NASCAR Mexico Series driver Victor Barrales Jr. scored the opening win in the DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports season on Tuesday night, taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after catching Rajah Caruth in the closing laps of the race. The race was the first of five in the third season of the series, which brings together drivers from NASCAR series in Europe, Canada, and Mexico, as well as top names from the Drive for Diversity program, in NASCAR Xfinity Series cars.
Three-time NASCAR Mexico Series champion Ruben Garcia Jr. qualified on the pole and led the early stages of the race, but he spun entering the pits during green flag stops. Caruth, who had been pressuring Garcia for the lead early on, had to pit a few laps before the rest of the field after catching the wall early on, but that early stop initially came in his favor as it allowed him to inherit the lead in the pit cycle.
But with fresher tires on a heavily charging Barrales and a caution-free race, Caruth was only able to hold the lead for so long. Barrales would seize the top spot for good with 15 laps to go, stretching out an advantage of more than a second by race’s end. Caruth would hold a comfortable gap in second on Jake Cosio, while Miguel Gomes and JP Bergeron would complete the top five. Garcia led a race-high 31 laps, but would settle for 10th after his spin in the pits.
DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports results from Las Vegas Motor Speedway were as follows:
Fin. | St. | No. | Name | Manufacturer | Laps | Interval | Led | Best | Pts |
| 1 | 6 | 39 | Victor Barrales | Chevrolet | 60 | 15 | 31.091 | 40 | |
| 2 | 2 | 13 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | 60 | -1.113 | 10 | 30.759 | 35 |
| 3 | 7 | 51 | Jake Cosio | Ford | 60 | -2.810 | 0 | 31.097 | 34 |
| 4 | 3 | 46 | Miguel Gomes | Chevrolet | 60 | -3.086 | 1 | 30.862 | 33 |
| 5 | 9 | 7 | Jean-Philippe Bergeron | Ford | 60 | -6.133 | 0 | 30.998 | 32 |
| 6 | 19 | 20 | Treyten Lapcevich | Chevrolet | 60 | -7.185 | 0 | 30.838 | 31 |
| 7 | 12 | 56 | Gil Linster | Chevrolet | 60 | -10.180 | 0 | 31.175 | 30 |
| 8 | 8 | 14 | Alex de Alba | Ford | 60 | -11.109 | 0 | 30.963 | 29 |
| 9 | 16 | 10 | Ulysse Delsaux | Chevrolet | 60 | -13.799 | 0 | 30.991 | 28 |
| 10 | 1 | 88 | Ruben Garcia | Toyota | 60 | -14.348 | 31 | 30.770 | 27 |
| 11 | 10 | 8 | Giorgio Maggi | Ford | 60 | -15.150 | 0 | 30.864 | 26 |
| 12 | 17 | 18 | Aaron Cosio | Ford | 60 | -24.913 | 0 | 31.275 | 25 |
| 13 | 15 | 49 | Romain IANNETTA | Chevrolet | 59 | -1 L | 0 | 31.049 | 24 |
| 14 | 18 | 24 | Luli Del Castello | Chevrolet | 59 | -1 L | 0 | 31.185 | 23 |
| 15 | 4 | 33 | Paul Jouffreau | Ford | 59 | -1 L | 0 | 30.822 | 22 |
| 16 | 13 | 37 | Maximiliano Gutierrez | Chevrolet | 58 | -2 L | 0 | 31.457 | 21 |
| 17 | 5 | 54 | Alberto Naska | Chevrolet | 58 | -2 L | 0 | 31.002 | 20 |
| 18 | 11 | 148 | Gordon Barnes | Chevrolet | 57 | -3 L | 3 | 31.331 | 19 |
| 19 | 14 | 75 | Giancarlo Vecchi | Ford | 55 | -5 L | 0 | 30.954 | 18 |
DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports points through one round are as follows:
- Victor Barrales Jr., 40
- Rajah Caruth, 35
- Jake Cosio, 34
- Miguel Gomes, 33
- JP Bergeron, 32
- Treyten Lapcevich, 31
- Gil Linster, 30
- Alex de Alba, 29
- Ulysse Delsaux, 28
- Ruben Garcia Jr., 27
The DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports continues next Tuesday with a visit to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Coverage kicks off at 6PM ET on eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels.
For more information on the DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series powered by Digital Motorsports, visit www.enascar.com/international. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, including the 2022 Black Friday sale, visit www.iracing.com.
Image via Justin Melillo
