Darik Bourdeau breaks into eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series victory lane at Richmond
November 8th, 2023 by Justin Melillo
The winning streak for Vicente Salas ended as Darik Bourdeau scored his first eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series win of 2023 at Richmond Raceway on Tuesday night. Following a string of late race cautions, Bourdeau held on, leading 81 laps in the victory. Ryan Luza scored another podium result, finishing in second, while Zack Novak picked up his best finish of the season in third.
The race was slowed nine times for 45 laps, with the yellow troubles starting around the start of the pit cycle. Dylan Ault started from the pole position, but Taylor Hurst moved into the lead on the fifth lap. Bourdeau took control for a moment on the 57th lap, but Salas came to the front of the line at Lap 59.
On Lap 61, Salas opted to pit just before halfway. A caution in the middle of the pit cycle involving Kaden Honeycutt would trigger a multitude of yellows from that point, with Bourdeau the benefactor, having taken the lead back when Salas pitted.
Hurst was still there and still fast, but on the Lap 100 restart, he jumped the gun and had to serve a drive-through penalty. There would be two eNASCAR Overtime attempts, but Bourdeau held on for the victory. Meanwhile, Salas made his way back up to the top 10 after being involved in a couple of incidents on the way back up the field.
eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series results from Richmond Raceway were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Name |
Manufacturer |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Points |
1 | 5 | 04 | Darik Bourdeau | Ford | 139 | 0 | 81 | 40 |
2 | 7 | 4 | Ryan Luza | Chevrolet | 139 | -0.338 | 0 | 35 |
3 | 3 | 5 | Zack Novak | Chevrolet | 139 | -0.563 | 0 | 34 |
4 | 14 | 8 | Kollin Keister | Chevrolet | 139 | -0.728 | 0 | 33 |
5 | 1 | 42 | Dylan Ault | Ford | 139 | -0.826 | 4 | 32 |
6 | 4 | 20 | Wyatt Tinsley | Toyota | 139 | -1.011 | 0 | 31 |
7 | 8 | 43 | Femi Olatunbosun | Toyota | 139 | -1.074 | 0 | 30 |
8 | 34 | 69 | Collin Bowden | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.175 | 0 | 29 |
9 | 6 | 12 | Jonathon Dulaney | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.282 | 0 | 28 |
10 | 11 | 55 | Vicente Salas | Toyota | 139 | -1.447 | 2 | 27 |
11 | 23 | 77 | Ryan Doucette | Ford | 139 | -1.576 | 0 | 26 |
12 | 33 | 2 | Ray Alfalla | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.654 | 0 | 25 |
13 | 28 | 32 | Daniel Smallwood | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.753 | 0 | 24 |
14 | 27 | 13 | Daniel Buttafuoco | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.807 | 0 | 23 |
15 | 19 | 53 | Brandon McKissic | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.854 | 0 | 22 |
16 | 26 | 57 | Seth DeMerchant | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.87 | 0 | 21 |
17 | 24 | 19 | Briar LaPradd | Toyota | 139 | -1.954 | 0 | 20 |
18 | 36 | 17 | Max R Brady | Chevrolet | 139 | -1.959 | 0 | 19 |
19 | 21 | 58 | Michael P Frisch | Toyota | 139 | -2.091 | 0 | 18 |
20 | 2 | 74 | Taylor Hurst | Chevrolet | 139 | -2.154 | 52 | 17 |
21 | 12 | 18 | Matthew Zwack | Toyota | 139 | -2.262 | 0 | 16 |
22 | 16 | 31 | Derek Justis | Toyota | 139 | -2.351 | 0 | 15 |
23 | 32 | 99 | Quami Scott | Ford | 139 | -2.428 | 0 | 14 |
24 | 10 | 62 | Anthony Burroughs | Ford | 139 | -2.528 | 0 | 13 |
25 | 30 | 11 | Christopher M. Hill | Toyota | 139 | -2.54 | 0 | 12 |
26 | 20 | 94 | Agnel Philip | Chevrolet | 139 | -2.731 | 0 | 11 |
27 | 17 | 88 | Kevin King | Chevrolet | 139 | -2.732 | 0 | 10 |
28 | 39 | 41 | Brian Mercurio | Chevrolet | 139 | -2.744 | 0 | 9 |
29 | 18 | 6 | Timmy Holmes | Ford | 139 | -2.834 | 0 | 8 |
30 | 13 | 27 | Cody Byus | Toyota | 139 | -2.989 | 0 | 7 |
31 | 31 | 98 | Eddie Kerner | Ford | 139 | -3.165 | 0 | 6 |
32 | 38 | 76 | Blaze Crawford | Chevrolet | 139 | -3.297 | 0 | 5 |
33 | 35 | 63 | Logan Helton | Ford | 139 | -3.73 | 0 | 4 |
34 | 37 | 9 | Cayden Rush | Ford | 139 | -4.688 | 0 | 3 |
35 | 15 | 39 | Daniel Faulkingham | Chevrolet | 139 | -5.576 | 0 | 2 |
36 | 29 | 44 | Andrew Navarro | Toyota | 139 | -7.72 | 0 | 1 |
37 | 25 | 47 | James Holtzer | Chevrolet | 136 | -3 L | 0 | 1 |
38 | 22 | 66 | Christopher Pfeffer | Toyota | 119 | -20 L | 0 | 1 |
39 | 9 | 10 | Kaden Honeycutt | Toyota | 63 | -76 L | 0 | 1 |
2023 eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series points following Round 5 (not factoring in the drop) are as follows:
- Vicente Salas,182
- Ryan Luza, 170
- Taylor Hurst, 138
- Darik Bourdeau, 129
- Zack Novak, 128
- Kollin Keister, 124
- Jonathon Dulaney, 121
- Seth DeMerchant, 114
- Collin Bowden, 112
- Kaden Honeycutt, 109
- Briar LaPradd, 109
- Femi Olatunbosun, 108
- Timmy Holmes, 106
- Dylan Ault, 100
- Wyatt Tinsley, 99
- Daniel Faulkingham, 99
- Quami Scott, 94
- Matthew Zwack, 87
- Ryan Doucette, 86
- Cody Byus, 79
—————————- - Daniel Smallwood, 78
- Kevin King, 78
- Anthony Burroughs, 76
- Ray Alfalla, 75
- Christopher M. Hill, 73
There will be one drop week to account for in the final standings. Unofficially, Daniel Smallwood would move inside the top 20 with the drop, while Matthew Zwack would move outside. Mathematically, Salas and Luza have locked top-20 finishes in the final standings.
The next track on the 2023 eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series schedule is Dover Motor Speedway. Last season, Kollin Keister was dominant, leading 95 of the 120 laps enroute to victory. He’ll be looking to repeat in order to claim a place back onto the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series roster. Tune in for Dover action on November 14, live at 8 p.m. ET on eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels.
The eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series is the final step on the Road to Pro ladder before becoming eligible to race in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. For more information on this series, visit www.iracing.com/enascar/rtp/. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.