2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series | Preview | Coca-Cola 160 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 19th, 2026 by Justin Melillo
The road to $500,000 has to start somewhere. This year, that path began in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series back in February. After thousands of drivers took on the challenge, only 30 remained eligible to sign to an official team to race in what we know today as the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series. With 40 of the best drivers around the world locked in, the Championship Series officially starts on Tuesday night with the Coca-Cola 160 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
13 races to determine a champion. Nine races, broken down into three Segments, will make up this year’s Regular Season. Another three-race stretch will contain the 2026 eNASCAR Playoffs. Finally, the 13th race, the final race of the year, will decide the 2026 Champion. The next step to achieving a Championship 4 seat at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in October starts with 160 laps and 240 miles around America’s Home for Racing.
Coverage for the Coca-Cola 160 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
While the last race this year concluded the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series season, the last race of the Championship Series season was back in October of 2025 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte. Four drivers entered with a chance at the title, a chance at hoisting the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup, and a chance at $100,000.
Zack Novak, Vicente Salas, and Casey Kirwan all fought valiantly, but at the end of the night, it was the dominant Steven Wilson claiming his eighth win of the 2025 season to clinch his second-career title.
LAST YEAR
Every NASCAR season starts in Daytona Beach, Florida. The same could be said about the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series before the Qualifying and Championship Series introduction, but this year, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series season will start in NASCAR’s backyard, the site where in the real world, one of these 40 drivers will claim a title in around five months time—Charlotte, North Carolina.
The seventh race of the 2025 season was the longest race in length, boasting 240 miles and 160 laps of racing. Earlier in the season, Tucker Minter claimed the win in the previously longest race of the year, a 200-mile and lap battle at Rockingham Speedway. Once again, the long run was on Minter’s side, despite having to win the race in Double eNASCAR Overtime.
FREE AGENCY MOVES
2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series begins May 19th; 40 drivers signed in Free Agency
During the offseason, the series kept 18 teams from the 2025 season and added two new ones in TC Esports and Rick Ware Racing. For the most part, most of the field that returned stayed in the same place they were last year. Seven teams—BS+COMPETITION, FGR Accel, Hyak Motorsports, ERA eSports Team, Jim Beaver eSports, Spire Motorsports, and Williams F1 Team Gaming—are all returning with the same crew from 2025. Apex Racing Team, Channel 199, Kanaan Esports, Kansas City Pioneers, Letarte Esports, Team Dillon Esports, Vegas Inferno, and William Byron eSports all have just one seat the same. The other teams are either new, or have new drivers this year. The five remaining teams have two new drivers in their lineup this season.
One of the big changes came with JR Motorsports signing two veterans with Zack Novak and Malik Ray, Novak moving over from Channel 199 while Ray moves from the Inferno. Filling in Novak’s spot at Channel 199 is a returning Blake Reynolds. A rookie in Tommy Gossett fills the seat left open by Ray. Christopher Hill joins William Byron from Apex Racing Team, and the displaced Daniel Faulkingham, who was with Six Karma last year, finds a new home at Rick Ware Racing. Ryan Doucette will take over the second seat at Apex this season, while Faulkingham will have Garrett Manes as his teammate with the new team. Speaking of new teams, the other new organization, TC Esports, will have Matthew Morton and Jake Nichols along for the ride this year.
TRACK FACTS
Charlotte Motor Speedway is dubbed “America’s Home For Racing.” The famed 1.5-mile D-shaped oval based in Concord, NC opened in 1960, and has managed a lot of firsts in the NASCAR community over the years, including the installation of night lighting and the opening and utilization of the infield Roval. It all stems from the fact that the track is located right around the majority of NASCAR teams and their race shops in the state.
NEXT RACE
Following Charlotte, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series season will continue in two weeks time, on June 2nd at Echo Park Speedway. Formerly known simply as Atlanta Motor Speedway, Echo Park was last seen on the eNASCAR calendar in the 2024 season when Malik Ray defeated Collin Bowden and Darik Bourdeau at the line to claim his first career series victory.
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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