eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race Preview: Dover

The 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs continue on Tuesday with the second of three chances for drivers to lock themselves into the Championship 4 at Dover Motor Speedway. As always, race coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels, while Countdown to Green will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET to preview the action.

Last Race: If you thought the eNASCAR regular season finale at Pocono was dramatic, you hadn’t seen anything yet. The 2023 playoff opener at Michigan International Speedway saw multiple eNASCAR Overtime restarts that shuffled up drivers on very different tire strategies, took out a handful of title contenders, and eventually ended with Jim Beaver eSports’ Garrett Lowe securing his spot in the Championship 4 with a victory.

Former series champion Keegan Leahy of 23XI was just feet from taking the white flag before a caution flew that took out fellow past title winners and playoff contenders Michael Conti of JR Motorsports and Nick Ottinger of William Byron eSports. Lowe was one of multiple playoff drivers to take two tires on ensuing pit stops, while many stayed out either for track position or because they were out of new sets. Lowe charged up on the apron on the first overtime restart, but as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bobby Zalenski tried to defend in Turn 3, the two made contact and another yellow flag flew. Lowe would get the best final restart from the second row, driving around XSET’s Ryan Luza and holding off two playoff rivals in Stewart-Haas eSports’ Steven Wilson and 23XI’s Michael Guest.

Last Year: Dover wasn’t a playoff track last year, but it did host a race last spring. Ottinger took the checkered flag, his second in as many races, to further ensure his spot in the playoffs. He led 56 of 122 laps and held onto the lead in an overtime finish.

Track Facts: Known as “The Monster Mile” for its unforgiving concrete surface and narrow straightaways, Dover Motor Speedway opened in 1969 and hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race that very same year. The track held two Cup races every year from 1971 to 2020 before its ownership group shifted a date to Nashville Superspeedway for 2021, and both facilities were acquired by Speedway Motorsports later that year. The mile-long oval features 24 degrees of banking in its corners and nine in its straightaways, meaning that drivers normally slide to the bottom after any incidents.

Next Up: Following Dover, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs continue at Phoenix Raceway on Tuesday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Phoenix will serve as the third and final playoff round before the championship race, and as an asymmetrical oval with a maximum of 11 degrees of banking, it couldn’t be much more different from Dover. Leahy won at the track in last year’s season finale, while Casey Kirwan was the top finisher among the Championship 4 and collected the 2022 series title and $100,000 cash prize while racing live from the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

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.

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