eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race Preview: Race 3 – Atlanta

Tonight (14th March), the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series is scheduled to take on a returning venue, but with a new flair this time around. Following the real-world reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022, the top virtual series will finally get its turn with 100 laps at the nearly wide open track.

New Atlanta is one of the new additions to the 2023 schedule after the series visited the historic 2008 venue last season. Not technically known as a Superspeedway due to it’s size, it is still an intermediate, but a common phrase to call it by is “Daytona in a can”.

This is the third race of the 2023 season, and the second superspeedway-style race in just that short amount of time. It is unknown how the race will play out when the Top 40 oval sim racers in the world take to the track. Could it be wide open, or will handling come in to play heavily?

TWO WEEKS AGO AT MILWAUKEE

In the second race of the season, there were some hurt feelings for some, and that combined with incredible storylines from the front runners on the night. One driver (Darik Bourdeau, Elliott Sadler Esports) is suspended tonight. Another driver checked one thing off of his final season to-do list early.

Nick Ottinger (William Byron Esports) was the best car in the first part, but Malik Ray (Jim Beaver Esports) showed up during a slew of cautions and pounced, taking the lead late in the going. However, Ray would be unsuccessful in holding off Michael Conti (JR Motorsports) as the laps wound down.

As Ray slid back into the clutches of Ottinger and Garrett Manes (FGR Accel eRacing), Conti, in his retirement tour season, went on to become the second winner on the year and the second to be all but locked in when the Regular Season ends following the 14th race, joining Daytona winner Tucker Minter (Team Dillon Esports).

RACE 2 AT MILWAUKEE – TOP 10 RESULTS

FIN	STA	CAR #	DRIVER	TEAM	INT	LED	PTS
1	10	8	Michael Conti	JR Motorsports	100 LAPS	20	40
2	1	25	Nick Ottinger	William Byron Esports	+0.282 secs	61	35
3	21	12	Garrett Manes	FGR Accel eRacing	+1.428 secs	0	34
4	9	7	Malik Ray	Jim Beaver Esports	+1.970 secs	18	33
5	8	48	Graham A. Bowlin	Charlotte Phoenix	+1.999 secs	0	32
6	6	95	Casey Kirwan	XSET	+2.097 secs	0	31
7	13	18	Bobby Zalenski	Joe Gibbs Racing	+2.205 secs	0	30
8	31	75	Zack Novak	Rise Esports	+2.333 secs	0	29
9	27	40	Dylan Ault	Letarte Esports	+2.786 secs	0	28
10	7	41	Dylan Duval	Stewart-Haas Esports	+2.900 secs	0	27

ATLANTA HISTORY

As mentioned, the track is brand new for 2023, despite existing on the eNASCAR Coke Series schedule since the inaugural year in 2010. The very first race that season was won by former series driver Steve Sheehan. John Gorlinsky, another former driver, won the next two seasons back to back.

In 2013, an interesting name appears on the winners list – Joey Brown (FGR Accel eRacing). Brown made his return to the top level this offseason after winning the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series championship for 2022. Brown previously left the series after 2014.

Thomas Lewandowski, PJ Stergios, Ray Alfalla and Logan Clampitt are all former winners at the old track, and are also no longer in the series this year (Alfalla was relegated and Clampitt retired following the 2022 season). Who is in the series that has won in the past includes Matt Bussa (William Byron Esports) and last year’s winner, Steven Wilson (Stewart-Haas Esports).

WHO TO WATCH FOR

With the track as a brand new configuration, some who do well at wide open tracks like Daytona and Talladega may find their way to the front of the field this week. Malik Ray has more points than anyone so far this season, and Atlanta may suit his driving style perfectly enough to grab that first career win.

Daytona winners in the last two years, Tucker Minter and Femi Olatunbosun (Charlotte Phoenix) could be contenders when the race comes down to it. How about Wilson, though? He won here last year on the old track and he needs to get his season pointed in the right direction sooner than later.

Other solid picks would likely be the defending champion of the series, Casey Kirwan (XSET), the Front Row Motorsports duo of Allen Boes and rookie Michael Cosey Jr, and how about Jordy Lopez Jr after that last race? He was very impressive in both races so far, look for that No. 3 Team Dillon Esports Chevy to make waves.

PLAYOFF SEEDING AFTER RACE 2 AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE

POS	#	DRIVER	TEAM	PTS	BEH	WINS	T5	T10
1	8	Michael Conti	JR Motorsports	65	WIN	1	1	1
2	33	Tucker Minter	Team Dillon Esports	61	WIN	1	1	1
3	7	Malik Ray	Jim Beaver Esports	68	+20	0	2	2
4	25	Nick Ottinger	William Byron Esports	66	+18	0	1	2
5	95	Casey Kirwan	XSET	64	+16	0	1	2
6	48	Graham A. Bowlin	Charlotte Phoenix	61	+13	0	1	2
7	75	Zack Novak	Rise Esports	53	+5	0	0	1
8	34	Allen Boes	Front Row Motorsports	51	+3	0	0	1
9	66	Tyler Garey	Kanaan Esports	50	+2	0	0	1
10	41	Dylan Duval	Stewart-Haas Esports	49	+1	0	0	1
11	38	Michael Cosey Jr	Front Row Motorsports	48	-1	0	1	1
12	18	Bobby Zalenski	Joe Gibbs Racing	44	-5	0	0	1

WHERE TO WATCH

The Countdown to Green starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT / 1:30 a.m. GMT to bring you up to speed on everything you need to know going into the event. The racing will go green shortly after 9:00 p.m. EDT / 2:00 a.m. GMT for the Atlanta 100 lap race event.

The broadcast will be available at eNASCAR.com/live or on the iRacing social channels.

2023 ENASCAR COCA-COLA IRACING SERIES SCHEDULE

RACE	DATE	TRACK	LAPS
CLASH	31-Jan	eNASCAR Clash at the LA Coliseum | Winner: CASEY KIRWAN	20/40/70
1	14-Feb	Daytona International Speedway | Winner: TUCKER MINTER	80
2	28-Feb	The Milwaukee Mile | Winner: MICHAEL CONTI	100
3	14-Mar	Atlanta Motor Speedway	100
4	28-Mar	Richmond Raceway	130
5	11-Apr	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	30
6	18-Apr	Talladega Superspeedway	70
7	2-May	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	100
8	16-May	Darlington Raceway	120
9	30-May	Charlotte Motor Speedway	100
10	13-Jun	World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway	120
11	27-Jun	Watkins Glen International	45
12	11-Jul	Nashville Superspeedway	100
13	25-Jul	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	101
14	1-Aug	Pocono Raceway	60
15 – PO1	15-Aug	Michigan International Speedway	60
16 – PO2	29-Aug	Dover Motor Speedway	120
17 – PO3	12-Sep	Phoenix Raceway	120
18 – C4	26-Sep	Homestead-Miami Speedway	100