Parker White wins at Phoenix, advances to eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Championship 4 with Steven Wilson, Graham Bowlin, Bobby Zalenski

September 11th, 2024 by

Parker White entered the penultimate race of the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season at Phoenix Raceway on Tuesday night in the best position to advance to this year’s Championship 4. White barely missed out on his first-career win by 0.003-seconds at Michigan International Speedway a month ago. Two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway, White was only able to muster a third place run.

White didn’t have to win at Phoenix, he even said as much in an interview mid-race as he rode in second place. However, in his 35th-career start, the stars finally aligned for the sophomore phenom as he was able to get to the lead and stay there for his first career victory—perhaps the most important one of his career—which qualifies him for a seat on-stage at the NASCAR Hall of Fame next month to compete for the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup.

“To win this race, it means so much to me,” White said post-race. “The execution all race was there, I executed qualifying very well. I was able to start up front, and just from there, staying on the bottom on restarts was very important… I was just able to play that all race. It eventually all came down to that one restart where Vicente (Salas) started on the outside, and I started on the inside. I was able to get by him, and luckily we went green long enough so that I could get the lead. From there, it was just ‘no mistakes’, just eyes forward toward winning the race.”

White started in third, behind Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports) on the pole position, and Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) alongside the front row. Salas jumped out to an early advantage on the top lane before the first caution flew on the third lap of competition. The early caution set the stage for what the complexion of the race would look like, as the race was stopped on multiple occasions for multiple incidents.

In total, there were 13 cautions for 48 laps. but unlike last season, it ended in the 120-lap regulation period without any extra overtime laps. The many different slow-down periods did offer some shuffling of the pack, but in most cases, the faster drivers were able to get back ahead before another caution filled its place. In the conversation among the yellow laps were Salas, Minter, and White.

Daniel Faulkingham (Joe Gibbs Racing) saw an opportunity to rekindle his Indianapolis magic, and led a group of cars on older tires on a restart just past halfway. This proved to be the most crucial restart of the race, as Salas found himself on the top lane while White was on the preferred bottom. Salas, who led 70 of the 120 laps, wasn’t able to cut through the slower traffic as fast as White, and by the time the fresh tires emerged, it was White, his Williams Esports teammate, Donovan Strauss, and Salas fighting for third.

Zack Novak (OXYGEN Esports) found himself running up in the top-five, and on the outside of Salas on many of the later restarts. Salas attempted to pass by, to hunt for the lead, but Novak held strong alongside. By this point in the race, the 13-point gap that Salas had to overcome was unlikely, as both Zalenski and Bowlin ran inside the top-10. Salas, essentially needing the win to advance, put his car up on Novak’s door moments before the final caution. Novak was seemingly not happy with the way he was being raced, and as the caution flew many rows behind, the two racing for third made contact.

The slide was enough to upset the tires. As White went on to score the victory over Strauss, Salas had to settle for third, which was not enough to advance.

Both Zalenski and Bowlin needed either another Steven Wilson win, a Parker White win, or at least a win from a driver that wasn’t in the playoff field to both have a shot at pointing into the Championship 4. While Salas led, the two flipped positions through the night, only being four spots apart. When White took control, they were both back in, only needing to finish within 13 or 17 points ahead of Salas to advance. Zalenski took sixth while Bowlin settled for seventh, which was more than enough to guarantee a place in the top-four.

White, Wilson, Bowlin, and Zalenski all advance to the Championship 4. Salas missed out by 10 points. Minter wound up involved in a few slides late, and misses the cut as well. Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), Faulkingham, Nick Ottinger (William Byron eSports), and Dylan Duval (Nitro Circus Sim Racing) also failed to advance to the Championship 4 round.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series results from Round 17 at Phoenix were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Team

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts
1 3 53 Parker White Williams Esports 120 0.000 33 27.735 40
2 6 51 Donovan Strauss Williams Esports 120 -0.461 0 27.783 35
3 2 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 120 -1.109 70 27.787 34
4 23 5 Zack Novak OXYGEN Esports 120 -1.283 0 27.899 33
5 18 22 Femi Olatunbosun OXYGEN Esports 120 -1.391 0 27.834 32
6 4 18 Bobby Zalenski Joe Gibbs Racing 120 -1.598 0 27.976 31
7 10 48 Graham A. Bowlin QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming 120 -1.733 0 27.871 30
8 15 77 Casey Kirwan Spire Motorsports 120 -1.928 0 28.003 29
9 29 42 Tyler Garey eRacr 120 -2.046 0 27.957 28
10 40 6 Timothy Holmes RFK Racing 120 -2.229 0 28.001 27
11 7 54 Daniel Faulkingham Joe Gibbs Racing 120 -2.269 5 28.008 26
12 28 10 Steven Wilson M80 120 -2.401 0 28.018 25
13 25 7 Malik Ray Spire Motorsports 120 -2.488 12 27.952 24
14 14 12 Garrett Manes fgrAccel eRacing 120 -2.622 0 28.037 23
15 24 88 Briar LaPradd JR Motorsports 120 -2.820 0 28.050 22
16 36 45 Michael Guest 23XI 120 -3.123 0 28.086 21
17 38 3 Jonathon Dulaney Team Dillon Esports 120 -3.741 0 28.044 20
18 13 20 Wyatt Tinsley QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming 120 -5.285 0 28.149 19
19 1 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 120 -5.565 0 27.913 18
20 11 62 Matt Bussa Kevin Harvick Inc. 120 -6.699 0 28.236 17
21 39 36 Quami Scott Letarte eSports 120 -8.229 0 28.157 16
22 5 25 Nick Ottinger William Byron eSports 120 -9.083 0 28.159 15
23 19 89 Garrett Lowe BS+COMPETITION 120 -9.453 0 27.990 14
24 37 33 Taylor Hurst Team Dillon Esports 120 -10.321 0 28.031 13
25 8 38 Michael Cosey Jr Front Row Motorsports 120 -12.581 0 28.149 12
26 21 14 Seth DeMerchant fgrAccel eRacing 120 -13.014 0 28.082 11
27 16 41 Dylan Duval Nitro Circus Sim Racing 120 -13.335 0 28.149 10
28 27 29 Jimmy Mullis Kevin Harvick Inc. 120 -14.999 0 28.063 9
29 9 90 Jordy Lopez BS+COMPETITION 120 -15.274 0 28.039 8
30 33 17 Collin Bowden RFK Racing 120 -15.610 0 28.108 7
31 17 55 Ryan Doucette Pittsburgh Knights 120 -16.704 0 28.065 6
32 34 27 Cody Byus Pittsburgh Knights 120 -17.027 0 28.168 5
33 35 34 Darik Bourdeau Front Row Motorsports 120 -18.771 0 27.977 4
34 32 23 Keegan Leahy 23XI 120 -28.530 0 28.035 3
35 12 99 Matthew Zwack Nitro Circus Sim Racing 119 -1L 0 27.990 2
36 20 8 Kaden Honeycutt JR Motorsports 119 -1L 0 27.998 1
37 26 40 Dylan Ault Letarte eSports 119 -1L 0 28.114 1
38 22 66 Kollin Keister Kanaan Esports 93 DNF 0 28.280 1
39 30 69 Ray Alfalla eRacr 50 DNF 0 28.341 1
40 31 80 Ryan Luza M80 36 DNF 0 28.404 1

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Playoff Standings through Round 17 are as follows:

  1. Steven Wilson, 2110 – ADVANCED WITH WIN
  2. Parker White, 2109 – ADVANCED WITH WIN
  3. Graham A. Bowlin, 2097 (+13) ADVANCED ON POINTS
  4. Bobby Zalenski, 2094 (+10) ADVANCED ON POINTS
    —————————
  5. Vicente Salas, 2084 (-10)
  6. Tucker Minter, 2067 (-27)
  7. Garrett Lowe, 2057 (-37)
  8. Daniel Faulkingham, 2055 (-39)
  9. Nick Ottinger, 2035 (-59)
  10. Dylan Duval, 2034 (-60)

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Drivers Standings (16th-25th) through Round 17 are as follows:

16. Michael Cosey Jr, 327 (+34)
17. Femi Olatunbosun, 316 (+23)
18. Jordy Lopez, 314 (+21)
19. Seth DeMerchant [R], 311 (+18)
20. Briar LaPradd, 296 (+3)
—————————
21. Michael Guest, 293 (-3)
22. Kollin Keister, 292 (-4)
23. Malik Ray, 283 (-13)
24. Garrett Manes, 282 (-14)
25. Wyatt Tinsley, 278 (-18)

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Team Standings through Round 17 are as follows:

  1. Williams Esports (#51/#53), 832
  2. M80 (#10/#80), 814
  3. William Byron eSports (#25/#97), 806
  4. Joe Gibbs Racing (#18/#54), 803
  5. Spire Motorsports (#7/#77), 742

With one race remaining in the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season, there are a lot of things at stake for many drivers. Of course, for the Championship 4 of Steven Wilson, Parker White, Graham Bowlin, and Bobby Zalenski, it’s about being the other three drivers and nothing else.

Wilson will make his third straight appearance to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, participating in the Championship 4 in 2022 and winning it all in 2023. Both Bowlin and Zalenski return to the live battle for the first time since the inaugural fight in 2022. For Zalenski, it marks his sixth Championship 4 appearance in eight seasons, a mark nobody else is close to. As for Bowlin, after losing out to Wilson at Iowa, he matter-of-factly stated that Wilson would have to fight him for the title this year, a promise he made good on.

The only NASCAR Hall of Fame Championship event rookie is White, who makes his Championship 4 debut in three weeks. Last season, in his rookie campaign, White missed out on the playoffs due to not having a win. This season, despite not having a win again, he was still able to point in. Even if he didn’t get the win on Tuesday night at Phoenix, it was likely he would still fight for the title. Now he doesn’t have to sweat being a possible champion with no career victories.

The battle for relegation will be on for 13 of the competitors. A Kevin Harvick Inc. sandwich, from Jimmy Mullis in 15th down to Matt Bussa in 27th, any one of those drivers could either fall out or move above the top-20 line, a crucial point in retaining a license in the series for 2025. Falling below that line will mean a trip back down to the eNASCAR Contender iRacing Series. There’s also an insane Team Championship to keep an eye on. With Williams Esports scoring their first 1-2 finish in team history, they hurdle right into the lead, 18 points ahead of M80. William Byron eSports and Joe Gibbs Racing are also within a 30-point gap and could also steal the title away.

The 40 top-rated eNASCAR drivers in 2024 have one last battle—the Championship 4 fight at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 100 laps are scheduled, and the four title fighters will race from the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte. Viewers at home can tune in on Tuesday, October 1st, at 7:00 p.m. ET, for the extended Countdown to Green. Race coverage for the event begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. 

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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