Conti scores opening eNASCAR iRacing win at Daytona after last-corner “Big One”

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The schedule had been set, the drivers and teams have been announced, the clash had clashed and all that was left was for the season to get underway for real.

With an increased prize pool in 2021 of $330,000, there was bound to be a lot of pressure on drivers going into the first race of the series. Series rookie Mitchel deJong led the 23XI car from the pole but, typically of superspeedway plate racing, he wasn’t there for very long.

Almost a third of the way into the race, lap 31 to be precise, a number top drivers met their doom. Ex-champions Ryan Luza and Zack Novak had their days ended and Novak, in particular, had no friendly words to say about his competitors…

The race remained under green-flag conditions however. Often the pack would find themselves two and three wide but, for the most part, kept their discipline. That would mean that green-flag pitstops were a necessity – not easy to do at over 200mph in a big pack of race cars.

Despite a caution-free 99 laps, there was always bound to be chaos as the drivers chased a highly sought after victory to start their season. With over 30 drivers still in contention on the final corner, Guest and Clash winner Clampitt collided picking up reigning champion Ottinger. Behind them, the big one ensued. Technically no yellow flags were issued as it was the last lap of the race.

That last lap was a bit, uh, messy.

Michael Conti was the leading survivor, scoring a W on his mission to win his second championship. With the new playoff system, Conti has already confirmed that he’ll be in the end-of-season – presuming he keeps his place in the top 20 on points.

eNASCAR iRacing Coca-Cola Series – Round 1, Daytona International Speedway Results

Pos.No.NameLapsIntervalPts
18Michael Conti100040
29Michael Guest100-0.41935
352Jake Matheson100-0.81934
43Corey Vincent100-1.05933
544Isaac Gann100-1.10632
683Bobby Zalenski100-2.00531
738Casey Kirwan100-2.32630
855Vicente Salas100-2.70629
936Chris Shearburn100-3.50828
1088Brad Davies100-3.59327
1123Mitchell deJong100-3.66726
1218Femi Olat100-4.72425
132Garrett Manes100-4.7424
1410Graham A. Bowlin100-4.8623
1524Jake Nichols100-4.93322
1675Matt Bussa100-5.06921
1732Keegan Leahy100-5.16820
1815Caine Cook100-5.50119
1921Garrett Lowe100-7.73618
2097Logan Clampitt100-8.72817
2125Nick Ottinger100-11.81616
2251Ray Alfalla100-12.25815
2316John Gorlinsky100-13.45814
2477Bob Bryant100-13.51513
2517Steven Wilson100-13.62412
266Nathan Lyon100-13.80811
2746Jimmy Mullis100-19.22410
2814Blade Whitt100-22.1999
2979Ryan Doucette100-34.9218
3066Blake Reynolds100-35.427
3141Dylan Duval100-37.636
3229Zack Nichols99-1 L5
331Ashton Crowder99-1 L4
3433Taylor Hurst99-1 L3
3567Allen Boes99-1 L2
3637Derek Justis98-2 L1
3747Brian Schoenburg97-3 L1
384Ryan Michael Luza81-19 L1
3911Malik Ray34-66 L1
4090Zack Novak36DSQ0
Results courtesy of iRacing.com
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