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:

  1. Michael Conti, 342, 2 wins
  2. Nick Ottinger, 319
  3. Jordy Lopez Jr., 305, 1 win
  4. Tucker Minter, 293, 2 wins
  5. Casey Kirwan, 286, 2 wins
  6. Malik Ray, 283
  7. Graham Bowlin, 283
  8. Michael Cosey Jr., 278
  9. Matt Bussa, 269
  10. Bobby Zalenski, 265, 3 wins
  11. Garrett Manes, 261
  12. 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.

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