eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race Preview: Race 5 – Monza

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series goes international on Tuesday night (11th April) as the top oval drivers on the sim head over to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the first time ever in series history.

Utilizing the Grand Prix layout but with no chicanes, what is normally an 11-corner circuit in Italy becomes seven with a lap distance of 5.63-kilometers, or 3.5-miles. It’s the second brand-new venue on the 2023 schedule, third if you count the new configuration at Atlanta, and all of these have come in the first five races of the season.

Monza is a staple venue on many of iRacing’s top esports series. Originally released on the service in 2015, it’s been seen on schedules for the iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series, the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Series and even the Force Dynamics Dallara iRacing Grand Prix Championship. Now, it debuts for eNASCAR.

TWO WEEKS AGO AT RICHMOND

Richmond Raceway added a fourth different winner to the win column two weeks ago when Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing) crushed the field in the 130-lap event. Holding off the likes of Michael Conti (JR Motorsports) and the rest of the Team Conti crew, Zalenski might have led them all if not for some errant yellows mid-race.

Nick Ottinger (William Byron Esports) was likely his closest competition, winning out on a pit cycle early on, taking the lead from Zalenski. Ottinger was able to hold off the green No. 18 for a good chunk of it before another yellow flew, mixing up the order again. Zalenski took advantage, leaving the field behind once he got back to the point.

Zalenski joins Conti and Tucker Minter (Team Dillon Esports) as playoff-eligible drivers thus far. Steven Wilson (Stewart-Haas Esports) was victorious at Atlanta four weeks ago, but currently sits outside the Top 20 in the points, which means he couldn’t use his win to qualify for a playoff spot at this current time.

RACE 4 AT RICHMOND – TOP 10 RESULTS

FIN	STA	CAR #	DRIVER	TEAM	INTERVAL	LED	PTS
1	1	18	Bobby Zalenski	Joe Gibbs Racing	130 LAPS	95	40
2	9	8	Michael Conti	JR Motorsports	+0.904 secs	0	35
3	10	46	Jimmy Mullis	Rise Esports	+1.280 secs	0	34
4	3	25	Nick Ottinger	William Byron Esports	+1.432 secs	23	33
5	2	23	Keegan Leahy	23XI Racing	+1.601 secs	0	32
6	12	15	Garrett Lowe	Jim Beaver Esports	+2.233 secs	0	31
7	28	51	Donovan Strauss	Williams Esports	+2.671 secs	0	30
8	14	77	Ryan Doucette	Pittsburgh Knights	+2.768 secs	0	29
9	18	38	Michael Cosey Jr	Front Row Motorsports	+2.782 secs	0	28
10	25	97	Matt Bussa	William Byron Esports	+3.595 secs	0	27

WHO TO WATCH FOR

Monza is going to be a tough one to predict. The series has never been there, and it’s unlike any other road course that’s ever been on an eNASCAR schedule.

Still, Zalenski has to be a favorite on Tuesday night, having once been a king of the road in eNASCAR for many years. That was before Mitchell deJong and Steven Wilson showed up. In the last two seasons, in six road course races, including an All-Star Race last year, deJong has won three times, Wilson has won twice times, and Zalenski has been shut out.

With deJong retired from the series, Zalenski’s biggest road rival has to be Wilson, right? Graham A. Bowlin (Charlotte Phoenix) also has a win during that stretch, at Watkins Glen in 2021. Casey Kirwan (XSET) has been playing in the Porsche field this season, and has shown speed in eNASCAR roadie events.

Both Conti and Ottinger could prove to be factors, as could Keegan Leahy (23XI Racing) who was recently credited with helping his real-world teammates to victory at Circuit of the Americas last month. In the rookie class, you also have to keep an eye out for Parker White (Kanaan Esports) who runs with the Apex Racing Academy during many special events.

PLAYOFF SEEDING AFTER RACE 4 AT RICHMOND

POS	#	DRIVER	TEAM	PTS	BEH	WINS	T5	T10
1	8	Michael Conti	JR Motorsports	119	WIN	1	2	2
2	33	Tucker Minter [R]	Team Dillon Esports	105	WIN	1	1	1
3	18	Bobby Zalenski	Joe Gibbs Racing	104	WIN	1	1	2
4	25	Nick Ottinger	William Byron Esports	122	+36	0	2	3
5	48	Graham A. Bowlin	Charlotte Phoenix	114	+28	0	2	3
6	38	Michael Cosey Jr [R]	Front Row Motorsports	109	+23	0	2	3
7	23	Keegan Leahy	23XI Racing	93	+7	0	1	1
8	41	Dylan Duval	Stewart-Haas Esports	88	+2	0	0	2
9	3	Jordy Lopez Jr [R]	Team Dillon Esports	87	+1	0	0	0
10	42	Kollin Keister	eRacr	86	+0	0	1	1
10	34	Allen Boes	Front Row Motorsports	86	-0	0	0	2
12	95	Casey Kirwan	XSET	85	-1	0	1	2
12	66	Tyler Garey [R]	Kanaan Esports	85	-1	0	0	2

WHERE TO WATCH

The Countdown to Green starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT / 1:30 a.m. BST 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. BST for the inaugural 30-lap Monza 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 | Winner: STEVEN WILSON	100
4	28-Mar	Richmond Raceway | Winner: BOBBY ZALENSKI	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