Firecracker 400 field nearly set; Alek Martinez to take on ‘Last-to-First’ challenge

After two days of Qualifying, the field for eRacr.gg’s main event, the 2023 Firecracker 400 presented by the Thrustmaster T818, has been determined up to the 42nd starter, with only one more spot to be determined through the eRacr.gg Provisional. The field for the Firecracker 200, a consolation two days prior, is also set.

One of the largest iRacing oval community events out there, put on by Landon Cassill, Parker Kligerman and Joshua Mendoza of eRacr.gg, took an entry list of nearly 360 drivers and consolidated it to the Top 88 after eight Preliminary Rounds last week.

Now, only 42 are left for the main event. The next 43 on the timing sheet will take on the 200. The eRacr.gg provisional 43rd starter for the 400 will be announced in the coming days. In past eRacr.gg events, this provisional has included NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.

Pole Qualifying (Night One)

On the first night, 86 of the Top 88 drivers took to the 2008 version of Daytona International Speedway in the 1987 NASCAR Cup Series Stock Cars to determine only the first part of the roster. 20 drivers would lock in from the first night with 22 more to be determined on the second night.

Realistic weather conditions played a big factor in each driver’s run. The track temperature would fluctuate as clouds would befall the area, each of the three sessions having their own air temperature and humidity, as well as track usage state as the night progressed, all based on official METAR data coming out of the real-world Daytona Beach, Florida area,

Alek Martinez went out in the first session and laid down the fastest lap of the night, taking over the pole position from Kevin McAdams and staying there throughout. Will Norton would set the second fastest time later in the night in the final session, just 0.002 seconds off Martinez’s time of 42.593 seconds.

There were a few crashes, not too many that were serious, but eRacr.gg also has a “backup car policy” where if a competitor wrecks in their qualifying attempt, they will need to start from the rear in a virtual backup car. Only one driver falls under this policy this year, and it was eRacr.gg’s own Collin Bowden, who qualified in but also barrel-rolled following his lap completion.

Martinez, meanwhile, opted to take the Whitz “Last-to-First” challenge, which means he will instead start 43rd instead of from first for the main event for a chance to win a bigger cash bonus of $10,000 in addition to the prize for winning in general, $2,000 of the $12,500 purse.

We did it ! Heck of a car from @Nexxus_eSports the car was on absolute rails! Looking Forward to the #Firecracker400 Presented by @TMThrustmaster ! Can’t wait for @whitzracing Last to First Challenge! https://t.co/LYKjABZ2hU

— Alek Martinez (@AlekMartinez18) July 19, 2023

20 drivers were locked from that point forward, and the remaining 68 drivers outside of that would have a choice to make. They could sit on their time and hope it’s good enough, or they could opt to re-qualify on night two to improve on that time.

The Top 20 times from Pole Qualifying Night 1:

POS	DRIVER	LAP TIME
1	Alek Martinez	42.593 secs
2	Will Norton	42.595 secs
3	Malik Ray	42.597 secs
4	Kevin McAdams	42.599 secs
5	Michael P Frisch	42.599 secs
6	Sander Nijhof	42.601 secs
7	Brandon Hawkin	42.603 secs
8	Cosmin Ioaneșiu	42.605 secs
9	Michael Guest	42.606 secs
10	Casey Kirwan	42.609 secs
11	Eric J. Smith	42.613 secs
12	Phillip Cecil McCandless	42.614 secs
13	Daniel Buttafuoco	42.618 secs
14	Collin Bowden	42.619 secs
15	Parker White	42.621 secs
16	Justin Bolton	42.621 secs
17	Nate S Stewart	42.622 secs
18	Colton Salek	42.622 secs
19	Shawn M. Butler	42.623 secs
20	Bryan Blackford	42.623 secs

Bump Qualifying (Night Two)

A total of 25 drivers opted to sit on their times of the 68 that were not locked in. The original bubble of 42nd originally belonged to Jordan Werth, but with Werth, along with Timmy Holmes, Garrett Manes and the defending winner Michael Cosey Jr all opting for a re-run ahead of him, that moved the cut line even further.

The new bubble time would be Dylan Basen at a 42.665 second lap time. Three other drivers that stood on their times, include Kyle Putz, Matt Bussa and Mitch Drewnowski (who failed to show on both nights), were automatically eliminated from making the 400 on time.

Qualifying started with the other no-show from night one – Dylan Ault. He and the other 21 drivers in the first session were not able to break into the Top 42, and that wasn’t unusual as the order that everyone qualified on the second night was in reverse from the results of night one, meaning the slower drivers went first.

John Gorlinsky put down the fastest lap of that first session, but it was still 0.003 seconds too slow, which meant it would be down to the final 21 drivers in the second and final session of the night, a group filled with many top drivers and hopefuls.

Names would start getting locked in as they went down the order. The first driver to break through was Connor Harrington, who finally bumped out Basen, but didn’t go fast enough to secure his spot. Sure enough, by the end of the night, Harrington was bumped out in a tie-breaker with two other drivers.

Blake McCandless set a blistering lap that would have put him 13th on the first night, locking in immediately. McCandless was arguably one of the few drivers that ended up with better weather on the second night, most others having to slog through a hotter track temperature with less chance of a cloud covering the track.

Hit the lap of my life. WE’RE IN THE #FIRECRACKER400!!!!!@CouchRacerShop’s got 2 Twins that are going for the W next Wednesday! https://t.co/yoHGVTmiYR

— Blake McCandless (@MrF4Speed) July 20, 2023

Nick Ottinger, Seth DeMerchant, Ryan Doucette and Nathan Lyon all put down laps that were good enough to transfer in, knocking out a few that hoped their time would stick, including Bobby Zalenski, Jordan Herrley, Thomas Miller and Nathan Rabideau. Michael Conti also bumped in but was a late lock as the night wound down, a catalyst for Harrington bumping back out along with Kollin Keister.

The final three qualifiers would all be eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series contenders, and strange enough, none of them would transfer through. Timmy Holmes would have had to re-attempt as his lap was bumped anyway, but a spin through the grass intentionally had his laps all completely disallowed.

Both Garrett Manes and Michael Cosey Jr would have made it if they didn’t withdraw their times. Neither were able to match that or improve, which left Conor Horn as the final qualifier into the show. Cosey Jr will not get a chance to repeat his win from 2021.

21st – 42nd results from Bump Qualifying Round 2:

POS	DRIVER	LAP TIME
21	Blake McCandless*	42.617 secs
22	Nick Ottinger*	42.620 secs
23	Ray Alfalla	42.625 secs
24	Blake Reynolds	42.625 secs
25	Larry Pace	42.626 secs
26	Matthew Zwack	42.628 secs
27	Eddie Kerner	42.628 secs
28	Logan Helton	42.628 secs
29	Chris Overland	42.631 secs
30	Brandon Hayse Kettelle	42.632 secs
31	Seth DeMerchant*	42.636 secs
32	Jake Nichols	42.637 secs
33	Femi Olatunbosun	42.637 secs
34	Ryan Doucette*	42.639 secs
35	Teemu Toikka	42.640 secs
36	Kyler Wynn	42.641 secs
37	Corey A Carpenter	42.645 secs
38	Nathan Lyon*	42.647 secs
39	TJ Burske	42.648 secs
40	Justin Lance Nasseir	42.648 secs
41	Michael Conti*	42.649 secs
42	Conor Horn	42.650 secs

The unofficial grids for both the 400 and 200 (which is two days prior on Monday Night) pic.twitter.com/GG0kDAEkrY

— Justin Melillo (@justinmelillo) July 20, 2023

While the guaranteed purse is still $12,500, with Martinez taking the ‘Last-to-First’ Challenge by Whitz, there’s an extra $10,000 that only he can win along with the $2,000 that’s already slated to the winner of the main event. The winner of the 200 also earns $500.

Next up in the Firecracker festivities is that Firecracker 200 consolation race for those who missed out on the Top 42. It starts on Monday, 24th July, at 8:00 pm ET. The main event, the Firecracker 400 presented by the Thrustmaster T818, will take place on Wednesday, 26th July, at 8:00 pm ET.

For more information on the Firecracker 400, visit eRacr.gg.

Top 88 confirmed for 2023 eRacr.gg Firecracker 400 presented by Thrustmaster T818