eNASCAR International: Ryan Vargas does the ‘flip and win’ at Daytona

A special third round of the D-BOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports saw Ryan Vargas win in his first outing in the series after flipping in a crazy wreck just laps before the finish.

Utilizing the quick repair for the final eNASCAR Overtime restart, Vargas was able to go from ninth to the lead almost immediately as he navigated the pack of iRacing‘s NASCAR Xfinity Series machines, most of which with heavy damage as the drivers had no quick repair left.

@iRacing, does this count as a top-10 moment?👀

— Ryan Vargas (@RyanVargas_23) December 4, 2022

Vargas held off his help in Miguel Gomes as they came off of Turn 4 to the line. Treyten Lapcevich was able to hang on for third while racing live in front of the crowd at the ADAC SimRacing Expo.

With the podium finish, Lapcevich moves into the points lead over former leader Victor Barrales.

A FIRST TIME FOR PACK RACING

The eleventh race in the history of the D-BOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series would be another first for many reasons. It was a Sunday morning on the East coast of the United States, but it would be the afternoon in Nuremberg, Germany as the ADAC SimRacing Expo began to close out their convention.

While it would be the third virtual visit to the World Center of Racing in Daytona Beach, Florida, this race would be the first time that the series would stay away from the infield parking lot as they went wide open through the high banks of the oval for 50 laps.

It would also be the first start for Ryan Vargas in the series. An alumnus of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity and current driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Vargas merely tweeted out a request to join the series when things kicked off in Las Vegas. Two weeks later, he would be dicing it up… and winning.

FAST REPAIRS UTILIZED

A big part of the event would be the use of the included fast repair, available for each driver to utilize if needed through the event. Probably the one venue where it’s almost inevitable with how packed up things get, when to use the quick repair would be the most important part of making it to the finish.

Hopefuls such as Barrales, Ruben Garcia, Paul Jouffreau and Jake Cosio would find their quick repairs quickly depleted after early incidents before halfway. Gomes would use his with just under 10 laps to go, and then as the field was able to take three laps to go, the dreaded “Big One” struck.

Jouffreau, Barrales, Vargas and more would get involved in it racing three-wide for the lead. While Vargas likely suffered the most damage as a result, he still had the quick repair in his back pocket, but he would only have two laps to make it back to the front.

ANOTHER FIRST TIME WINNER

A lucky break came when Vargas was able to both make it back to pit road under power and also take the quick repair fast enough to avoid losing a lap. The result was a ninth place starting spot in eNASCAR Overtime. Vargas wasn’t out of it, but it wouldn’t be an easy road back to the front…

…Or would it? On the restart, Vargas made it up to seventh before entering Turn 1, then swung it high on Gomes and by himself on a third line as the field exited Turn 2. Gomes moved up and pushed Vargas, running side-by-side with Lapcevich until the backstretch of the final lap.

Both Vargas and Gomes cleared and went low. Off of Turn 4, Gomes went high, so Vargas went low and avoided the side draft, holding on for his first ever win in his first ever start. With it, Vargas becomes the eighth different winner in 11 races in series history.

SEASON 3 RACE 3 – DAYTONA TOP 10 FINAL RESULTS

FIN	STA	#	DRIVER	SERIES	INT	LED	PTS
1	3	23	Ryan Vargas	Drive For Diversity	52 LAPS	17	40
2	1	46	Miguel Gomes	Whelen Euro Series	+0.028	6	35
3	2	20	Treyten Lapcevich	Pinty’s Series	+0.180	3	34
4	15	5	Jaiden Reyna	Drive For Diversity	+0.754	0	33
5	8	21	Justin T Campbell	Drive For Diversity	+2.148	3	32
6	10	10	Ulysse Delsaux	Whelen Euro Series	+3.421	0	31
7	5	56	Gil Linster	Whelen Euro Series	+4.519	0	30
8	16	51	Jake Cosio	Mexico Series	+4.610	0	29
9	18	1	Andres Perez de Lara	Mexico Series	+4.833	0	28
10	4	7	Jean-Philippe Bergeron	Pinty’s Series	+5.005	0	27

LAPCEVICH TO THE TOP WITH TWO RACES LEFT

With Barrales out of a quick repair following the lap 47 “Big One”, the result for the points leader coming in would be a 15th place effort in the 18 car race. His three point lead over Lapcevich turns into a nine point deficit leaving Daytona as the series only has two races left in the winter season.

Cosio is also right in striking distance, only 10 points behind Lapcevich after his eighth place effort at Daytona. Jean-Philippe Bergeron moves up to fourth, 17 points behind Lapcevich, and Gomes takes his runner up run at Daytona and moves inside the Top 5 in the points.

Both Rajah Caruth and Alex de Alba fall outside the Top 10 in the standings after sitting out at Daytona. While it’s not mathematically out of the question quite yet, the missed race for both drivers will likely ultimately end their chances at claiming the limited series’ title.

POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 3 – DAYTONA

POS	NUM	DRIVER	SERIES	POINTS	BEHIND
1	20	Treyten Lapcevich	Pinty’s Series	105	LEADER
2	39	Victor Barrales	Mexico Series	96	-9
3	51	Jake Cosio	Mexico Series	95	-10
4	7	Jean-Philippe Bergeron	Pinty’s Series	88	-17
5	46	Miguel Gomes	Whelen Euro Series	86	-19
6	8	Giorgio Maggi	Whelen Euro Series	83	-22
6	33	Paul Jouffreau	Whelen Euro Series	83	-22
6	10	Ulysse Delsaux	Whelen Euro Series	83	-22
9	56	Gil Linster	Whelen Euro Series	76	-29
10	148	Gordon Barnes	Whelen Euro Series	71	-34

NEXT: BACK TO BELGIUM FOR ZOLDER REPRISE

Another return trip lies ahead for the eNASCAR International Series drivers as Belgium’s Circuit Zolder will be the next race in the series on 13th December. Returning to eNASCAR’s usual Tuesday nights, Zolder will host the final 30 lap road course battle of the season before the series finale at Darlington.

The Zolder action starts at 6:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 p.m. GMT. Tune into eNASCAR.com or iRacing’s social channels to watch the broadcast which will be presented by Podium Esports.

2022 ENASCAR INTERNATIONAL IRACING SERIES SEASON 3 SCHEDULE

• 15th November– Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• 22nd November – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
• 4th December – Daytona International Speedway (9 a.m. ET)
• 13th December – Circuit Zolder
• 20th December – Darlington Raceway