2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series | Race Preview | Round 5 at Homestead-Miami

With the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks back in storage, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series restarts with four races in a different vehicle, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts car, the first test in said car slated on Tuesday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The standouts will likely continue to shine, but who else can tame the new set of four wheels underneath them, and who will fade out of the top-30 conversation? Those answers will start to get answered tonight.

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.

Sebastian Marin doubles up, claims second top split eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series win in Truck finale at Phoenix

While the focus will be on the top split, splits below that may also get screen time tonight and through the season. Coverage for Homestead-Miami 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 4 AT PHOENIX RACEWAY

Two weeks ago, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series segment concluded in dramatic fashion at Phoenix Raceway. The drama hit all 16 splits, with multiple cautions in each shaping the outcome. Top Split saw its first repeat winner of the year in Sebastian Marin, who was dominant, holding off Quentin Warman and Wyatt Tinsley for the victory. Seth Noell also won in Second Split, that race having less cautions, but more chaos.

LAST YEAR: 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUND 18 AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

Homestead-Miami is the site most commonly associated with championship victories. In the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series, this venue has continued that tradition, the last three champions all celebrating after 100 laps of racing at the 1.5-mile racetrack. Two of those championships are now in possession of Steven Wilson, in 2023 and 2025. Last year was Wilson’s magnum opus, capping off a historic year with another record-shattering victory to claim his second title.

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. Starting at the fifth race, these hopefuls will graduate to the next step on the NASCAR ladder, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars, racing at Homestead-Miami, Fontana, Darlington, and Bristol. 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 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 10 STANDINGS ENTERING ROUND 5 AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

TRACK FACTS: HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

The old saying, “it’s an ill wind that blows no good,” could be appropriately applied to Homestead-Miami Speedway. In the wake of Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992, South Florida racing promoter Ralph Sanchez began organizing construction of the region’s first major-league motorsports facility as part of the reconstruction of the devastated Homestead community.

With more than a thousand palm trees and a Caribbean color scheme, the facility projects a South Beach flavor that distinguishes Homestead-Miami from other major race tracks in America. The track opened in 1995, was reconfigured in 1997, and then reconfigured once again in 2003 to the current version we know and love today.

Longtime host to NASCAR’s season finale for the top-three National Series, the 1.5-mile variable-banked Homestead-Miami oval has also hosted IndyCar and IMSA events. SCCA amateur races and CSS motorcycle races also take place on the road circuit. The venue was the championship finale up until 2019, but in 2026, it returns to its former place on the calendar.

NEXT RACE: FANTASY FEATURE IN FONTANA

After Homestead-Miami, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series returns for the sixth round of the season at Auto Club Speedway on March 24th, the second race of the season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars. Auto Club Speedway, located in Fontana, California, no longer hosts races, or exists in the same capacity as the facility was mostly repurposed. While real-world racing can no longer take part on this historic 2-mile venue, it still exists in all of its glory, preserved virtually, and the eNASCAR hopefuls will use it as their next test to make it to the Championship Series.

Coverage for the racing in Fontana 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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