Defending eNASCAR Champion Casey Kirwan Goes Back-to-Back in Clash at the Coliseum – iRacing.com
The last time fans of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series saw XSET driver Casey Kirwan was accepting his namesake’s inaugural Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cup at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte after winning the 2022 series title But that $100,000 champion prize from last year didn’t make Kirwan any less eager to keep winning, and he proved it with his second straight victory in the pre-season Clash at the Coliseum on Tuesday night. .
To do so, Kirwan would not only have to survive the mayhem of multiple wrecks and traffic on the quarter-mile oval of the Los Angeles Coliseum, but also climb back from ninth place on the starting grid after finishing third in his sleeve. Corey Vincent qualified on pole in his first race with the Pittsburgh Knights, but it was Garrett Lowe who would win this round as he made his debut for Jim Beaver eSports colors. Kirwan’s XSET teammate Ryan Luza and RFK Racing rookie Timmy Holmes would lead every lap of their respective heats, while Kanaan Esports rookie Parker White would win the Last Chance Qualifier.
The 70-lap streak began with Lowe reasserting himself as the driver to beat, leaving a gap on Holmes before the first warning for a track-blocking incident. Holmes led by a lap after the restart, but Lowe quickly recovered the point until Kansas City Pioneers’ Derek Justis and William Byron eSports’ Matt Bussa tangled up for the second and final caution of the night. By then Kirwan had moved up to third; on the final restart he made quick work of Holmes for second place, and from there the chase began.
Lowe led a race-high 37 laps, but on lap 39 Kirwan was finally able to make his move. The defending champion has never looked back, navigating his way through traffic and challenging his 2022 playoff opponent to match his moves. In the end, Kirwan’s margin of victory was over a second over Lowe, while White rode a heroic race to move from 16th to third. Kevin King’s long-awaited return to the series and his debut for JR Motorsports saw him go home fourth, while Williams Esports’ Vicente Salas rounded out the top five.
The results of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Clash at the Coliseum feature were as follows:
Fin. St. No. Name Manufacturer Laps Interval Best 1 9 95 Casey Kirwan Chevrolet 70 32 13,443 2 1 15 Garrett Lowe Ford 70 -1,117 37 13,532 3 16 11 Parker White Toyota 70 -3,391 0 13,570 4 7 88 Kevin King Chevrolet 70 -4,230 0 13.476 5 15 55 Vicente Salas Chevrolet 70 -4.520 0 13.516 6 3 6 Timmy Holmes Ford 70 -6.641 1 13.521 7 6 18 Bobby Zalenski Toyota 70 -7.639 0 13.442 8 22 42 Kollin Keister Chevrolet 70 -9.340 75 Gart Manes Ford 70 -9.436 0 13.454 10 20 33 Tucker Minter Chevrolet 70 -9.512 0 13.561 11 18 17 Kaden Honeycutt Ford 70 -9.780 0 13.534 12 4 2 Corey Vincent Toyota 70 -12.338 0 13.645 13 10 383 Michael Cosey6 12 14 Michael Guest6 12 14 Toyota 70 -13.621 0 13.682 15 5 3 Jordy Lopez Jr Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.527 16 21 45 Keegan Leahy Toyota 69 -1 L 0 13.634 17 12 40 Dylan Ault Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.70 18 2 4 Ryan Luza Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.551 19 13 75 Zack Novak Chevrolet 68 -2 L 0 13.605 20 19 54 Daniel Faulkingham Toyota 68 -2 L 0 1 3.621 21 14 97 Matt Bussa Che vrolet 29 -41 L 0 13.692 22 8 31 Derek Justis Toyota 19 -51 L 0 13.557
The first paid round of the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season will take place as always at Daytona International Speedway, where Femi Olatunbosun will look to defend his first career eNASCAR victory from last year. The race will be streamed on eNASCAR.com/live on Tuesday, February 14 at 9 p.m. ET, with live countdown to green coverage just before the race.
For more information on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit www.enascar.com or www.iracing.com/enascar. For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
Images via Justin Melillo