2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series | Race Preview | Round 11: Sim Racing Expo 150 at Texas
April 28th, 2026 by Justin Melillo
One last challenge remains in the inaugural eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series season. The 11-race schedule comes down to 100 laps at Texas Motor Speedway, in the Sim Racing Expo 150, where the top-30 will be eligible for a chance at entering eNASCAR Free Agency in a few weeks time. Some drivers are finally at a point where they can breathe again as they have mathematically clinched a place in the top-30. Others near the cut line will need to either hang on or clutch up to be above that line by the checkers.
In the new eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season as a whole, the total schedule expands to a 24-races The first 11 races have been a part of the newly reconfigured eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series, competing from February to April. The remaining 13 races will be in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series, which starts in May, that part of the schedule previously being the entirety of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
22 iRacing members are already locked into the Free Agency round before the Championship Series begins in May. 30 more drivers will be added to that Free Agency pool by finishing within the top-30 in the final standings by the Qualifying Series section’s end. Any iRacing member with a Class A license can take on the Qualifying Series, and splits and the Strength of Field (SoF) will be determined by each entered member’s iRating. Points will be awarded throughout each split based on the SoF.
With the season-long standings concluding, while the focus will be on Top Split, there will be eyes across other splits to tune in to other top-30 hopefuls. Coverage from virtual Texas begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. Tune in 15 minutes earlier to catch the Countdown to Green at 7:45 p.m. ET.
LAST RACE: 2026 ROUND 10 AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
One week ago, the Qualifying Series hopefuls took to the virtual Irish Hills of Michigan for the penultimate battle of the Qualifying Series season. With only 30 tickets to Free Agency, it was now or never for those below the cut line to make their play to fight and join the ranks of the Championship Series elite.
Entering Michigan, Quentin Warman came into the fight with the points lead, but with no wins to his name. That changed after 72 laps around the 2-mile oval, two of which were completed in a bout of eNASCAR Overtime. Matthew Morton, also looking for his first win of the season, led the field back to green for the two-lap dash to the checkers. Warman, on the outside line, held strong through the first lap, ultimately clearing past for the victory.
LAST TIME AT TEXAS IN 2025
In the 2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs, Texas Motor Speedway sat sandwiched between Michigan and Phoenix as the second round of the 2025 eNASCAR Playoffs. With a ticket to the Championship 4 Finale on the line, Zack Novak took his shot. Not having won a Championship Series race since his 2019 championship victory over Keegan Leahy, Novak was able to get around his Channel 199 Sim Racing teammate Dylan Duval on the final restart and claim the pass to the title fight.
NEW SERIES FORMAT
A Qualifying Series is not a new concept, but the way these 11 races will play out are vastly different in the sense that there will be multiple different vehicles throughout.
The NASCAR Craftsman Trucks kicked off the Qualifying Series season, but only for the first four races at Daytona, Las Vegas, Rockingham, and Phoenix. From races 5 to 8, these hopefuls graduated to the next step on the NASCAR ladder, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars, racing at Homestead-Miami, Fontana, Darlington, and Bristol. Now in the final three races, the Qualifiers have moved onto the last step, the top level machine, the NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7 for the races at Chicagoland, Michigan, and Texas.
While there is no official roster, as anyone can truly participate minus those already locked into Free Agency, names such as Ray Alfalla, Michael Cosey Jr, Graham Bowlin, and many more relegated drivers from previous eNASCAR seasons will be looking to make their way back to the top level. eNASCAR College iRacing Series competitors are also taking on the challenge, and some of the official teams, including eRacr, Vegas Inferno, and the Kansas City Pioneers, are fielding hopeful drivers during the opening half of the whole year.
TOP 40 STANDINGS ENTERING ROUND 11 AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TRACK FACTS: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The 1.5-mile oval of Texas Motor Speedway is located on the north side of Fort Worth. The construction of the speedway began in spring of 1995 and required the movement of more than four million cubic yards of earth before it was completed the following year.
The oval originally featured unique dual-angle banking, but was reconfigured in the early 2000s, eliminating the eight-degree section of the dual-angle banking. It was repaved again in 2017, this time where Turns 1 and 2 were completely reprofiled, going from 24 degrees of banking and 60 feet of track width to 20 degrees of banking and 80 feet of racing surface. Texas hosts NASCAR events, and used to host INDYCAR racing up until 2023.
NEXT RACE: 52 DRIVERS ENTER FREE AGENCY, 40 ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
After Texas, the Championship Series awaits! Before that, the 40-car field needs to be determined through Free Agency. From May 11th to May 13th, the 52 entered drivers will have their chance to connect with the 20 official teams and sign one of their two seats for the 2026 Championship Series season. More details regarding Free Agency, including the official Free Agency list and Team Roster, will be communicated closer to the start of the Free Agency period.
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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