2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series | Preview | Race 12: Chicago Street Course

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series continues the season on Tuesday night with the 12th race of 2025 at the Chicago Street Course.

An iconic 2.14-mile venue that traverses landmarks such as the Buckingham Fountain near Grant Park was built on iRacing before its real-world implementation in 2023. Bobby Zalenski is the only eNASCAR driver to have a win here, winning in its eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series debut in 2023, as well as last year in 2024. As it was last season, this event will include qualifying points, a 15-lap Sprint race, and a 30-lap Main event. Similar to Talladega back in April, this race will utilize fixed setups.

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.

Don’t forget to fill out a bracket for the William Byron eSports Bracket Challenge presented by Logitech G!

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series | Power Rankings | Race 12 at Chicago Street Course

RACE FORMAT

Once again in 2025, the road course races at Interlagos and Chicago will have their own special format, similar to the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, with a Sprint and Feature race in play. Up to 48 points are on the table, with qualifying points awarded to top qualifiers. The Pole Award winner will score eight points, and each position down through eighth will incrementally score one less point through eighth place.

The top eight qualifiers will then invert for the Sprint race, with the Pole Award recipient starting eighth and eighth place on the pole. The Sprint race will be 15 laps, and it will set the grid for the Feature. No points will be scored at the conclusion of the Sprint race. The Feature will be 30 laps, and the normal eNASCAR points will be awarded at the conclusion of that.

LAST RACE

It was Vicente Salas on top last week in the series’ return to Dover Motor Speedway. The first intermediate test of the Gen 7 cars on the new iRacing build was a different scenario than we’ve seen play out over the last few seasons. Early cautions set the stage for a near-100 lap dash to the checkers, which was definitely doable on fuel, but tires would wind up as the concern. With around 20 laps to go, drivers began collecting mechanical black flags for excessive tire wear. Salas, who took two right-side tires on the Lap 27 pit stop, was able to make it the distance without any blowouts or meatballs for his first win of the 2025 season.

LAST YEAR

For two seasons in-a-row, the streets of Chicago have belonged to Bobby Zalenski. Last season was his greatest challenge, holding off a hungry Parker White and always speedy Steven Wilson in tow. White nearly got the better of Zalenski on the start of the main event, riding side-by-side down the backstretch. Zalenski just barely held on to claim the advantage into the next corner, and from there, he led the rest of the way for the victory.

TRACK FACTS

Conceived in the fall of 2020 and refined over the past few years, the Chicago Street Course was iRacing and NASCAR’s answer to “what if NASCAR held a street race?” Surrounding iconic Chicago landmarks like Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain, the unique new course brings the thrill of stock car racing to the heart of the city. The final course design counts 12 turns among its 2.14-mile layout. This Chicago circuit saw its first racing action live on FS1 as part of the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, and held it’s first race in the real-world in 2023.

NEXT RACE

Following Chicago, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will take a break before returning with the 13th round of the 2025 season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 22nd. Last season, the Indianapolis oval returned to the schedule for the first time since 2020, and it was Daniel Faulkingham who was able to claim his first victory of his career.

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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