibility of another new winner already in the top 20. Currently, four playoff spots are filled by those with the most points without a win, but up to three of those positions can be filled by new winners, including Mullis should he enter the top 20. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out in the final two races of the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series regular season.
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Nashville Superspeedway were as follows:
FIN. | ST. | NO. | NAME | TEAM | LAPS | INTERVAL | LED | BEST | PTS |
1 | 6 | 46 | Jimmy Mullis | Rise eSports | 104 | 0.000 | 26 | 29.601 | 40 |
2 | 24 | 41 | Dylan Duval | Stewart-Haas Racing | 104 | -0.107 | 0 | 29.475 | 35 |
3 | 14 | 15 | Garrett Lowe | Jim Beaver eSports | 104 | -0.150 | 0 | 29.618 | 34 |
4 | 3 | 7 | Malik Ray | Jim Beaver eSports | 104 | -0.322 | 9 | 29.638 | 33 |
5 | 9 | 55 | Vicente Salas | Williams eSports | 104 | -0.379 | 15 | 29.577 | 32 |
6 | 1 | 25 | Nick Ottinger | William Byron eSports | 104 | -0.512 | 22 | 29.576 | 31 |
7 | 34 | 12 | Garrett Manes | fgrAccel | 104 | -0.513 | 0 | 29.641 | 30 |
8 | 4 | 97 | Matt Bussa | William Byron eSports | 104 | -0.660 | 0 | 29.604 | 29 |
9 | 35 | 45 | Michael Guest | 23XI | 104 | -0.655 | 0 | 29.653 | 28 |
10 | 5 | 18 | Bobby Zalenski | Joe Gibbs Racing | 104 | -0.707 | 0 | 29.606 | 27 |
11 | 11 | 10 | Steven Wilson | Stewart-Haas Racing | 104 | -0.802 | 8 | 29.568 | 26 |
12 | 7 | 95 | Casey Kirwan | XSET | 104 | -0.935 | 0 | 29.509 | 25 |
13 | 30 | 34 | Allen Boes | Front Row Motorsports | 104 | -1.051 | 24 | 29.635 | 24 |
14 | 25 | 51 | Donovan Strauss | Williams eSports | 104 | -1.123 | 0 | 29.624 | 23 |
15 | 39 | 17 | Kaden Honeycutt | RFK Racing | 104 | -1.118 | 0 | 29.691 | 22 |
16 | 20 | 54 | Daniel Faulkingham | Joe Gibbs Racing | 104 | -1.408 | 0 | 29.763 | 21 |
17 | 29 | 23 | Keegan Leahy | 23XI | 104 | -1.468 | 0 | 29.664 | 20 |
18 | 18 | 88 | Kevin King | JR Motorsports | 104 | -1.517 | 0 | 29.705 | 19 |
19 | 32 | 66 | Tyler Garey | Tony Kanaan Esports | 104 | -1.522 | 0 | 29.790 | 18 |
20 | 2 | 6 | Timmy Holmes | RFK Racing | 104 | -1.597 | 0 | 29.551 | 17 |
21 | 37 | 40 | Dylan Ault | LETARTE eSports | 104 | -1.568 | 0 | 29.646 | 16 |
22 | 10 | 27 | Cody Byus | Elliott Sadler eSports | 104 | -1.719 | 0 | 29.729 | 15 |
23 | 8 | 11 | Parker White | Tony Kanaan Esports | 104 | -1.729 | 0 | 29.743 | 14 |
24 | 13 | 1 | Darik Bourdeau | Elliott Sadler eSports | 104 | -1.880 | 0 | 29.746 | 13 |
25 | 17 | 33 | Tucker Minter | Team Dillon eSports | 104 | -1.882 | 0 | 29.784 | 12 |
26 | 31 | 75 | Zack Novak | Rise eSports | 104 | -1.903 | 0 | 29.629 | 11 |
27 | 16 | 42 | Kollin Keister | eRacr | 104 | -1.918 | 0 | 29.789 | 10 |
28 | 36 | 48 | Graham A. Bowlin | Charlotte Phoenix | 104 | -1.938 | 0 | 29.703 | 9 |
29 | 22 | 31 | Derek Justis | Kansas City Pioneers | 104 | -1.989 | 0 | 29.790 | 8 |
30 | 23 | 2 | Corey Vincent | Pittsburgh Knights | 104 | -2.063 | 0 | 29.714 | 7 |
31 | 21 | 43 | Femi Olatunbosun | Charlotte Phoenix | 104 | -2.248 | 0 | 29.719 | 6 |
32 | 12 | 77 | Ryan Doucette | Pittsburgh Knights | 104 | -3.557 | 0 | 29.856 | 5 |
33 | 33 | 38 | Michael Cosey Jr | Front Row Motorsports | 104 | -4.195 | 0 | 29.965 | 4 |
34 | 38 | 3 | Jordy Lopez | Team Dillon eSports | 102 | -2L | 0 | 29.808 | 3 |
35 | 19 | 8 | Michael Conti | JR Motorsports | 101 | -3L | 0 | 29.868 | 2 |
36 | 28 | 36 | Brandon McKissic | LETARTE eSports | 93 | -11L | 0 | 29.830 | 1 |
37 | 27 | 69 | Collin Bowden | eRacr | 89 | -15L | 0 | 29.778 | 1 |
38 | 26 | 20 | Wyatt Tinsley | Kansas City Pioneers | 59 | -45L | 0 | 29.880 | 1 |
39 | 15 | 4 | Ryan Luza | XSET | 58 | -46L | 0 | 29.947 | 1 |
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series points through 12 rounds are as follows:
- Michael Conti, 342, 2 wins
- Nick Ottinger, 319
- Jordy Lopez Jr., 305, 1 win
- Tucker Minter, 293, 2 wins
- Casey Kirwan, 286, 2 wins
- Malik Ray, 283
- Graham Bowlin, 283
- Michael Cosey Jr., 278
- Matt Bussa, 269
- Bobby Zalenski, 265, 3 wins
- Garrett Manes, 261
- Steven Wilson, 259, 1 win
*21. Jimmy Mullis, 193, 1 win
Only two races remain in the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series regular season. The next eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series event will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 25. Pocono Raceway is scheduled to be the regular-season finale a week after that on Aug. 1. Mullis has won at both tracks before, and even more interesting is that Mullis will be looking for his fourth straight win at New Hampshire’s “Magic Mile” in two weeks.
Race coverage for New Hampshire will start on Tuesday, July 25 at 9 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live. The Countdown to Green, presented by Wendy’s, will kick things off at 8:30 p.m. ET.