Already a winner on the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season, Michael Conti (JR Motorsports) continued to pad his virtual Hall of Fame-worthy stats on Tuesday night (2nd May) as he claimed his second victory of the season, and second-in-a-row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
From the eighth starting position, Conti worked his way up swiftly to challenge for the lead about a quarter distance in. After a slew of cautions which saw fuel strategies come into play, Conti was able to save enough during the pace laps to win once again, the 15th race win of his career.
In what is being touted as his #ItsBeenGr8 Retirement Tour in 2023, Conti now ties with Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing) for the most wins on the year at two, and outright leads the standings by 15 points over Nick Ottinger (William Byron Esports) who is without a win this season, but like at Milwaukee, finished runner-up again at Las Vegas.
The race saw four cautions on the night, three different leaders, and one of them wasn’t the pole sitter Keegan Leahy (23XI Racing). Leahy hung around the Top 5 for most of the night, but slipped back to finish 12th. This marks the halfway point of the 2023 Regular Season—only seven races left to decide five more playoff spots.
CONTI: “WHAT BETTER WAY TO GO OUT THAN TO WIN, NOW WE GOT TWO”
It was Jordy Lopez Jr (Team Dillon Esports) taking the early lead from Leahy as the race went underway. A quick caution re-racked the field, but again on the restart, Lopez Jr was able to pull away. Conti, who worked his way up to restart second on that ensuing caution, waited patiently, striking for the lead at Lap 24.
Eight laps later, the caution flew again, this time for a massive incident involving the most recent winner on the season before tonight, Casey Kirwan (XSET), among others. Malik Ray (Jim Beaver Esports) opted for a different strategy, staying out to lead a few after narrowly avoiding the previous incident.
After two more quick cautions, Ray finally pitted. Before that, Conti was able to pull back by for the lead. The final restart came with about 56 laps to go, and from there, Conti led the remainder of the way. Ray managed to get back up to finish eighth with his off-strategy call.
The night belonged to Conti, however, the winner of the same event one season ago. Now with two wins, his playoff ticket is double punched and should be a sure lock for a final run for a final championship.
STRONG SHOWING FROM BOTH TEAM CONTI AND ALTUS ESPORTS
The two big players on Tuesday night at Las Vegas were the Team Conti and Altus Esports backend teams. The Conti crew of Conti, Ottinger and Jimmy Mullis (Rise Esports) ran 1-2-3 for a good portion of the end of the race, with Mullis losing the podium finish to Lopez Jr at the line.
Altus drivers Lopez Jr, his Team Dillon Esports teammate Tucker Minter, as well as Michael Cosey Jr (Front Row Motorsports) and Ryan Doucette (Pittsburgh Knights) all showed speed through the night as well. Doucette, who qualified fifth, was unfortunately involved in an incident with Bobby Zalenski that ended both of their nights.
For the rest of the Altus guys? Lopez Jr had yet another incredible drive, scoring a deserved third place. Minter drove up from 21st starting spot to finish fifth, extending Team Dillon Esports’ team lead as a result. Cosey Jr started 25th and worked his way up to finish seventh.
PACK RACING, PACK WRECKING
For the restarts at Las Vegas, the 38 drivers who took to the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval in Nevada were all over one another, creating many tense moments.
The initial caution, which involved Garrett Lowe (Jim Beaver Esports), Ryan Luza (XSET) and Zack Novak (Rise Esports) was caused due to four-wide racing on the frontstretch.
Caution two was the result of close quarters racing when Dylan Duval (Stewart-Haas Esports) gave a shot to Casey Kirwan who gave a shot off-centered to Allen Boes (Front Row Motorsports), sending the three sideways in front of multiple cars. On the ensuing restart, Duval struck again as he ended up bumping Collin Bowden (eRacr) after a massive checkup on a restart.
The final caution was a late block in a pack of cars that were multiple cars wide in various spots. Bobby Zalenski thought he was clear, but unfortunately, Garrett Manes (FGR Accel eRacing) was down there about three lanes below. That hooked the two-time winner on the season straight up into Doucette in a violent incident.
On the final restart, there were some close calls, but as they were able to all save it and continue, this forced the pack to split up just enough that it could go green until the end. Fuel was close for some, but it was just what Conti ordered as he crossed the line with some virtual gas to spare.
RACE 7 AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – TOP 10 RESULTS
| FIN | STA | CAR # | DRIVER | TEAM | INTERVAL | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | Michael Conti | JR Motorsports | 100 LAPS | 69 | 40 |
| 2 | 4 | 25 | Nick Ottinger | William Byron Esports | -0.842 | 0 | 35 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | Jordy Lopez Jr | Team Dillon Esports | -0.937 | 23 | 34 |
| 4 | 10 | 46 | Jimmy Mullis | Rise Esports | -0.977 | 0 | 33 |
| 5 | 21 | 33 | Tucker Minter | Team Dillon Esports | -2.313 | 0 | 32 |
| 6 | 34 | 12 | Garrett Manes | FGR Accel eRacing | -2.562 | 0 | 31 |
| 7 | 25 | 38 | Michael Cosey Jr | Front Row Motorsports | -3.823 | 0 | 30 |
| 8 | 33 | 7 | Malik Ray | Jim Beaver Esports | -4.176 | 8 | 29 |
| 9 | 14 | 15 | Garrett Lowe | Jim Beaver Esports | -4.633 | 0 | 28 |
| 10 | 31 | 48 | Graham A. Bowlin | Charlotte Phoenix | -6.377 | 0 | 27 |
PLAYOFF SEEDING AFTER RACE 7 AT LAS VEGAS
| POS | # | DRIVER | TEAM | PTS | BEH | WINS | T5 | T10 |
| 1 | 8 | Michael Conti | JR Motorsports | 210 | WIN | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | 18 | Bobby Zalenski | Joe Gibbs Racing | 160 | WIN | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 33 | Tucker Minter [R] | Team Dillon Esports | 179 | WIN | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 95 | Casey Kirwan | XSET | 176 | WIN | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 10 | Steven Wilson | Stewart-Haas Esports | 131 | WIN | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 25 | Nick Ottinger | William Byron Esports | 195 | +35 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | 3 | Jordy Lopez Jr [R] | Team Dillon Esports | 179 | +19 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | 38 | Michael Cosey Jr [R] | Front Row Motorsports | 178 | +18 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Graham A. Bowlin | Charlotte Phoenix | 178 | +18 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | 7 | Malik Ray | Jim Beaver Esports | 167 | +7 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | 23 | Keegan Leahy | 23XI Racing | 160 | -7 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | 41 | Dylan Duval | Stewart-Haas Esports | 147 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER RACE 7 AT LAS VEGAS
| POS | CAR #s | TEAM | PTS | BEH | WINS | T5 | T10 |
| 1 | 3 | 33 | Team Dillon Esports | 358 | — | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | 8 | 88 | JR Motorsports | 322 | -36 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | 25 | 97 | William Byron Esports | 319 | -39 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 34 | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | 306 | -52 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | 23 | 45 | 23XI Racing | 286 | -72 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | 41 | Stewart-Haas Esports | 278 | -80 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | 15 | Jim Beaver Esports | 277 | -81 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | 11 | 66 | Kanaan Esports | 259 | -99 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 4 | 95 | XSET | 235 | -123 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | 46 | 75 | Rise Esports | 216 | -142 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
BOX SCORE
- Four cautions for 16 laps in 100 completed laps
- Three lead changes among four drivers
- Pole sitter: No. 23 Keegan Leahy (29.544 secs)
- Most laps led: No. 8 Michael Conti (69 laps led)
- Lap Leaders:
- #23 Keegan Leahy (0)
- #3 Jordy Lopez Jr (1-23)
- #8 Michael Conti (24-32)
- #7 Malik Ray (33-40)
- #8 Michael Conti (41-100)
- Fastest lap: No. 14 Joey Brown (Lap 4, 29.991 secs)
- Hard charger: No. 12 Garrett Manes (Started 34th, Finished 6th | +28 spots)
- Hard luck: No. 77 Ryan Doucette (Started 5th, Finished 37th | -32 spots)
- Fewest incidents: Ten drivers with 0x (including winner)
- Most incidents: No. 45 Michael Guest (16x)
- Rookie of the race: No. 3 Jordy Lopez Jr (3rd place)
- Team(s) of the race:
- No. 8 / No. 88 JR Motorsports (66 points, 1st and 11th)
- No. 3 / No. 33 Team Dillon Esports (66 points, 3rd and 5th)
- Winning Club: Carolina
UP NEXT: THROWBACK WEEK AT DARLINGTON
The second half of the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Regular Season begins with a throwback night, the theme of the upcoming virtual and real-world racing events at Darlington Raceway. Spoiler alert—there will be throwbacks, so expect to see many different liveries in two weeks when the action returns on 16th May..
Things will kick off with the eNASCAR Countdown to Green, now presented by Wendy’s, which begins at 8:30 p.m. EDT / 1:30 a.m. BST. The race itself starts at 9:00 p.m. EDT / 2:00 a.m. BST. Evan Posocco, Blake McCandless, Alan Cavanna, Camille Salazar Hadaway and James Pike are expected to be on the call.
The 120-lap event 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 |
| 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 | Chicago Street Course | TBA |
| 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 |
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