Casey Kirwan Scores First eNASCAR Win of 2022 in All-Time Classic Finish From Pocono

Going into Tuesday night’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series action at Pocono Raceway, XSET’s Casey Kirwan and RISE Esports’ Zack Novak filled the only two remaining spots on the playoff grid open for winless drivers. It was only fitting, then, that when the checkered flag fell, they’d be the ones deciding who would get the next guaranteed spot.

Kirwan got himself into the lead with just a handful of laps to go, but a succession of eNASCAR Overtime attempts would allow Novak to get past and control the final restart. Still, Kirwan would strike back, taking advantage of a better run to the inside coming off the final corner to pull alongside Novak on the frontstretch. The duo would bounce off one another in the charge to the finish line, with the final bounce going Kirwan’s way by just one hundredth of a second.

It was the second straight year that a driver would punch their playoff ticket in Pocono after surviving multiple overtime attempts, after Bobby Zalenski did the same last year. The first half of the race stayed clean and green, with Taylor Hurst, Nick Ottinger, Kirwan, and Mitchell deJong among those spending time in the lead and every driver pitting under green. The cautions didn’t begin until Lap 39, when Liam Brotherton and Ray Alfalla made contact, shuffling the field once again as a handful of drivers stayed out for track position.

As the laps continued to tick down, more cautions would ensue as drivers attempted to fan out on Pocono’s wide straightaways. With drivers going four-wide or more, the slightest mistakes caused several multi-car incidents that left drivers to try and salvage decent finishing positions with wounded racecars. “The Tricky Triangle” wasn’t particularly picky about its victims, either, as past champions and series rookies alike would fall victim to the carnage.

But with the next flag calling the race, the field would make sure the third overtime restart was the charm. Novak would hold the point initially as Kirwan pulled aside, while defending champion Keegan Leahy would push Novak to the white flag and give Novak the edge into Turn 1. Kirwan would slot in between them and hold onto the draft until Turn 3, putting it right on the yellow line as Novak chose a higher line through the corner. From there, the two drivers provided an answer to the iconic real-world Darlington finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch in 2003, with the driver on the inside line once again securing the top spot in a photo finish.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Pocono Raceway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Team

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts

11195Casey KirwanXSET720.0001953.59640
2285Zack NovakRise eSports720.010553.54835
31545Keegan Leahy23XI72-0.097053.55034
4220Donovan StraussWilliams eSports72-0.299053.64133
52042Darik BourdeaueRacr72-0.364453.45432
61218Bobby ZalenskiJoe Gibbs Racing72-0.379053.49031
7167Malik RayiRacing Motorsports72-0.471053.22030
8219Michael GuestJim Beaver eSports72-0.552053.13829
92979Femi OlatunbosunClint Bowyer Racing72-1.067053.57528
101731Garrett ManesElliott Sadler eSports72-1.309053.62827
11688Briar LaPraddJR Motorsports72-1.470053.43526
121841Dylan DuvalStewart Haas Racing72-1.619053.73425
133521Garrett LoweWood Brothers Racing72-1.660053.65124
142436Brian MercurioLetarte Esports72-1.912153.67423
153015Blake ReynoldsJim Beaver eSports72-2.466053.76122
164075Matt BussaMode Motorsports72-2.510053.80021
171023Mitchell deJong23XI72-2.697453.77620
18546Jimmy MullisRise eSports72-2.887053.61419
19138Michael ContiJR Motorsports72-2.916053.47718
203216Blade WhittWood Brothers Racing72-2.965053.49417
213340Dylan AultLetarte Esports72-2.975053.66716
22955Allen BoesSpace Station Gaming72-3.075053.64515
23342Liam BrothertonElliott Sadler eSports72-3.142053.66014
24424Cody ByusMode Motorsports72-3.274053.70113
251943Kollin KeisterCharlotte Phoenix72-3.343053.65612
26316Parker RetzlaffRoush Fenway Keselowski72-3.390053.59411
273914Nickolas SheltonClint Bowyer Racing72-3.382053.80810
283712Derek JustisiRacing Motorsports72-6.655453.7309
292651Ray AlfallaJoe Gibbs Racing72-13.036153.6408
30897Logan ClampittWilliam Byron eSports72-17.178053.7007
3173Corey VincentTeam Dillon Esports72-17.937053.5946
32254Ryan LuzaXSET71-1L053.4445
333848Graham A. BowlinCharlotte Phoenix69-3L053.6654
34325Nick OttingerWilliam Byron eSports67-5L1253.6383
352710Steven WilsonStewart Haas Racing67-5L053.4742
363619Vicente SalasWilliams eSports62-10L053.7141
37133Taylor HurstTeam Dillon Esports60Disqualified1653.7121
381469Collin BowdeneRacr56-16L653.6341
392217Kaden HoneycuttRoush Fenway Keselowski15DNF055.2111
402354Kyle PeddleSpace Station Gaming13DNF053.9571

 

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff grid through 12 rounds is as follows:

  1. Steven Wilson, 2 wins/314 points
  2. Nick Ottinger, 2 wins/282 points
  3. Michael Conti, 2 wins/264 points
  4. Casey Kirwan, 1 win/324 points
  5. Matt Bussa, 1 win/317 points
  6. Graham Bowlin, 1 win/275 points
  7. Femi Olatunbosun, 1 win/273 points
  8. Garrett Lowe, 1 win/245 points
  9. Ray Alfalla, 1 win/204 points
  10. Zack Novak, 284 points

The 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series All-Star Race is the next event on the calendar, with past race and pole winners taking to the streets of Chicago in celebration of the NASCAR Cup Series holding its first-ever street race next year. Broadcast coverage begins on Tuesday, August 2 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.

Images via Justin Melillo