eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff picture still in limbo entering Nashville

With only four races remaining in the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Regular Season, the eNASCAR Playoffs are still very much undecided. Through 10 races, there have been eight different winners. Only the defending series champion, M80’s Steven Wilson, has multiple wins, and has the greatest chance of returning to defend his title later in the summer. In fact, Wilson could fully lock in tonight by leaving tonight’s festivities 131 points ahead of 21st in the standings, a gap that currently exists at 120 points over Michael Cosey Jr (Front Row Motorsports).

Wilson is basically locked, is what I’m trying to get at. After that, it’s a lot more unpredictable. There are four more chances for four more winners to grab victories. 23XI’s Keegan Leahy already has a monumental task down in 28th in the standings to gain 56 points to the cut line over the next four races, but if at least three more drivers ahead of him in points win, it will be all for nothing.

The eNASCAR Playoffs only take 10 drivers. It’s first come, first serve to the winners inside the top 20 in the standings. Right now, there are seven winners in that spot, including Wilson, Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports), Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing), Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), Dylan Duval (Nitro Circus Sim Racing), Wyatt Tinsley (QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming), and Malik Ray (Spire Motorsports). The remaining spots would be filled out by those with a lot of points, including Parker White (Williams Esports), who is second in the standings, as well as Nick Ottinger (William Byron eSports) in fourth and Casey Kirwan (Spire Motorsports) in sixth.

Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports), who is seventh in the standings, is the first man out, nine points behind Kirwan. However, the eNASCAR Playoff line is volatile, and could completely change after tonight. While Wilson is definitely the safest of the bunch, leading the standings with three victories, it’s also safe to say that both Salas and Zalenski will be ok, barring any catastrophes in the next few weeks. A good chunk of the attention will be on 20th place, and where guys like Lowe, Duval, Tinsley, and Ray fall around it.

There could be a timeline where Wilson wins out every race through the end of the Regular Season. With no new winners, there will be points positions up for grabs. How many? For Malik in particular, he’s only two points to the good over 21st place. If he ends up losing points to Cosey Jr, or Michael Guest (23XI), or Seth DeMerchant (fgrAccel eRacing), or Ryan Luza (M80), or anyone else within range, his win wouldn’t be a guarantee to race for a title this season.

Lowe, Duval, and Tinsley are all in a slightly better position, with Lowe 29 points ahead, Duval 27 points ahead, and Tinsley 17 points ahead, but finishing below 36th is a guaranteed haul of only a single point. A bad night could potentially drop Lowe as low as 24th in the standings, so it will be something they’ll all need to keep in mind.

What about the drivers that haven’t won yet this season, but have the ability to? White’s been knocking on the door, as has Minter through recent weeks. Ottinger, Kirwan, and Zack Novak (OXYGEN Esports) down in ninth are all proven champions of the series, and all have the capabilities to win. There have been some close calls for a couple of drivers as well. Kaden Honeycutt (JR Motorsports) sits eighth in the standings, a career season for him, but he nearly got that first win a few weeks ago at Dover. What about Jimmy Mullis (Kevin Harvick Inc.) who lost out in the closest finish in eNASCAR history at Charlotte last month? There’s also Graham Bowlin (QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming) who dominated two weeks ago at Iowa, just to lose out to Wilson in a late race kerfuffle. It wouldn’t be surprising to see any of those drivers take a checkered flag before the end of the Regular Season.

Be sure to watch for the cut line, watch for new winners, and watch all of the drama unfold as the series returns to Nashville Superspeedway on Tuesday night. After that, the Regular Season concludes with Chicago Street, Indy Oval, and Pocono Raceway.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Playoff Picture entering Race #11 at Nashville SS:

1. Steven Wilson (3 wins)
2. Vicente Salas (1 win)
3. Bobby Zalenski (1 win)
4. Garrett Lowe (1 win)
5. Dylan Duval (1 win)
6. Wyatt Tinsley (1 win)
7. Malik Ray (1 win)
8. Parker White (+43)
9. Nick Ottinger (+28)
10. Casey Kirwan (+9)
    ————————-
11. Tucker Minter (-9)
12. Kaden Honeycutt (-21)
13. Zack Novak (-30)
14. Jordy Lopez (-38)
15. Jimmy Mullis (-39)
    *Keegan Leahy (1 win, -55 points to 20th)

The quest for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series championship, and the road to $500,000, continues tonight at 8:00 pm ET, live on eNASCAR.com/live. Tune in to the pre-race Countdown to Green starting at 7:30 pm ET.

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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