eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series | Race Preview: Homestead-Miami – 2024 Championship Finale

Only one race remains in the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season. While all 40 top-ranked eNASCAR drivers are set to take on the 1.5-mile oval in South Florida for 100 laps of action, the four drivers of the 2024 Championship 4 will fight for the distinction of series champion.

Defending series champion Steven Wilson will join the series’ most-recent winner, Parker White, as well as two Championship 4 competitors from the 2022 season—Graham Bowlin and Bobby Zalenski—on the main stage at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, aiming to win the championship and the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup, with the added benefit of claiming $100,000. 

Race coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. Tune in one hour earlier to catch a special edition of the Countdown to Green at 7:00 p.m. ET. NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon will be on hand to give the command while NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr will present the trophy.

Last Race: With three tickets to the Championship 4 still to be decided, Parker White, Graham Bowlin, and Bobby Zalenski entered Phoenix Raceway looking to keep a seat on the train to Uptown Charlotte. Steven Wilson, already aboard, was ready to find out who he would face at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the title. After a tumultuous night in the penultimate battle, it was White scoring his first-career victory to lock his place in the title fight. Bowlin and Zalenski also kept a hold of their tickets, eliminating names like Tucker Minter, Garrett Lowe, and Nick Ottinger, who were in the final four a season ago, from this year’s championship contention.

Championship 4: Here’s how the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Championship 4 earned the right to compete on stage at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte:

• Steven Wilson, No. 10 M80 Ford: For the third-straight season, Steven Wilson returns to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte, this time to defend a championship. He qualified in by winning at Texas Motor Speedway, the second round of the three-race playoffs. Steven has a chance to do something only Ray Alfalla has done—win more than one championship. Will we be calling his two-time by the end of Tuesday night?
• Bobby Zalenski, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota: Returning for the second time to Uptown Charlotte in three years, Bobby Zalenski might as well be nicknamed “Mr. Championship 4”. While he missed out last year, he holds the record—now at six out of eight on Championship 4 appearances. He qualified in by points, finishing 10 ahead of Vicente Salas for the final spot. Is this Bobby’s year, finally, to win a title?
• Graham Bowlin, No. 48 QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming Toyota: Also returning for a second time in three years, Graham Bowlin has a chip on his shoulder that he’s aiming to resolve at Homestead-Miami on Tuesday night. He vowed he would make it this far after a tough loss in Iowa. Weeks later, Graham walked off at Pocono to take the final spot. Now, he’s clawed into the Championship 4 by 13 points over Vicente Salas. Can the underdog complete the arc?
• Parker White, No. 53 Williams Esports Chevrolet: The headline of ‘winless sophomore in title contention’ got tossed three weeks ago when Parker White finally silenced the critics and put himself in eNASCAR victory lane at Phoenix, clinching his place in the 2024 Championship 4. With finishes of second, third, and first in the three playoff races, does anyone have more momentum than Parker?

Team Championship: Four teams in the 20 on the official roster still have a chance to leave Homestead-Miami as Team Champions. Three of those teams have drivers racing in the Championship 4, while another was able to get both of their drivers inside the eNASCAR Playoffs this season. Williams Esports, with Donovan Strauss and Parker White, leads the way by 18 points over M80, which houses Ryan Luza and Steven Wilson. William Byron eSports, with Tucker Minter and Nick Ottinger, are 26 points out of the lead, while Joe Gibbs Racing, with Daniel Faulkingham and Bobby Zalenski, are 29 points back. Last season, it was Team Dillon Esports taking the title, a team that Minter was on with Jordy Lopez in their rookie campaigns.

Relegation Line: While the Championship 4 battle for the crown in the Queen City, 13 drivers will also be fighting for the final six spots above the top-20 relegation line. Coming into Homestead-Miami, Jimmy Mullis, Michael Cosey Jr, Femi Olatunbosun, Jordy Lopez, Seth DeMerchant, and Briar LaPradd currently sit above the cut line, while Michael Guest, Kollin Keister, Malik Ray, Garrett Manes, Wyatt Tinsley, Ryan Luza, and Matt Bussa sit below. The Top 20 drivers will retain their Pro-level License for the 2025 season, while the others 21st on back will be relegated down to the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series, where they will battle the up-and-coming drivers that have gone through the gauntlet of the Qualifying Series this year.

Last Year: In the 2023 battle, Steven Wilson went up against Tucker Minter, Garrett Lowe, and Nick Ottinger at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Wilson, who was involved in the 2022 championship battle, which was won by Casey Kirwan, was the only returning driver, while the other three were making their first start in the in-person event. Wilson ran second the entire race, tucked up behind alliance teammate Donovan Strauss, who led all 100 laps from the pole to win his first-career race. Wilson didn’t need to win to become champion, however, as he just needed to beat the other three to the line, which he did in finishing second.

Track Facts: Opened in 1995 and reconfigured into its current shape just two years later, Homestead-Miami Speedway has long been a popular venue for American oval racing. The NASCAR Xfinity Series has a lengthy history at the track, with its 1995 season finale serving as Homestead’s inaugural race, and the Cup and Truck Series would soon follow; all three would wrap up their championships at the track from 2002 to 2019. Now, Homestead remains a key part of all three series’ playoff pushes again in the 2024 season.

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

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