2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series | Race Preview | Round 2 at Las Vegas

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series continues its Qualifying Series section of the schedule with the second round of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Tuesday night. Last week, over 1,300 drivers took part in 37 splits, the Top Split won by Daniel Faulkingham. Other notable drivers hanging in the top-30 after the first week include former eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series competitors Garrett Manes, Michael Cosey Jr, Quentin Warman, Nate Stewart, Matt Bussa, and Eddie Kerner. NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitor Rajah Caruth also finds himself in the conversation after winning Split 4 last week.

In the new eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season as a whole, the total schedule expands to a 24-races The first 11 races will be as a part of the newly reconfigured eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series 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.

Daniel Faulkingham tops 37 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series split winners at Daytona

While the focus will be on the top split, splits below that may also get screen time tonight and through the season. Coverage for the Las Vegas 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 1 AT DAYTONA

One week ago, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series returned for Season 17 as the Qualifying Series section of the schedule took hopeful competitors to Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday night. In the Top Split, 36 hopefuls circled the 2.5-mile superspeedway with hopes of maximizing the starts to their season, but a group of drivers got lined up and made sure that they were the drivers scoring maximum points on that day. Daniel Faulkingham, who led Garrett Manes, Kenny Brady, and Kayden Diederich in a line for the majority of the time, wound up the winner by night’s end, collecting 440 points towards the championship.

LAST YEAR: 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 2 AT LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas marked the second race in the 2025 season as well, albeit for the Championship Series proper as the Qualifying Series was not yet instated. Steven Wilson, fresh off of a win to open the season at Daytona, was looking to keep his season perfect with a second win in two races. Unfortunately, his connection dropped, handing the lead over to Donovan Strauss, then Zack Novak, and then Wilson’s teammate, Femi Olatunbosun.

A caution-filled second half set up for a myriad of strategies, including one by Kollin Keister, who opted to pit a second time, was moving through the field, now led by Parker White. Followed by Michael Cosey Jr, Keister picked off driver after driver, moving up as many spots as possible before another caution fell. With five laps remaining, Keister took control, but had to hold off Cosey Jr to clinch the win. Keister did just that, earning his first win since 2020.

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 are back in Qualifying, but only for four races. Daytona, Las Vegas, Rockingham, and Phoenix will be the four truck races to kick off the season, but in the fifth race, these hopefuls will graduate to the next step on the NASCAR ladder, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars. At Homestead-Miami, Fontana, Darlington, and Bristol, the NORAPS car will be their chariot. The final three races will put these hopefuls into 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 competitor Adam Garza is among those taking part, lining up with the Kansas City Pioneers, one of the official teams in the series, to race for their Price Chopper seat. Bowlin and Michael P Frisch are also a part of that program and will wear Price Chopper colors. Another official team, eRacr, has their own race for the seat program, the Money Lap Challenge, open to all where the top drivers wearing their logo at the end of the season will have a chance to sign with them during Free Agency.

TOP 10 STANDINGS ENTERING ROUND 2 AT LAS VEGAS

TRACK FACTS: LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

A 1.5-mile, D-shaped oval with 20-degree graduated banking, Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts NASCAR’s top stock car series, and has been a venue for top-tier open-wheel competition and sports car racing. A state-of-the-art motorsport facility, its nickname, “the Diamond in the Desert,” is well deserved. Las Vegas Motor Speedway has the polished brilliance that is a trademark of Speedway Motorsports’ properties, one that is truly multifaceted.

Originally constructed in 1996, Las Vegas Motor Speedway held its first major event in September of that year, an IndyCar race won by Richie Hearn. The first NASCAR event followed two months later and the track was awarded its first “Cup” date in 1998, marking the beginning of the track’s long-term success. Changes to the oval in 2006 made it a more competitive venue for stock cars. This major renovation revamped the banking, upping it from a modest 12 degrees to 20.  What’s more the corners were banked progressively, meaning the further up the racing surface, the steeper the banking.

NEXT RACE: ROCKIN’ AT THE ROCK

After Las Vegas, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series heads back across the United States over to North Carolina, specifically Rockingham Speedway for the third round of the season on February 24th. The Championship Series race at Rockingham was won by Tucker Minter last season. Coverage for The Rock 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.

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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