Bobby Zalenski Returns to eNASCAR Winner’s Circle With Dominant Run at Richmond

Last year, Bobby Zalenski’s path to the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs came through points, as the series had fewer than 10 playoff-eligible race winners and he was the top-scoring winless driver at the cutoff. He won’t have to worry about repeating that this year, though, after taking Tuesday night’s checkered flag as the series returned to Richmond Raceway. It marked the seventh consecutive year that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won an eNASCAR race, and his first trip to the winner’s circle since his playoff victory at Talladega last September.

Zalenski qualified on pole, lining up alongside former series champion Keegan Leahy of 23XI, who made real-world NASCAR news this week after team owner Denny Hamlin credited his work with Tyler Reddick as a key part of Reddick’s real-world win at Circuit of the Americas last weekend. He would lead the first quarter of the 130-lap race before William Byron eSports’ Nick Ottinger would get past on Lap 40, as much of the first half of the race would stay green.

Unfortunately, if there’s one thing that Richmond has established as one of the only tracks to be on every schedule in eNASCAR history, it’s that its cautions tend to breed cautions. The first caution saw fgrACCEL’s Joey Brown and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Steven Wilson get together on Lap 33, but the field got in 20 more green-flag laps after that yellow flag ended. The second, which included fgrACCEL’s Garrett Manes, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Dylan Duval, and Letarte Esports’ Brandon McKissic, set off a string of consecutive yellows that eventually led to race control switching to single-file restarts.

In that time, eRacr’s Collin Bowden also spent some time in the lead thanks to an alternate pit strategy, but Zalenski would take it back for good on Lap 73 just moments before the fourth caution flew. Fortunately for Zalenski, the final 30 laps of the race saw just one yellow flag on Lap 114 when Tony Kanaan Esports’ Tyler Garey got into Jim Beaver eSports’ Malik Ray. With a 10-lap green-flag run to the finish, the Fresno native was able to put nearly a second on the field on the way to the win, tallying 95 laps led in total. JR Motorsports’ Michael Conti and Rise Esports’ Jimmy Mullis would come home second and third, while Ottinger and Leahy rounded out the top five.

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

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Team

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts

1118Bobby ZalenskiJoe Gibbs Racing1300.0009522.01740
298Michael ContiJR Motorsports130-0.896021.99535
31046Jimmy MullisRise eSports130-1.271022.02134
4325Nick OttingerWilliam Byron eSports130-1.4302322.08933
5223Keegan Leahy23XI130-1.600022.04732
61215Garrett LoweJim Beaver eSports130-2.222022.12931
72851Donovan StraussWilliams eSports130-2.645022.15630
81477Ryan DoucettePittsburgh Knights130-2.756022.13529
91838Michael Cosey JrFront Row Motorsports130-2.766022.17328
102597Matt BussaWilliam Byron eSports130-3.571022.22427
113333Tucker MinterTeam Dillon eSports130-3.714022.19526
12342Corey VincentPittsburgh Knights130-3.776022.15425
133875Zack NovakRise eSports130-4.204022.22424
14740Dylan AultLETARTE eSports130-4.246022.15823
1543Jordy Lopez JrTeam Dillon eSports130-4.513021.95422
16548Graham A. BowlinCharlotte Phoenix130-4.544022.15421
171795Casey KirwanXSET130-4.832022.17120
18842Kollin KeistereRacr130-5.243022.23319
192988Kevin KingJR Motorsports130-5.302022.21618
201310Steven WilsonStewart-Haas Racing130-5.462022.12617
213111Parker WhiteTony Kanaan Esports130-5.625022.28916
22236Timmy HolmesRFK Racing130-5.740022.20315
232720Wyatt TinsleyKansas City Pioneers130-5.827022.11914
241912Garrett ManesfgrAccel130-5.932022.11813
25391Darik BourdeauElliott Sadler eSports130-5.988022.08912
262445Michael Guest23XI130-6.352022.14011
27641Dylan DuvalStewart-Haas Racing130-6.808022.18610
28157Malik RayJim Beaver eSports130-6.989021.9979
292234Allen BoesFront Row Motorsports130-7.222022.0638
303755Vicente SalasWilliams eSports130-7.531022.2877
312027Cody ByusElliott Sadler eSports130-7.771022.0676
322136Brandon McKissicLETARTE eSports130-7.974022.1795
333566Tyler GareyTony Kanaan Esports130-8.335022.2144
341114Joey BrownfgrAccel130-8.645022.1133
353631Derek JustisKansas City Pioneers130-9.022022.2262
364069Collin BowdeneRacr130-9.2171222.0971
371643Femi OlatunbosunCharlotte Phoenix130-12.732022.2351
383254Daniel FaulkinghamJoe Gibbs Racing130-12.989022.3031
392617Kaden HoneycuttRFK Racing126-4L022.1961
40304Ryan LuzaXSET73-57L022.4351

 

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

  1. Nick Ottinger, 122
  2. Michael Conti, 119
  3. Graham Bowlin, 114
  4. Michael Cosey Jr., 109
  5. Tucker Minter, 105
  6. Bobby Zalenski, 104
  7. Keegan Leahy, 93
  8. Dylan Duval, 88
  9. Jordy Lopez Jr., 87
  10. Kollin Keister, 86

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series makes history in its next event, leaving the United States for the first time with a road course round at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Race coverage begins on Tuesday, April 11 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