The 17th race of the 2022 season of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series takes the series to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday evening.
The epic conclusion of the 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Round of 16 takes place on Tuesday evening (October 11, 2022) to set the stage for Championship 4.
With no one getting the job done in Bristol, Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing) was able to get it done after Collin Bowden (eRacr) and Casey Kirwan (XSET) collided at Talladega two weeks ago while getting to the finish. Zalenski also caught a chunk of the tumult but was far enough up front to win it.
Zalenski took his place in the 2022 eNASCAR Championship 4, and as it stands, with only one race left to decide the other three, it’s unclear who will fill the remaining spots in the bracket.
ONE LAST CHANCE
There are only three seats left at the 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Championship 4 table. Zalenski is one of the few riders in the field who doesn’t have to worry and can ride any race he wants with confidence.
Graham A. Bowlin (Charlotte Phoenix), Kirwan and Michael Conti (JR Motorsports) all head into the penultimate race of the season above the cut line, but things could get a little more complicated now that there is a drop week in the equation.
Steven Wilson (Stewart-Haas Esports), Nick Ottinger (William Byron Esports), Matt Bussa (Mode Motorsports), Mitchell deJong (23XI Racing), Femi Olatunbosun (Clint Bowyer Racing) and Garrett Lowe (Wood Brothers Racing) are all under line , if you don’t take a drop into account.
FALL WHEN YOU ENTER HOMESTEAD MIAMI
The cancellation affects only one of the three races in the round of 16 of the eNASCAR playoffs. The lowest scoring lap will be discarded and at least the top two drivers by points based on their top two finishes at Bristol, Talladega and Homestead-Miami will advance.
Of course if we get another non-playoff rider winner like Ryan Luza (XSET) at Bristol then they take three riders on points with Zalenski being the sole winner.
Let’s go ahead and consider this drop now. With some quick math, we find that both Kirwan and Bowlin would stay in, but Conti’s relegation is a 17th place worth 20 points, and that would earn him eight points. Wilson would be the benefactor, losing a 31st-place finish worth six points at Talladega.
VIRTUAL RACE OR MATHEMATICS PROBLEM?
These drivers will race as if their drop race was the race that was eliminated from their point totals when they got to Homestead-Miami. Seven of those riders (including Talladega winner Zalenski) would have their drop race as a result in Bristol. The other three would drop Talladega.
Lowe’s fifth place finish at Bristol was a clutch as he is virtually tied at the cutline, the tie breaker currently going to Bowlin for fourth and final. Bowlin finished fifth in Talladega and owns a tiebreak solely on the fact that his drop is a better score than Lowes.
The tie would either go to the higher finisher if the results were in the top 10. An 11th for Lowe would trigger a tiebreaker again if Bowlin underperformed since that is Bowlin’s current drop, otherwise all lower scores would give it to Bowlin. But there are five other lower-ranked drivers who always win and could get in or outperform both drivers. Not a single driver except Zalenski is safe.
WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR
This is the 13th visit to the 1.5 mile oval course on Florida’s lower tip since it was scheduled for 2011. There was a two race season, 2020, that was affected by the pandemic and as such iRacing Phoenix wasn’t able to update in time for a finale to reflect the real thing.
2021 was the first season since it was added that the series didn’t finish its season there, again because it wasn’t aware of Phoenix when the schedule was announced, thus giving Texas the date. Homestead-Miami instead found its place as the second race on the schedule.
This year it returns to be a final track but not the overall final. Instead, the round of 16 ends in the intermediate round with the chance to race for a championship on the line.
PAST WINNERS
Curiously, not a single driver has yet won in this year’s playoffs at the venue. Past names like John Gorlinsky, Kevin King, Kenny Humpe, Peter Bennett, PJ Stergios and Chris Shearburn have all won there. Names set to be in the field Tuesday include Luza, Keegan Leahy, Zack Novak and Ray Alfalla.
With that in mind, I think this will fall into the hands of one of the playoff drivers. Most of the remaining riders don’t need to win, but it would be their best scenario to progress. In reality, three riders really need to get that win, namely Bussa, Olatunbosun and deJong.
Conti and Ottinger are close to points where they could do well with a little help. But there are already four riders for the three spots ahead of them in Wilson, Bowlin, Kirwan and Lowe. It’s unclear who has the best strategy, but I think a deadzone rider like Wilson or Bowlin will probably pull it off.
WHERE TO SEE
The race itself begins at 9:00pm EDT / 2:00am BST following the pre-race celebrations which begin half an hour earlier. The countdown to green starts at 8:30pm EDT / 1:30am BST, with the race itself starting at 9:00pm EDT / 2:00am BST. Evan Posocco, Blake McCandless, Alan Cavanna, Camille Salazar Hadaway and more prominent voices in the industry will be there to bring you all the action.
The broadcast will be available at eNASCAR.com/live or on iRacing’s social channels.
POINTS FOR RACE NO. 17 – HOMESTEAD MIAMI SPEEDWAY
| position | DARE # | DRIVER | TEAM | WINS | POINTS | T5’s | T10 |
| 1 | 18 | Bobby Salensky | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 | LOCKED | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | 48 | Graham A Bowlin | Charlotte Phoenix | 1 | +17 | 7 | 7 |
| 3 | 95 | Casey Kirwan | XSET | 1 | +8 | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | 8th | Michael Conti | JR Motorsport | 2 | +3 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 21 | Garret Lowe | Wood Brothers race | 1 | -3 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | Steven Wilson | Stewart Haas Esports | 3 | -5 | 7 | 10 |
| 7 | 25 | Nick Ottinger | William Byron Esports | 2 | -10 | 5 | 8th |
| 8th | 75 | Matt Bussa | Motorsport mode | 1 | -17 | 2 | 8th |
| 9 | 79 | Femi Olatunbosun | Clint Bowyer Racing | 1 | -18 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | 23 | Mitchell deJong | 23XI race | 1 | -28 | 3 | 4 |
2022 ENASCAR COCA-COLA IRACING SERIES SCHEDULE
| date | race # | track | Round |
| 2/1/22 | ~clash~ | LA Coliseum – Casey Kirwan | 25/50/120 |
| 15 February 22 | 1 | Daytona International Speedway Femi Olatunbosun | 80 |
| 3/1/22 | 2 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway Michael Conti | 100 |
| 15 Mar 22 | 3 | Atlanta Motor Speedway Steven Wilson | 100 |
| 29 Mar 22 | 4 | Richmond Racetrack – Michael Conti | 130 |
| 12 Apr 22 | 5 | Bristol Motor Speedway DIRT – Nick Ottinger | 25/120 |
| 26 Apr 22 | 6 | Dover Motor Speedway Nick Ottinger | 120 |
| May 10-22 | 7 | Kansas Racetrack – Garret Lowe | 100 |
| May 24-May 22 | 8th | Charlotte Motor Speedway Matt Bussa | 100 |
| May 31-May 22 | 9 | World Wide Technology Raceway Graham A Bowlin | 120 |
| June 21 22 | 10 | Nashville Super Speedway – Ray Alfalla | 100 |
| 05.07.22 | 11 | Street America – Steven Wilson | 25 |
| 19 July 22 | 12 | Pocono Racetrack – Casey Kirwan | 60 |
| 08/02/22 | ~All Star~ | Chicago Street course – Steven Wilson | 12-8-16 |
| 16 Aug 22 | 13 | Watkins Glen International – Mitchell deJong | 35 |
| Aug 30 22 | 14 | Darlington Circuit – Steven Wilson | 120 |
| 13 Sep 22 | PO1 | fifteen | Bristol Motor Speedway Ryan Luza | 175 |
| 27 Sep 22 | PO2 | 16 | Talladega Super Speedway – Bobby Salensky | 70 |
| 11 Oct 22 | PO3 | 17 | Homestead Miami Speedway | 100 |
| 25 Oct 22 | C4F | 18 | Phoenix racetrack | 110 |
