Sebastian Marin opens eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series O’Reilly segment with complete domination at Homestead-Miami

The first eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series race with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars took place at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday night.

While some drivers either stepped up or sat down with the change from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck that was used in the first four weeks, Sebastian Marin stayed level, claiming back-to-back Top Split wins, leading all 100 laps in the process.

A two-time Craftsman Truck winner already, and now the first Top Split O’Reilly Auto Parts car winner in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series! Sebastian Marin leads them all at Homestead-Miami!@ENASCARGG | @CocaColaRacing pic.twitter.com/HuAOQA4xqc

— iRacing (@iRacing) March 18, 2026

Marin held off Quentin Warman, Andrew Navarro, Cody Byus, and Eddie Kerner, a group of drivers that also continue to shine no matter the car or truck in play. The race ran simultaneously with 14 other splits, the second also on display on the broadcast once more. This time, the race saw both NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Kaden Honeycutt and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Parker Retzlaff join in on the action.

Both current real-world drivers used to take part in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series, and while they likely won’t have the starts to make a true run at Free Agency this year, that’s the beauty of the new system, where you never truly know who is going to show up and when. One week, it could be NASCAR Cup Series competitor Carson Hocevar. The next, Rajah Caruth from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. This week just happened to have both Honeycutt and Retzlaff.

Dylan Basen, an eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by PlayVS College League competitor for Pasco-Hernando State College, and a Tournament winner in the Queen City Crown at the end of last year, managed to win the second split as well in dominant form. Basen didn’t quite lead them all, missing out on leading four of the laps during a split pit cycle, but he led 96 of 100 laps towards his first win of the Qualifying Series era.

TOP SPLIT: MARIN DELIVERS TOTAL DOMINANCE

In the newly decked out NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series machines, strategy would be the focus point of all 15 races, especially in Top Split. The drivers were only given two tire changes for the whole race, which meant that the moment taking them would be crucial to when, or if, the cautions were to occur.

Marin grabbed the pole position and led the way early before the caution flew at Lap 27. This would be too early to make it a one-stop race, but the run was long enough that taking tires was a must to have a shot, which meant that everyone only had one more opportunity to pit for the rest of the race. Taking the tires early would give the undercut an advantage in a world where it goes green until the end. Saving the tires for later would be beneficial for the world where a caution does occur.

On Lap 62, a handful of drivers, including Ray Alfalla, Quami Scott, and Blake McCandless, opted for the undercut. Many drivers followed, but the tire difference would create a minefield of cars on different points of their runs. The overlap led to another caution on Lap 68, trapping the undercutting drivers off of the lead lap, gifting a free tire change under yellow to those who waited patiently for the overcut.

The race went green from there, nobody opting to save a set of tires in any case of a late race restart. Marin led the entire way thanks to the way the cautions fell to claim his third Top Split win of the season, the first driver to do so in the O’Reilly machine.

AROUND THE OTHER SPLITS

Second split was almost a mirror of the Top, with two cautions flying there as well, but their tire lottery would be a bit different due to the laps that these cautions fell. It was similar in the fact that the first yellow flew on Lap 24, which put all the drivers into the same situation of needing to burn a set due to the laps run. Yet, there were still a couple who decided not to pit to save a set.

Their second caution flew a bit earlier, on Lap 52, which allowed for some drivers to opt to save a set to take at some point in the final 48 laps. Unfortunately for those drivers who decided to hold a set of tires at any point, that third caution never came. Basen was able to navigate the restarts both times to take back the lead and went on to take the win over Jose Solis Jr, another College driver, driving for UCONN.

Looking down the splits, former eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series driver Timothy Holmes claimed the victory in third split, while Chris Treppa was the winner in fourth. There aren’t many drivers still in the conversation down in fifth split (which was won by Ashley Kolonics this week), but a world still exists for those drivers to point their way in if the Strength of Field numbers stay about the same through the end of the season.

TOP POINTS SCORERS IN RACE NO. 5 AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

DRIVERS STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE NO. 5 AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

*Current standings do not include Drop Week

POINTS SITUATION: FIVE DOWN, SIX TO GO

Most of the same names are still in the game after five weeks, although many hopefuls have begun to drop off. One notable absence is Wyatt Gray, who was up in the top-five, now no longer in the top-40 due to three bad races in-a-row. The top-30 only has drivers from the top-four splits, the Split 4 drivers on the board being Aaron Lee and Chris Treppa in 29th and 30th.

There’s still a lot of racing to go. A points gap of 800 points might seem like a lot, but when these drivers could potentially take home 430 points on a given week due to the SoF, anything can still happen with six races to go. Don’t forget about the drop week that will factor in at the end of the season as well.

NEXT RACE: CALIFORNIA DREAMING IN FONTANA

The sixth race of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series season, and the second in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series machines, will take place at the Auto Club Speedway next Tuesday night. A popular venue that no longer exists in its same glory, the track still remains preserved on iRacing, and the two-mile behemoth will be the site where the eNASCAR hopefuls battle three, four, and even more than five-wide at times.

Coverage at Auto Club on March 24th 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.­­

You may also like...

Recommended

2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Old Dominion Classic | Week 1 Tournament Preview

Recommended

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

Recommended

This Week in iRacing | March 17th to March 23rd, 2026

Recommended

iRacing Teams Up With DTM for All-New iRacing DTM Series