Bobby Zalenski’s famous road-racing skills just made him one step closer to a $100,000 payday.
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series kicked off its playoffs Tuesday night at the 17-turn Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, and Bobby Zalenski once again did what he does best: perform at a road course. For the sixth consecutive road-course race, Zalenski executed an absolutely flawless drive to bring home a win – and this time, the victory means he’ll race for a championship.
Zalenski started the evening on pole for the fourth time this season and quickly set sail, as he’s known to do when there are right turns in the mix. The No. 83 went unchallenged, his speed unmatchable, even for iRacing’s most talented. Zalenski, the Team VRS driver, for the fourth consecutive time on a road course, led every single lap after starting from the pole.
With his win, Zalenski automatically advanced to contend as a finalist in the Coca-Cola iRacing Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 2. The race, a four-driver, heads-up, winner-take-all event, awards $100,000 to the series champion, out of a total prize pool of over $300,000.
Fellow championship contender Michael Conti entered the Charlotte Roval with high hopes, but the evening soured quickly when the 2014 series champion mis-shifted his JR Motorsports Chevrolet, blowing the engine and knocking the No. 8 out on Lap 10.
Playoff contenders Jimmy Mullis, Nick Ottinger, and Keegan Leahy followed Zalenski, while Logan Clampitt rounded out the top five. Of the other playoff drivers, Garrett Lowe finished sixth, while Ryan Luza came home 11th – a career-best on a road course – while four-time series champion Ray Alfalla finished 24th. Michael Conti posted a 37th-place finish after his early mishap, meaning he’ll find himself in quite a hole with just two races until the finale.
Zalenski’s victory was the eighth of his career, tying him with Leahy for sixth-most all-time in only his fourth season of competition. Six of Zalenski’s eight career wins have taken place on road courses. He’s never been beaten when they turn left and right.
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs continue at Kansas Speedway next Tuesday – but that doesn’t mean much to Zalenski, who’s already locked in to Homestead. Catch all the action at eNASCAR.com.
