Conti Kicks Off 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Season With Daytona Win

18 years to the day after his boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., won the NASCAR Cup Series Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, JR Motorsports driver Michael Conti marked the occasion by putting a different red #8 Chevrolet in victory lane.

For Conti, though, Monday night’s triumph may have had bigger implications. By winning the first eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series points race of the 2021 season, the former series champion and 2020 Championship 4 driver has effectively punched his ticket into this fall’s playoffs. More impressively, he did it despite qualifying 38th in the 40-car field.

“I’m over the moon with that one,” Conti said after the race. “Anybody that knows me knows that plate tracks are not my specialty. I admittedly don’t know what I’m doing half the time. But going into the race with everything that Dale, JR Motorsports, Chad Wheeler, and everybody has put behind me in this offseason, I knew I had to step up my game.

“In years past, I played it safe and stayed in the back, and it’d get to three by three and we couldn’t go anywhere. Tonight, we almost did the same thing, but about 15 laps in, I told my crew chief ‘we’re going to go for it, if we wreck, we wreck.’ Some things went our way, and I’m super excited to get the victory and not have to worry about winning our way in for the next several months.”

Series veteran Michael Guest was second in his debut for Jim Beaver eSports, utilizing a two-tire pit stop to take the lead and hanging on to push Conti after the field caught him. Jake Matheson proved his top-five finish in last week’s non-points Clash was no fluke for Williams Esports, as he crossed the line third. Team Dillon Esports’ Corey Vincent and Kligerman Sport’s Isaac Gann completed the top five.

While the race went caution-free just as it had last year, two major incidents caught up some of the field’s heavy hitters along the way. Early-race contact between former series champions Ryan Luza and Zack Novak ended their hopes at good finishes, with renowned superspeedway racer Malik Ray also taking on heavy damage. The second wreck came on the final lap, with Conti’s close friend and roommate Logan Clampitt spinning from the front of the middle lane and much of the lead pack getting caught up.

Monday’s event featured NASCAR president Steve Phelps giving the command to start engines. During the pre-race show, the revised Road to Pro ladder to make it to the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series was also unveiled. The Road to Pro Qualifying Series has been split into two parts, with the second half featuring just the top 70 drivers from the first half. The top 20 of that group will join the bottom 20 of the eNCiS in the renamed Road to Pro Contender Series, with the top 20 of that group earning spots in the big show for 2022.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Daytona International Speedway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Manufacturer

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts

1388Michael ContiChevrolet1000.0001443.86440
2349Michael GuestFord100-0.419143.35235
33652Jake MathesonFord100-0.819043.56534
4163Corey VincentChevrolet100-1.059043.36033
51544Isaac GannChevrolet100-1.106143.47032
6483Bobby ZalenskiChevrolet100-2.005643.57731
71038Casey KirwanFord100-2.326943.99330
82555Vicente SalasFord100-2.706043.37429
9236Chris ShearburnChevrolet100-3.5081243.46728
101188Brad DaviesChevrolet100-3.593043.50227
11123Mitchell deJongToyota100-3.6671443.37026
122218Femi OlatToyota100-4.7241543.48325
13242Garrett ManesToyota100-4.740043.36324
142710Graham A. BowlinFord100-4.860243.60923
15724Jake NicholsFord100-4.933043.44122
163175Matt BussaFord100-5.069043.56921
17332Keegan LeahyToyota100-5.168543.91620
183515Caine CookFord100-5.501043.65419
19621Garrett LoweFord100-7.736343.96018
20997Logan ClampittChevrolet100-8.7281143.43217
212125Nick OttingerChevrolet100-11.816043.58216
221251Ray AlfallaToyota100-12.258043.54815
233016John GorlinskyFord100-13.458043.48214
244077Bob BryantChevrolet100-13.515043.48213
253217Steven WilsonFord100-13.624043.65612
26296Nathan LyonFord100-13.808043.33511
272646Jimmy MullisToyota100-19.224043.77710
283714Blade WhittFord100-22.199043.3299
293979Ryan DoucetteFord100-34.921043.5508
302866Blake ReynoldsChevrolet100-35.420043.4087
311341Dylan DuvalFord100-37.630043.5646
32829Zack NicholsFord99-1 L643.4705
3351Ashton CrowderToyota99-1 L043.5224
343333Taylor HurstChevrolet99-1 L043.3683
351467Allen BoesChevrolet99-1 L043.7992
361737Derek JustisChevrolet98-2 L043.3761
371847Brian SchoenburgChevrolet97-3 L043.3791
38204Ryan Michael LuzaFord81-19 L044.0221
392311Malik RayFord34-66 L043.8961
401990Zack NovakToyota36DSQ144.0230

 

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season returns to Tuesdays for the remainder of the season, starting with February 23’s visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Luza and Chris Shearburn split the victories as the series visited the popular track twice last year. Coverage will kick off at 8:30PM ET with iRacing Countdown to Green, while the race will begin at 9PM ET on eNASCAR.com/live, iRacing.com/live, and NASCAR and iRacing social media channels.

For more information on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit www.eNASCAR.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.