eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series: All you need to know about the $500k championship

Across 18 championship rounds, and one pre-season exhibition, 40 drivers will fight tooth and body panels for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series title – the official NASCAR competitive sim racing competition.

Each competitor has earned their place in the roster, either by succeeding last season or making their way up the competition ladder, and will aim for a slice of a total $500,000 prize pool.

Each race is broadcast live too, online, and culminates in an in-person finale for the last four title protagonists following 17 preceding races.

What is the eNASCAR iRacing Series?

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series is a virtual stock car motorsport championship, using the iRacing simulation platform and NASCAR cars and tracks.

Each driver has had to qualify for their right to compete via a set of junior formula or prior season results (for those already in the top series). After 18 rounds, a champion is declared, picking up not just $100,000 but also the eponymous Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cup from the man himself.

What happened in eNASCAR’s 2024 season?

Ahead of the 2025 season, we must first look back at last season. The 2024 final was held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte for an in-person showdown.

A full grid participated, but only four drivers could take the crown: Parker White, Bobby Zalenski, Graham Bowlin and 2023 champion Steven Wilson.

It all came down to, remarkably, an over-time final lap.

“Wilson went far too deep into Turn 1, allowing White and Zalenski to slip below him into first and second. The #18 gave it all he had into three and four, but White survived the shoving, and a graze with the wall, to win,” explained Ewan O’Leary in our recent recap of five stand-out sim racing moments of the year.

2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion: Parker White

How did the drivers get on the eNASCAR grid for 2025?

Good question – it’s complicated. But, to boil down the process for the sake of brevity, there is a free agency period where registered teams can sign drivers from a selected pool.

The talent pool consisted of 19 of the top 20 points finishers from the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season, plus the 30 drivers in the 2024 eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series – an undercard championship for up-and-coming drivers.

That means 49 drivers could be signed, but only 40 total spots.

2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series driver lineup

There are 40 drivers on the eNASCAR grid for the entire season, some returning from last season and also some rookie attendees:

• Christopher Hill – #96 – Apex Racing Team / Altus Esports
• Cody Byus – #98 – Apex Racing Team / Deadzone Racing 
• Zack Novak – #2 – Channel 199 Sim Racing Team / Deadzone Racing
• Dylan Duval – #199 – Channel 199 Sim Racing Team / Deadzone Racing
• Ryan Luza – #12 – fgrACCEL eRacing / Deadzone Racing
• Seth DeMerchant – #14 – fgrACCEL eRacing / Altus Esports
• Bobby Zalenski – #22 – ERA Esports Team / Altus Esports
• Michael Cosey Jr – #34 – ERA Esports Team / Altus Esports
• Blake McCandless – #8 – JR Motorsports / Norse Force Racing
• Briar LaPradd – #88 – JR Motorsports / Norse Force Racing
• Casey Kirwan – #24 – Kansas City Pioneers / Deadzone Racing
• Graham Bowlin – #48 – Kansas City Pioneers / Norse Force Racing
• Quami Scott – #36 – Letarte eSports / Nexxus eSports
• Connor Yeroschak – #40 – Letarte eSports / Nexxus eSports
• Eddie Kerner – #19 – Six Karma / Norse Force Racing
• Daniel Faulkingham – #39 – Six Karma / Norse Force Racing
• Blaze Crawford – #3 – Team Dillon Esports / Norse Force Racing
• Taylor Hurst – #33 – Team Dillon Esports / Deadzone Racing
• Nick Ottinger – #25 – William Byron eSports / Team Conti
• Tucker Minter – #97 – Williams Byron eSports / Altus Esports
• Jordy Lopez – #89 – BS+Competition / Altus Esports
• Garrett Lowe – #99 – BS+Competition / Legacy eSports
• Logan Clampitt – #42 – eRACR / Nexxus eSports
• Tyler Garey – #69 – eRACR / Legacy eSports
• Dylan Ault – #47 – Hyak Motorsports / Nexxus eSports
• Quentin Warman – #50 – Hyak Motorsports / RYCO Motorsports
• Nate Stewart – #5 – Jim Beaver eSports / Deadzone Racing
• Kollin Keister – #15 – Jim Beaver eSports / Deadzone Racing
• Vicente Salas – #11 – Kanaan Esports / Deadzone Racing
• Alexander Russell – #66 – Kanaan Esports / Norse Force Racing
• Jimmy Mullis – #29 – Kevin Harvick Inc. Esports / Team Conti
• Matt Bussa – #62 – Kevin Harvick Inc. Esports / Team Conti
• Colin Bowden – #6 – RFK Racing / Deadzone Racing
• Timothy Homes – #17 – RFK Racing / Deadzone Racing
• Femi Olatunbosun – #7 – Spire Motorsports / Norse Force Racing
• Steven Wilson – #77 – Spire Motorsports / Norse Force Racing
• Malik Ray – #1 – Vegas Inferno / Deadzone Racing
• Michael Guest – #21 – Vegas Inferno / Deadzone Racing
• Donovan Strauss – #51 – Williams Esports / Norse Force Racing
• Parker White  – #95 – Williams Esports / Norse Force Racing

That’s a stacked grid, with returning champions such as Steven Wilson, Casey Kirwan and Nick Ottinger and some real-world NASCAR team representation. There are also teams from the likes of IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan alongside established sim racing outfits such as BS+Competition, Williams Esports and (new for this season) Apex Racing Team.

How to watch eNASCAR in 2025

Every race of the 2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will be broadcast live online, via the eNASCAR website, which embeds an official NASCAR Twitch stream, or via iRacing’s YouTube and Twitch feeds.

2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series championship structure

Following a season-opening exhibition (that does not count to championship points or standings), follow 18 rounds at virtual venues such as Daytona, Charlotte, Talladega, Chicago, and Indianapolis and ending at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

40 points for team and driver are awarded for a race win, down to a measly one point for 36th-40th place.

Towards the end of the year, three playoff rounds (Michigan International Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway) then determine the final ‘championship four’, one of whom will lift the trophy at the season-ending Homestead race.

There is also a teams’ competition, with results that ignore the playoff structure for drivers, and a portion of the prize pool ($40,000) is paid out for this too.

2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule

Here are the 18 (plus exhibition) calendar dates for eNASCAR in 2025. Most race broadcasts start at 17:00 PT / 20:00 ET / 01:00 (the next day) GMT.

• Exhibition 1/28/25 Daytona International Speedway
• 1 (S1) 2/11/25 Daytona International Speedway
• 2 (S1) 2/25/25 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• 3 (S1) 3/4/25 Autódromo José Carlos Pace – Interlagos
• 4 (S1) 3/25/25 Richmond Raceway
• 5 (S1) 4/8/25 Rockingham Speedway
• 6 (S2) 4/22/25 Talladega Superspeedway
• 7 (S2) 5/20/25 Charlotte Motor Speedway
• 8 (S2) 5/27/25 Nashville Superspeedway
• 9 (S2) 6/3/25 Kansas Speedway
• 10 (S3) 6/17/25 Iowa Speedway
• 11 (S3) 6/24/25 Dover Motor Speedway
• 12 (S3) 7/1/25 Chicago Street Course
• 13 (S3) 7/22/25 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• 14 (S3) 8/5/25 Atlanta Motor Speedway
• 15 (PO1) 8/19/25 Michigan International Speedway
• 16 (PO2) 9/2/25 Texas Motor Speedway
• 17 (PO3) 9/16/25 Phoenix Raceway
• 18 (C4) 10/7/25 Homestead-Miami Speedway