Colton Salek Steals Inaugural eNASCAR College iRacing Series Victory at Daytona

When 38 of the top college-aged sim racers in North America rolled off the grid for the inaugural eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by NACE Starleague race, Thursday night’s Playfly Sports 60 at Daytona International Speedway, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Colton Salek was set to roll off 27th. When the checkered flag fell, he had only led one lap—but it was the most important one.

Using a push from University of Rhode Island’s Shawn Jencsik, Salek got past Rutgers driver Daniel Buttafuoco in Turn 3, and had enough of a gap coming to the finish line to hang on for the victory as Jencsik ducked to try to make a run in the final feet. Buttafuoco, who led 14 laps, would hang on for third, as the top 10 drivers were separated by just under a second across the stripe.

The eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by NACE Starleague gives college and university-enrolled drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series vehicles on behalf of their respective schools for a year-long prize pool of $50,000 in scholarship money. The list of qualifiers for Thursday night’s race was a varied one, representing schools across the continental United States and Canada, and even current and former eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series drivers. That group was led by former Letarte Esports driver Santiago Tirres, who qualified on the pole, led a race-high 19 laps, and finished fifth on behalf of UNC Charlotte.

eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by NACE Starleague results from the Playfly Sports 60 at Daytona International Speedway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Manufacturer

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

12791Colton SalekChevrolet67147.936
23629Shawn JencsikChevrolet67-0.082047.767
3313Daniel ButtafuocoChevrolet67-0.1571448.140
41314Connor OkrzesikChevrolet67-0.231048.176
5117Santiago TirresChevrolet67-0.2371948.139
62652Jack CoyneChevrolet67-0.307048.090
71466Thomas TwomeyChevrolet67-0.503048.241
81515Derrick JenningsChevrolet67-0.574048.150
92865Stone SchaferChevrolet67-0.768048.003
101790Malachi DrakeChevrolet67-0.966048.203
11107Anthony KeyesChevrolet67-1.511048.280
122411Carson KingToyota67-2.571048.227
133599Edwin OnofreChevrolet67-2.826048.087
143488Blake KinkennonChevrolet67-3.559047.919
153185Trey NormileToyota67-8.068047.879
16540Dylan AultChevrolet67-10.934548.150
171661Athena LeclercToyota67-16.603048.193
183310Coleson PhelpsToyota67-18.689048.093
191127Alexander L RussellToyota67-24.365048.153
203724Aidan DoyleChevrolet67-28.568047.915
212083Daniel R CarterChevrolet66-1 L048.160
22325Kenneth TalbottChevrolet66-1 L1848.084
23697Jack PaynterToyota66-1 L048.245
24290Ryan KendrickToyota65-2 L048.081
251295Jake CummingsFord64-3 L048.181
263819Ricky PazChevrolet62-5 L047.883
2722198Connor HaleToyota61-6 L348.177
282571Nick RobinsonChevrolet54-13 L047.846
2921Reece BahamChevrolet53-14 L748.217
30480Kristina RyanChevrolet48-19 L048.228
31722Alex KolonicsFord45-22 L048.146
321939Jonathan DiamondChevrolet32-35 L048.175
3323100Steven  WilsonFord31-36 L048.025
34183Hagan JohnsonToyota31-36 L048.275
35309Blake BottomsChevrolet29-38 L048.071
36875Jose Solis JrToyota29-38 L048.249
37977Ryan DoucetteChevrolet28-39 L048.146
38214Jackson ShipleyToyota28-39 L048.106

 

The eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by NACE Starleague continues next month at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with a time attack session for registered drivers on March 7-20 to set the grid for an 80-lap race on March 24.

The eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by NACE Starleague is supported by SCW, Coca-Cola, Playseat, and Logitech G. For more information on the series and how to qualify, visit www.cslesports.com/enascar. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iRacing.com.