Eyes on eNASCAR relegation line with three races left in 2024 season
August 27th, 2024 by Justin Melillo
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs are in full swing, with 10 drivers still vying for one of the four championship stage seats at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in just over a month. However, they aren’t the only 10 drivers on the track. The full 40-car field is still on display every week, and most of them still have a lot to race for as well in the closing races.
The top 20 cut line was on full display leading up to the end of the Regular Season. That line was the mark that all winners needed to be above to be eligible to advance to the playoffs. Three winners did not meet that mark, including Daytona winner Wyatt Tinsley, Las Vegas winner Keegan Leahy, and Atlanta winner Malik Ray. Their seasons aren’t over, however, and for the majority of the field outside the playoff field, they’ve also got the same battle, to either stay or fight back above the relegation line.
In the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, only the top 20 drivers in the final standings at the end of the season will retain their series license. From 21st on back, those drivers will be relegated out of the series. That’s not to say that they can’t get back in, as they’ll just be dropping back into the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series, where they’ll face the top drivers from the second round of the eNASCAR Qualifying iRacing Series, which is happening in this part of the year as well.
The maximum amount of points on the table is 120 points in these final three races. On the bubble is the most recent winner, Briar LaPradd. Two weeks ago at Michigan, LaPradd pulled off the upset over Parker White—a playoff driver seeking his own first victory, which would also evolve into a trip to Charlotte—and that victory for Team 88 propelled LaPradd up the standings and back into safe territory… for now.
DRIVERS CURRENTLY IN
More than 100 points ahead of LaPradd is the 2022 series champion, Casey Kirwan. Kirwan just barely missed out on being in this year’s playoff field, and without the playoffs, would be in the conversation for a top-five finish in the final standings. Kirwan didn’t get that all-important win in the regular season, however, which means the best he can do is finish 11th. It’s safe to say that he’s likely going to stay in the top 20, as he could even clinch his place with an 18th place finish or better at Texas on Tuesday night.
Going down the order, you’ll find Kaden Honeycutt, Jimmy Mullis, and Michael Cosey Jr. Those three are also more than a race above the cut in terms of the points gap. It would take a colossal fumble for these drivers to get relegated. Even the drivers near a full race ahead, such as Zack Novak and Donovan Strauss, will have a tough time falling out with the points they’ve earned.
After that, it’s the danger zone. Jordy Lopez, Kollin Keister, Seth DeMerchant, Briar LaPradd, and 21st place Malik Ray, are all within 20 points of one another. There are a bunch of other drivers just behind 21st that are also in striking distance. One bad race, and the tides could shift drastically.
DRIVERS JUST OUTSIDE AND LOOKING IN
Ray is only five points behind LaPradd with three races to go. Tinsley is another two points back. Femi Olatunbosun, Michael Guest, and Ryan Luza are all within 20 points of 20th place. If you look carefully, you can see that anyone from 17th in points down to 25th can change hands in a single race.
This is a huge hotspot of concern for this group, where their fight for avoiding the Contender Series is going to outweigh any playoff concerns they may have for their teammates and friends. Just look back two weeks ago, when LaPradd won. If he finished second, he’d be outside the top 20 by virtue of a tiebreaker.
There’s also Garrett Manes and Matt Bussa, 26th and 27th, who have enough points to also bump into the top 20 with a good result at Texas. They are both more than 20 points back, but within that race threshold of 40 maximum points. It’s anyone’s guess as to how these final three races will play out in this range of drivers.
DRIVERS WHO STILL MATHEMATICALLY HAVE A CHANCE
When one looks realistically at the numbers, anyone more than a full race above or below likely won’t be in the conversation. Until the math says otherwise, however, there are seven more drivers that could find their way back into the top 20 before the end of the year. They will not only need fantastic results at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead-Miami, but also poor results from the drivers they are chasing.
Taylor Hurst, Collin Bowden, Matthew Zwack, Tyler Garey, Keegan Leahy, Jonathon Dulaney, and Ryan Doucette are those drivers. There’s a good chance that none of these drivers stay mathematically eligible after Texas, as they’ll need to be within 80 points of LaPradd by the end of the night. Hurst is 65 points back, Bowden is 74, and Zwack is 78. Everyone else is already more than 80 points out. It’s likely we will see these drivers in the Contender ranks later this year.
DRIVERS HEADING TO CONTENDER
Six drivers no longer have a chance to retain their eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series license without going back to the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series first, as they won’t be able to earn enough points over the final three races to get close. Those drivers include Timothy Holmes, Ray Alfalla, Darik Bourdeau, Dylan Ault, Cody Byus, and Quami Scott.
Holmes is the first one out mathematically, and it comes as a double gut punch as he won’t be racing at Texas either. Two weeks ago at Michigan, Holmes hit the incident limit, and by the rules, that requires a suspension. Daniel Buttafuoco is tabbed to run the #6 at Texas. Buttafuoco is one of the handful of backup drivers on reserve this season, as was Brian Mercurio when he filled-in for Collin Bowden back at Chicago.
Of course, Ray Alfalla being on this list is tough to see as well. His return season after missing the 2023 season has been tumultuous, to say the least. All of these drivers have had little to no luck out there, and will have to prove their worth once again through the Contender ranks against many up-and-coming drivers once again.
Drivers Standings – 11th through 30th – with three races remaining:
11th – Casey Kirwan, 365 (+107)
12th – Kaden Honeycutt, 333 (+75)
13th – Jimmy Mullis, 316 (+58)
14th – Michael Cosey Jr, 314 (+56)
15th – Zack Novak, 292, (+34)
16th – Donovan Strauss, 285 (+27)
17th – Jordy Lopez, 278 (+20)
18th – Kollin Keister, 271 (+13)
19th – Seth DeMerchant [R], 271 (+13)
20th – Briar LaPradd, 263 (+5)
———————————————
21st – Malik Ray, 258 (-5)
22nd – Wyatt Tinsley, 256 (-7)
23rd – Femi Olatunbosun, 254 (-9)
24th – Michael Guest, 253 (-10)
25th – Ryan Luza, 251 (-12)
26th – Garrett Manes, 242 (-21)
27th – Matt Bussa, 241 (-22)
28th – Taylor Hurst, 198 (-65)
29th – Collin Bowden, 189 (-74)
30th – Matthew Zwack, 185 (-78)
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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