Two weeks ago, it looked like the end of the playoffs for Michael Conti after a shifting error ended his race early at the Charlotte Roval. Tuesday night at Texas Motor Speedway – the final stop on the way to the championship finale for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series – Michael Conti was nothing short of, well, clutch.
Conti, a series veteran – nine-time race winner and former champ – hadn’t won a race in two years. He found himself inside a massive points deficit after a shaky start to the playoffs, and was, by many accounts, considered out of the running for this year’s championship.
The only way Conti could advance to compete for the trophy and $100,000 would be to win at Texas – and that’s exactly what he did, scoring the victory and cementing himself into the Championship 4.
Conti’s JR Motorsports teammate Brad Davies slipped past a final-corner crash to finish second – the first 1-2 finish for the team. Championship finalist Bobby Zalenski finished third, while Clampitt and Keister rounded out the top five.
The victory means Michael Conti advances to the Coca-Cola iRacing Series Championship 4, joining Bobby Zalenski and Nick Ottinger, who’d already clinched their spots with wins in previous playoff races. The fourth finalist position went to Ryan Luza, who marched on to finish 25th despite his early crash damage.
Conti’s win was the 10th of his career, tying him for fourth-most all-time with Kenny Humpe.
The 2020 season all comes down to next week. Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the championship race Monday, where the best among the four title contenders will take home $100,000, part of a $300,000 total season prize pool.
— eNASCAR.com —
