Cal State Fullerton’s Logan Clampitt claims eNASCAR College iRacing Series victory in OT finish at Kansas

Cal State Fullerton’s Logan Clampitt became the third different eNASCAR College iRacing Series victor on Tuesday night, passing a driver from his former school, Saddleback College, in eNASCAR Overtime to do it at Kansas Speedway.

Last year, Clampitt hit up the proverbial transfer portal and took his talents to California State University Fullerton, becoming a Titan after previously winning the eNASCAR College iRacing Series championship as a Bobcat at Saddleback in the Spring of 2023. On Tuesday night, Clampitt was stout, racing inside the top-three through the evening, taking control of the race on Lap 55 as a long green flag run ensued. With two laps to go, Clampitt had it wrapped up over the previous winner in the series, the University of Iowa’s Steven Wilson, when a caution flew and shook everything up.

John Forbes, the new face of eNASCAR racing at Saddleback College, started ninth and spent most of the race around there, getting as high as seventh near the end. As the caution flew, all remaining drivers opted to pit in for tires. Bit by a two-tire call by Wilson three weeks ago, Clampitt still opted for the four fresh virtual Goodyear tires, but two drivers—Forbes and The University of Oklahoma’s Mario Merenda—only took right sides, allowing them to start on the front row ahead of Clampitt and Wilson, on four tires, in third and fourth.

The final restart in eNASCAR Overtime was wild, but the field made it back to the line to make it official. Clampitt, using the preferred lane, managed to make it stick on the paint line to get by Forbes coming to the white flag. Wilson, meanwhile, had his hands full trying to pass Merenda, the two coming together at one point on the penultimate lap. By the time Wilson cleared, Clampitt was gone, and even Forbes was able to hold on to a runner-up spot at the checkers with the disadvantage. Wilson settled for third.

“I was a little concerned,” Clampitt said post-race about the two tire calls ahead of him for the final restart. “Thankfully, it was only those two, and I was communicating with John (Forbes) there. He goes to Saddleback College, and that’s where I went a couple of years ago, so we’re good buddies. He gave me a countdown, and gave me the bottom there, and I shocked at how well those two tires did for him. I was pretty heartbroken when that caution came out, coming to the white flag. I was really upset, but I’m really happy it all worked out in the end and my buddy and I get a 1-2 finish. That’s pretty badass.”

“I can’t believe it,” Forbes said moments later. “I was so upset when that caution came out. I was set with a seventh place run. I had a really good last run there, as my tires just kind of came in and everybody else started falling off, working some of the best on the service here. Then the caution came out, and I was like ‘man, are you kidding me?’ because that’s just how these things go late in the run, and then you get that caution and all hell breaks loose from there. I had a feeling about two tires, it might work. It’s a grippy track, and I’ve done it before here in different leagues. We gave it a try, and Logan (Clampitt) was kind of getting me through there, saying the tires might spin. I just kind of took it easy and I knew that middle line had been working for me all night long. I took it, Logan had those four fresh tires… I held solid pretty good for half a lap there, but fell back to second and we stuck.”

The race saw six cautions for 24 laps, the first five of which came out in the first two-thirds of the race. The University of Maine at Machias’ Daniel Faulkingham scored the pole and led 38 laps, trading the top spot with the University of Maine at Augusta’s Parker White at times early on. Wilson started all the way back in 35th, but methodically moved his way into the conversation before halfway, falling short on the chase to Clampitt in the closing laps of the scheduled distance.

Clampitt takes home his fifth-career victory in the series, a series that only has 22 races in the history books to date. The only driver with more is Wilson, who scored his eighth three weeks ago at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

eNASCAR College iRacing Series results from Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park were as follows:

eNASCAR College iRacing Series standings through Round 3 at Kansas Speedway are as follows:

1. Parker White, 107
2. Logan Clampitt, 89
3. Zach Sprouse, 87
4. Jonathan Evans, 82
5. Jacob Bradley, 79
6. Mario Merenda, 76
7. Steven Wilson, 74
8. Nick Luetje, 73
9. Daniel Faulkingham, 72
10. Daniel Nanney, 69

A total of 55 different drivers have competed in the A-Main races to date this season, and Parker White leads them all. The current eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion finished fourth at Kansas, allowing him to maintain a lead of 18 over Clampitt exiting Kansas. George Mason University’s Zach Sprouse falls from second to third after a rough outing at Kansas. Steven Wilson jumps up to seventh after missing the opening round at Daytona, behind Western Connecticut’s Jonathan Evans and Purdue at Indianapolis’ Jacob Bradley, who round out of the current top-five.

Only the A-Main races score championship points towards the Championship Finale next spring. There will be drop weeks to account for, so drivers that had bad finishes, or didn’t even make the main event, will still have a chance to get into the run for the $10,000 scholarship. This race also coincided with the second race of the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series, which raced at Darlington, and was won by Ryan Luza in a last lap pass around his teammate, Malik Ray, who led every other lap. The replay of both races can be watched below.

The next race on the College calendar is Michigan International Speedway. The Time Attack opens on November 5th and will run through November 14th. Once again, the top-40 eligible times will be invited to run the A-Main, scheduled on November 19th. That broadcast will be live on eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. 

The eNASCAR College iRacing Series is presented by Playfly College Esports and Logitech G. For more information on the series, visit eNASCAR.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

About the Series: The eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by Playfly College Esports and Logitech G gives college students from the United States and Canada the opportunity to compete for their share of $60,000 in scholarships. Using machines from the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 40 drivers qualify for each event by posting their fastest lap times in a two-week Time Attack through the iRacing UI. With hundreds of schools represented in each Time Attack, and only a maximum of three representatives per school, drivers are competing not only against the greater iRacing community, but also their own classmates, for a spot on the prestigious grid.

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