New Layout, No Problem as Wilson Goes Back-to-Back in eNASCAR Action at Atlanta

An unlucky start to the season and a change to the track layout weren’t enough to stop Stewart-Haas Racing driver Steven Wilson from returning to the winner’s circle in Tuesday night’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series action from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wilson, who scored his first career eNASCAR victory in the last race for Atlanta’s old configuration last spring, returned to the winner’s circle after surviving an eNASCAR Overtime finish.

Wilson and Stewart-Haas teammate Dylan Duval combined to lead more than half of the 105 laps on the night, with Duval out front for a race-high 35 and Wilson adding 27 of his own. Also leading double-digit laps on the night were the two front-row starters, former series champion Ryan Luza of XSET and incoming points leader Malik Ray of Jim Beaver eSports, as many of eNASCAR’s top superspeedway racers took full advantage of Atlanta’s reconfiguration to show off their pack racing skills.

Unfortunately for Luza and Ray, though, finishes that reflected their pace weren’t meant to be. The race remained green and mostly clean all the way through Lap 76, but Luza found himself under eRacr driver Collin Bowden’s hood in the first major wreck of the night and was relegated to 24th at race’s end. Ray was caught in the third caution of the night on Lap 86, a major incident that also caught up former series champions Casey Kirwan of XSET and Nick Ottinger of William Byron eSports and also set up the series of two-lap finishes.

On the first, fellow Jim Beaver eSports driver Garrett Lowe appeared set to avenge Ray’s incident by getting out to the lead, but he, too, would go around while trying to defend against Wilson and Williams Esports’ Vicente Salas, collecting multiple cars as he went hard into the outside wall. The next overtime attempt would get to the finish line, though, as Wilson kept his nose ahead of eRacr’s Kollin Keister—who recovered from being a part of the second caution on the night—across the finish line.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Atlanta Motor Speedway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Team

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts

11410Steven WilsonStewart-Haas Racing1050.0002729.09040
23542Kollin KeistereRacr105-0.015029.24435
33145Michael Guest23XI105-0.097029.20234
41538Michael Cosey JrFront Row Motorsports105-0.146029.02633
5948Graham A. BowlinCharlotte Phoenix105-0.176029.18332
63366Tyler GareyTony Kanaan Esports105-0.156028.98031
72020Wyatt TinsleyKansas City Pioneers105-0.228129.11930
82341Dylan DuvalStewart-Haas Racing105-0.2303529.22129
92511Parker WhiteTony Kanaan Esports105-0.264129.02828
10334Allen BoesFront Row Motorsports105-0.345328.94727
111677Ryan DoucettePittsburgh Knights105-0.353029.17326
12423Keegan Leahy23XI105-0.370029.21425
13116Timmy HolmesRFK Racing105-0.372028.89324
143425Nick OttingerWilliam Byron eSports105-0.384328.96723
15293Jordy Lopez JrTeam Dillon eSports105-0.405029.16422
162151Donovan StraussWilliams eSports105-0.440029.19521
171318Bobby ZalenskiJoe Gibbs Racing105-0.491128.98220
1878Michael ContiJR Motorsports105-0.498029.13619
191033Tucker MinterTeam Dillon eSports105-0.549029.01618
203697Matt BussaWilliam Byron eSports105-0.590029.23417
21527Cody ByusElliott Sadler eSports105-0.646028.92116
221288Kevin KingJR Motorsports105-0.671029.11515
233054Daniel FaulkinghamJoe Gibbs Racing105-0.657029.21414
2414Ryan LuzaXSET105-0.8261129.29213
252231Derek JustisKansas City Pioneers105-1.142029.30212
263217Kaden HoneycuttRFK Racing105-1.227028.94211
272755Vicente SalasWilliams eSports105-1.741129.26710
28815Garrett LoweJim Beaver eSports105-1.814129.2059
291836Brandon McKissicLETARTE eSports105-1.981028.9858
302440Dylan AultLETARTE eSports105-2.838029.6057
311969Collin BowdeneRacr98Disqualified229.0466
32392Corey VincentPittsburgh Knights97-8L029.2005
332843Femi OlatunbosunCharlotte Phoenix96-9L029.0854
342612Garrett ManesfgrAccel96-9L529.0753
3527Malik RayJim Beaver eSports95-10L1329.0792
361795Casey KirwanXSET95-10L129.0461
373775Zack NovakRise eSports95-10L028.6831
383846Jimmy MullisRise eSports94-11L029.1431
39614Joey BrownfgrAccel87-18L028.6971

 

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

  1. Graham Bowlin, 93
  2. Nick Ottinger, 89
  3. Michael Conti, 84
  4. Michael Cosey Jr. 81
  5. Tyler Garey, 81
  6. Tucker Minter, 79
  7. Dylan Duval, 78
  8. Allen Boes, 78
  9. Malik Ray, 70
  10. Michael Guest, 68

Following Atlanta, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series heads back to Richmond Raceway, a staple of the calendar, for its fourth round of the 2023 season. Race coverage begins on Tuesday, March 28 at 9 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live, with Countdown to Green kicking off at 8:30 to set the stage for the action.

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