Bussa, Kyle Long’s Mode Motorsports Visit eNASCAR Victory Lane in Coca-Cola 150 at Charlotte

Images via Justin Melillo

For the second year in a row at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Malik Ray took a gamble to stay out front, but a different eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series veteran would end up in the winner’s circle. Matt Bussa returned Kyle Long’s Mode Motorsports to the winner’s circle for the second year in a row on Tuesday night, taking the Coca-Cola 150 after saving just enough fuel to cross the finish line and Justholding off former series champion Zack Novak of Rise Esports.

While this year’s event was shorter than previous eNASCAR rounds at Charlotte, it still ended up being a fuel mileage race thanks to just two cautions in the first 30 laps of the race. Outside polesitter Collin Bowden of eRacr spun on lap 24, collecting 2021 series runner-up Logan Clampitt of William Byron eSports and RFK Racing’s Parker Retzlaff, and Retzlaff’s teammate Kaden Honeycutt took rear contact to spin on the subsequent restart and bring out another yellow, but the race stayed clean and green from there.

As a result, the question became whether or not drivers should pit under green flag conditions, or attempt to hold out. Polesitter Michael Conti of JR Motorsports dominated the race before pitting on lap 70, leading the pack of drivers who gambled on fresh tires and refueling, while XSET’s Casey Kirwan pit 10 laps later. That enabled Ray to inherit the lead after running in the top 10 all night, and just like last year, he’d take it into the final stages of the race.

But a group of drivers committed to the same gamble, led by Bussa, Novak, and points leader Steven Wilson of Stewart-Haas eSports, saved enough to chase Ray down in the last few laps. Bussa was the first to get by on lap 96, and Ray pit a lap later. But that didn’t leave enough time for Novak, who had three more laps of fuel than Bussa, to get past, and Bussa would hang on for the win before his car ran out of fuel on the cool-down lap. Wilson’s fuel tank would run dry a little earlier, enabling Michael Guest of Jim Beaver eSports to take third and put his team back atop the team standings.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from the Coca-Cola 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Team

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts

12875Matt BussaMode Motorsports1000.000530.07740
2345Zack NovakRise eSports100-0.366030.03635
369Michael GuestJim Beaver eSports100-0.885030.01934
41946Jimmy MullisRise eSports100-4.327029.93333
53351Ray AlfallaJoe Gibbs Racing100-4.491029.92932
6310Steven WilsonStewart Haas Racing100-5.068029.85331
72231Garrett ManesElliot Sadler eSports100-6.124029.99530
8445Keegan Leahy23XI100-6.358029.86229
92018Bobby ZalenskiJoe Gibbs Racing100-6.807029.95228
103221Garrett LoweWood Brothers Racing100-7.646030.07527
113016Blade WhittWood Brothers Racing100-10.516030.10326
12292Liam BrothertonElliot Sadler eSports100-13.204029.99525
132136Brian MercurioLetarte Esports100-14.539030.01924
141524Cody ByusMode Motorsports100-16.618030.02923
153954Kyle PeddleSpace Station Gaming100-17.548030.05022
16795Casey KirwanXSET100-18.0481029.85721
171723Mitchell deJong23XI100-18.997029.97520
18363Corey VincentTeam Dillon Esports100-20.307029.99619
19825Nick OttingerWilliam Byron eSports100-20.409029.95118
20519Vicente SalasWilliams eSports100-21.724029.94917
211148Graham A. BowlinCharlotte Phoenix100-21.836030.03416
222542Darik BourdeaueRacr100-21.913029.99315
2318Michael ContiJR Motorsports100-22.2956929.95214
241815Blake ReynoldsJim Beaver eSports100-23.360029.89113
251320Donovan StraussWilliams eSports100-24.506029.95712
261479Femi OlatunbosunClint Bowyer Racing100-24.823030.02811
271055Allen BoesSpace Station Gaming100-25.658030.02610
281633Taylor HurstTeam Dillon Esports100-26.203029.9819
292688Briar LaPraddJR Motorsports99-1L030.0248
30234Ryan LuzaXSET99-1L030.1207
31941Dylan DuvalStewart Haas Racing99-1L030.0286
323714Nickolas SheltonClint Bowyer Racing99-1L030.1295
333812Derek JustisiRacing Motorsports98-2L030.0594
343540Dylan AultLetarte Esports98-2L030.1323
35127Malik RayiRacing Motorsports97DNF1629.9502
363117Kaden HoneycuttRoush Fenway Keselowski97-3L029.9611
372497Logan ClampittWilliam Byron eSports43-57L030.0041
38269Collin BowdeneRacr25-75L030.0141
39276Parker RetzlaffRoush Fenway Keselowski24-76L030.0641

 

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series driver points through eight rounds are as follows:

  1. Steven Wilson, 229
  2. Matt Bussa, 219
  3. Nick Ottinger, 217
  4. Femi Olatunbosun, 214
  5. Casey Kirwan, 199
  6. Michael Guest, 192
  7. Blake Reynolds, 182
  8. Corey Vincent, 181
  9. Taylor Hurst, 177
  10. Garrett Manes, 175

The 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series resumes in next week at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, which will play host to the series for the first time. Broadcast coverage begins on Tuesday, May 31 at 8:30PM ET with Countdown to Green before the 9PM ET green flag. Live coverage of all the action can be seen at enascar.com/live.

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