eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race Preview: Richmond

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series returns on Tuesday night with race #4 of the 2024 season at Richmond Raceway, the final race of the first points Segment of the year. Not only will the race winner collect five playoff points for use later on, but so will whoever finishes at the top of the standings following Tuesday’s festivities. Coming into the event, Kanaan Esports’ Kollin Keister leads the way by four points over Spire Motorsports’ Casey Kirwan.

On Tuesday, 40 of the top-ranked eNASCAR drivers are set to take on the 0.75-mile oval for the 15th time in series history. One of the few tracks to be on every schedule since the series began in 2010, Richmond’s past winners include Ray Alfalla (2011, 2017, 2018), Nick Ottinger (2013, 2014), Ryan Luza (2019, 2020), and Vicente Salas (2021), who led every lap from the pole position. Last season, Bobby Zalenski dominated, winning his first race of 2023.

Race coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. Tune in 30 minutes earlier to catch the Countdown to Green at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Heat Race Format: For the first time in eNASCAR points paying history, Richmond’s festivities will include a pair of heat races to set the lineup for the main event. Two 25-lap heats are scheduled with up to 20 drivers taking part in each. The top 10 finishers in each heat will get the equivalent of what NASCAR does for stage points, where the winner gets 10 points and 10th place gets one. The results also determine how the drivers line up in the feature, with Heat 1 determining the inside row and Heat 2 determining the outside. The main race will be 70 laps in distance. A driver could collect up to 50 points tonight as opposed to the normal maximum of 40 points.

Last Race: For Malik Ray, the question of his first eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series victory changed last season from ‘if’ to ‘when’ with a breakout performance that nearly saw him competing for a title. An ace at superspeedway racing, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s new configuration proved to be in his wheelhouse two weeks ago as he once again found himself with a shot at winning in the closing laps. At the white flag, Ray crossed the line in sixth, but he shoved Collin Bowden through into the lead by the backstretch. After clearing Michael Guest for second, Ray backed up to Darik Bourdeau entering Turn 3, building the run he needed out of Turn 4 to edge Bowden and hold off Bourdeau for his first career victory.

Last Year: In the series’ 14th trip to Richmond in 2023, it was mostly the Bobby Zalenski show. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver lined up on the pole position and led early and often. Nick Ottinger came to party around the 40th lap, but the way the cautions flew, the race fell right back into Zalenski’s lap. Leading 95 of the 130 laps, Zalenski held off the likes of Michael Conti and Jimmy Mullis in the closing laps for what would be his first of three wins on the 2023 season.

Track Facts: Opened in 1946 as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond Raceway hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1953 when Lee Petty won on the track’s former half-mile dirt layout. It was paved in 1968, extended to its current 3/4-mile layout in 1988, and given its current name in 2017 as part of the Richmond Raceway Reimagined project that saw sweeping renovations to the facility. Richmond has also been one of the most innovative tracks in the world of sim racing, founding the CHAOS CREW to compete in eNASCAR in 2018 and serving as an official eNASCAR team, as Richmond Raceway eSports and Rise eSports, from 2019 up until the end of the 2023 season.

Next Race: Following Richmond, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series returns in two weeks for the fifth race of the 2024 season, an inaugural trip to Brands Hatch on the Indy layout. Last season, the international venue was Monza, won by Zalenski. Brands Hatch marks the start of the second Segment of the 2024 season as well.

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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