Garrett Manes breaks through for elusive eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series victory at Daytona

August 19th, 2026 by

10-driver Playoff field set after Triple eNASCAR Overtime ends in pandemonium

These wild nights at Daytona International Speedway usually kick off the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series campaign, but in 2026, the World Center of Racing played host to the Regular Season finale, where only 10 drivers could advance and continue their quest towards their share of $500,000 and the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup in October.

Win-and-in was on the table for 20 drivers looking to fill the final four spots. At the end of the night, there was a new winner on the season—Garrett Manes—a first-time winner as well in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet. Out of the final corner on the final lap, Manes pulled to the inside of Blaze Crawford’s No. 3 Coca-Cola Chevrolet for Team Dillon Esports, who was out of fuel.

Jake Nichols (TC Esports), Blake Reynolds (Channel 199 Sim Racing), and Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming) also managed to pass Crawford before the line, but could not catch Manes. Four-and-a-half years ago, Manes lost one at Daytona by a nose to Femi Olatunbosun. This time, however, he would not be denied, as he held on for his first career win in his 80th career start.

“This is one I just look forward to,” Manes said post-race. “Daytona is a really good track for me, and Atlanta was too, but the heartbreak earlier this year, in position to win at the end and getting spun off of Turn 2, I really wanted to come back (at Daytona). Starting from the pits, I knew that was going to be an uphill battle from the get-go. I’ve waited five years to finally win one of these things.”

While Manes scored the victory and moved up closer to the top-20 relegation line, he was already eliminated from Playoff contention entering the night, which meant all four remaining Playoff spots would come down to points. Already advanced included White, Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team), Steven Wilson (Spire Motorsports), Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports), Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), and Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports).

Entering the night, those four remaining points positions belonged to Connor Yeroschak (Letarte eSports), Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), and the two Kansas City Pioneers, Wyatt Tinsley and Casey Kirwan. That’s also how it ended up, but not without the theatrics of a last lap, last corner calamity that saw all of those players, plus many of the players below the cut line, shuffle spots like a 52-card pickup.

On the outside looking in, by just three points was one of the Championship 4 competitors in 2025, former series champion Zack Novak (JR Motorsports), who missed the cut by three points despite a Hail Mary move on the frontstretch to secure eighth. The Qualifying Series champion, Quentin Warman (Hyak Motorsports), who came up just short of his first win two weeks ago at Richmond, also missed out by 17 points after flirting with the line throughout the race. Christopher Hill (William Byron eSports) entered the final restart above the cut as they ran, but wound up spinning to the line, the swing of points potent enough to take him from in to out by 31.

The race saw 41 lead changes among 20 drivers in 92 laps, 12 more laps than the scheduled distance of 80. Wilson led the most laps, at 17, a good number of those coming under the triple eNASCAR Overtime period. Manes, however, only led a single lap, the final one, but the only one he needed to for the victory.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs start in two weeks at Michigan International Speedway.

A CLEAN OPENING HALF

Things may have gotten off to a suspicious start as Malik Ray (JR Motorsports) scored the pole position, his first of the year and second of his career, his first coming back at Talladega in 2024. However, due to a restart violation two weeks ago at Richmond, Ray was forced to start from pit road. Joining him in the pits was 34th place starter Garrett Manes for the same reasons. While Garrett Lowe qualified in second, the de facto pole was handed to the other Rick Ware Racing entry of Daniel Faulkingham. Faulk’s only chance at making the Playoffs, like many others, would come from a potential win.

The field roared to life and the shuffling began among the pack. Faulkingham, Donovan Strauss (Williams F1 Team Gaming), Matthew Morton (TC Esports), and Dylan Duval (Channel 199 Sim Racing) all attempted to control the pack early, all four drivers looking to score the win to advance to the Playoffs. Jordy Lopez (BS+COMPETITION) and Zack Novak also led, but they could potentially point their way in, as could Quentin Warman, who was sat at the back of the field hoping to stay out of the fracas.

Other eliminated drivers, such as the eRacr duo of Logan Helton and Seth Noell, Michael Cosey Jr (ERA eSports Team), Blake Reynolds, and Dylan Basen (RFK Racing) also shuffled around the lead, knowing a win couldn’t change their playoff chances, but could turn around their trajectory and potential for making the top-20 relegation line by season’s end.

As the laps ticked away, the pit road starters’ chances continued to dwindle. By Lap 26, the duo was caught by the 38-car lead pack. Almost seamlessly, the pair integrated themselves into the fight for the lead, knowing that if a caution were to come out, either being ahead of the leader or being the first of the two a lap down could save their day.

That moment for both drivers came at the end of the 36th lap as a checkup on the bottom lane behind Bobby Zalenski and Strauss caused Noell and Reynolds to make contact. Noell went up the track into Tommy Gossett (Vegas Inferno), and the field collapsed around them. At the time of the caution, Ray was ahead of Zalenski, which meant he kept himself on the lead lap. Manes, who was the only car a lap down at that point, was awarded the free pass after avoiding contact, and both drivers were now back in contention with half of the race to go.

FROM A PIT ROAD START TO VICTORY LANE FOR MANES

While the first half was filled with hard racing, it was mostly clean up until the first caution of the night. The damages were too great for both Garrett Lowe and Matthew Zwack, the latter competing as a fill-in driver for the suspended Kollin Keister over at Jim Beaver eSports, and both would retire early from the competition.

When the racing resumed, so did the intensity. Fuel mileage was a potential concern for some, but in most cases, nobody would be leading every lap to the end, and each driver could save in the draft as they navigated their way back to the front. That is, of course, dependent on the race ending in regulation, which—spoiler alert—it did not.

With 19 laps to go, the second caution of the night flew, again for racing that turned too physical at the front of the field. Wilson and Ray got hooked together on the top lane, and ultimately it led to a couple of other cars, such as fgrAccel eRacing’s Seth DeMerchant, going for a spin. Both of the Letarte eSports entries got air, Ryan Vargas at Charlotte-style, at the transition from pavement to grass in Turn 1, but both Connor Yeroschak and Thomas Lloyd managed to save it.

The race devolved from there, with a third caution coming a few laps later involving Strauss and Zalenski, the former going for a loop which collected a number of cars behind. A restart with nine to go had Dylan Ault (Hyak Motorsports) and Ray at the front of the field, and all bets were off from there as to who was working with who.

With four laps to go, Vicente Salas lost an engine pushing Wyatt Tinsley to the lead. There were a number of wrecks that happened, but none were enough to warrant a yellow. It spread the field out to multiple small packs, but that still couldn’t prevent the eventual eNASCAR Overtime as Tucker Minter wound up going around in the front pack on two to go.

Steven Wilson and Blaze Crawford were cast as the two favorites entering eNASCAR Overtime, but fuel would become a concern. One overtime, and everyone is fine. A second, maybe pushing it to the limit but still ok. With three eNASCAR Overtime periods, the gamble was on for some, while others opted to give up the ghost and take a trip down pit road for a splash, that group including both Wilson and Tinsley.

On the third and final attempt at eNASCAR Overtime, the next flag would end the race, whether that be the yellow flag or the checkered flag. The race would make it to the white flag, which meant it would end under racing conditions as opposed to the pacing conditions seen at Indianapolis last month. For about three-quarters of the final lap, the field held it together, but into Turn 4, it all collapsed.

Morton was around off of the nose of Minter, sliding up and collecting many others. Zalenski ran out at the same time, and shot to the bottom under the apron. That wasn’t low enough for Chris Hill, however, as Hill moved up into Kenny Brady (Team Dillon Esports) while Kirwan and Wilson charged onto the scene, resulting in more crashing behind the lead. Up front, Crawford had it, but then, he began to sputter. At that exact moment, Manes pulled low to take the lead and ultimately score the win.

RACE #9 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY | OFFICIAL RESULTS

POS. ST. NO. DRIVER TEAM LAPS INTERVAL LED BEST PTS.
1 34 51 Garrett Manes Rick Ware Racing 92 0.000 1 45.487 40
2 35 73 Jake Nichols TC Esports 92 -0.091 0 45.233 35
3 16 86 Blake Reynolds Channel 199 Sim Racing 92 -0.186 1 45.403 34
4 8 95 Parker White Williams F1 Team Gaming 92 -0.337 0 45.301 33
5 37 3 Blaze Crawford Team Dillon Esports 92 -0.699 5 45.538 32
6 30 17 Shawn Conklin [R] RFK Racing 92 -1.875 0 45.490 31
7 3 55 Daniel Faulkingham Rick Ware Racing 92 -2.023 10 45.525 30
8 13 8 Zack Novak JR Motorsports 92 -2.641 0 45.570 29
9 18 22 Bobby Zalenski ERA eSports Team 92 -2.640 5 45.468 28
10 32 40 Connor Yeroschak Letarte eSports 92 -2.656 0 45.326 27
11 7 5 Nate Stewart Jim Beaver eSports 92 -3.126 0 45.127 26
12 4 24 Casey Kirwan Kansas City Pioneers 92 -3.226 0 45.470 25
13 31 36 Thomas Lloyd [R] Letarte eSports 92 -3.208 0 45.481 24
14 10 47 Dylan Ault Hyak Motorsports 92 -3.250 10 45.573 23
15 23 34 Michael Cosey Jr ERA eSports Team 92 -3.638 0 45.495 22
16 36 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 92 -4.116 0 45.432 21
17 9 4 Donovan Strauss Williams F1 Team Gaming 92 -4.300 6 45.089 20
18 12 20 Wyatt Tinsley Kansas City Pioneers 92 -4.524 7 45.611 19
19 21 77 Steven Wilson Spire Motorsports 92 -5.349 17 45.467 18
20 1 88 Malik Ray JR Motorsports 92 -5.736 3 45.568 17
21 28 14 Seth DeMerchant fgrAccel eRacing 92 -6.102 0 45.495 16
22 33 25 Christopher Hill William Byron eSports 92 -11.605 4 45.430 15
23 20 33 Kenny Brady [R] Team Dillon Esports 92 -12.358 2 45.418 14
24 39 16 Ryan Doucette Apex Racing Team 92 -13.889 0 45.255 13
25 29 50 Quentin Warman Hyak Motorsports 92 -13.971 0 45.509 12
26 27 12 Ryan Luza fgrAccel eRacing 92 -20.836 0 45.293 11
27 6 35 Matthew Morton [R] TC Esports 92 -22.313 1 45.433 10
28 15 7 Femi Olatunbosun Spire Motorsports 92 -23.253 3 45.306 9
29 22 6 Dylan Basen [R] RFK Racing 92 -47.639 3 45.483 8
30 38 66 Sebastian Marin [R] Kanaan Esports 91 -1L 0 45.534 7
31 24 01 Tommy Gossett [R] Vegas Inferno 79 DNF 0 45.506 6
32 17 89 Jordy Lopez BS+COMPETITION 77 DNF 1 45.297 5
33 25 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 76 DNF 0 45.537 4
34 40 98 Cody Byus Apex Racing Team 76 DNF 0 45.488 3
35 26 21 Michael Guest Vegas Inferno 73 DNF 0 45.250 2
36 5 69 Seth Noell [R] eRacr 68 DNF 4 45.266 1
37 11 42 Logan Helton [R] eRacr 64 DNF 5 45.846 1
38 14 199 Dylan Duval Channel 199 Sim Racing 63 DNF 2 45.965 1
39 2 99 Garrett Lowe BS+COMPETITION 37 DNF 2 46.205 1
40 19 15 Matthew Zwack Jim Beaver eSports 37 DNF 0 45.838 1

PLAYOFF STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #9 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 22 Bobby Zalenski ERA eSports Team 204 3 WINS 3 2 3 4
2 77 Steven Wilson* Spire Motorsports 273 2 WINS 2 0 6 6
3 95 Parker White* Williams F1 Team Gaming 251 1 WIN 1 1 3 6
4 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 229 1 WIN 1 2 3 5
5 99 Garrett Lowe* BS+COMPETITION 183 1 WIN 1 0 1 2
6 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 252 +45 0 0 6 6
7 17 Shawn Conklin RFK Racing 234 +27 0 0 1 4
8 40 Connor Yeroschak Letarte eSports 232 +25 0 0 2 7
9 20 Wyatt Tinsley Kansas City Pioneers 211 +4 0 0 1 2
10 24 Casey Kirwan Kansas City Pioneers 210 +3 0 1 3 3
—————————————————————PLAYOFF CUTOFF—————————————————————
11 8 Zack Novak JR Motorsports 207 -2 0 0 1 4
12 50 Quentin Warman Hyak Motorsports 193 -17 0 1 3 3
13 89 Jordy Lopez BS+COMPETITION 185 -25 0 0 1 4
14 4 Donovan Strauss Williams F1 Team Gaming 185 -25 0 0 0 1
15 25 Christopher Hill William Byron eSports 179 -31 0 0 2 2
16 55 Daniel Faulkingham Rick Ware Racing 178 -32 0 0 1 4
17 7 Femi Olatunbosun Spire Motorsports 172 -38 0 0 1 2
18 35 Matthew Morton TC Esports 171 -39 0 0 0 0
19 199 Dylan Duval Channel 199 Sim Racing 170 -40 0 0 0 3
20 14 Seth DeMerchant fgrAccel eRacing 157 -53 0 0 1 3

* = Segment Champion, earns additional five Playoff Points

PLAYOFF SEEDING ENTERING PLAYOFFS

TEAM STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #9 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY

POS NOS. TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 7 | 77 Spire Motorsports 445 Ldr. 2 0 7 8
2 4 | 95 Williams F1 Team Gaming 436 -9 1 1 3 7
3 25 | 97 William Byron eSports 431 -14 0 0 8 8
4 20 | 24 Kansas City Pioneers 421 -24 0 1 4 5
5 11 | 66 Kanaan Esports 380 -65 1 3 4 6
6 36 | 40 Letarte eSports 375 -70 0 0 2 9
7 89 | 99 BS+COMPETITION 368 -77 1 0 2 6
8 6 | 17 RFK Racing 344 -101 0 0 1 4
9 8 | 88 JR Motorsports 337 -108 0 1 2 6
10 22 | 34 ERA eSports Team 331 -114 3 2 3 5

SEGMENT #3 STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE NO. 3 OF 3 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 95 Parker White Williams F1 Team Gaming 104 Ldr. 0 0 2 3
2 17 Shawn Conklin [R] RFK Racing 93 -11 0 0 1 2
3 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 90 -14 0 0 2 2
4 22 Bobby Zalenski ERA eSports Team 88 -16 1 0 1 2
5 8 Zack Novak JR Motorsports 88 -16 0 0 0 2
6 55 Daniel Faulkingham Rick Ware Racing 85 -19 0 0 0 2
7 50 Quentin Warman Hyak Motorsports 82 -22 0 0 1 1
8 24 Casey Kirwan Kansas City Pioneers 81 -23 0 1 1 1
9 40 Connor Yeroschak Letarte eSports 76 -28 0 0 0 2
10 51 Garrett Manes Rick Ware Racing 74 -30 1 0 1 1
11 3 Blaze Crawford Team Dillon Esports 72 -32 0 0 1 2
12 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 69 -35 1 1 1 1
13 89 Jordy Lopez BS+COMPETITION 68 -36 0 0 0 2
14 77 Steven Wilson Spire Motorsports 66 -38 0 0 1 1
15 20 Wyatt Tinsley Kansas City Pioneers 60 -44 0 0 0 0

ROOKIE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #9 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 17 Shawn Conklin RFK Racing 234 Ldr. 0 0 1 4
2 35 Matthew Morton TC Esports 171 -63 0 0 0 0
3 66 Sebastian Marin Kanaan Esports 151 -83 0 1 1 1
4 36 Thomas Lloyd Letarte eSports 143 -91 0 0 0 2
5 33 Kenny Brady Team Dillon Esports 141 -93 0 0 0 1
6 6 Dylan Basen RFK Racing 110 -124 0 0 0 0
7 69 Seth Noell eRacr 105 -129 0 0 0 0
8 01 Tommy Gossett Vegas Inferno 77 -157 0 0 0 0
9 42 Logan Helton eRacr 49 -185 0 0 0 0

WBe BRACKET CHALLENGE RESULT FOLLOWING ROUND #4 | DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY

PLAYOFF GRID STAYS THE SAME DESPITE END OF RACE FREE-FOR-ALL

Somehow, the four drivers that entered above the Playoff cutoff left Daytona the same way. Casey Kirwan was a prime example of never giving up, going to the back on every eNASCAR Overtime attempt, still getting wrecked before the line again, and pulling off a sick spin to collect himself into a 12th place finish. If not for that move, Zack Novak, who was at the end of the field entering Turn 4, weaved through the smoke to finish in eighth, missing the dance by just three points.

The explosion on the last lap also included Christopher Hill, who showed as being in and above the cut on the first Overtime attempt up in fourth while Kirwan was mired in the low 20s. Those positions ultimately swapped enough that Hill was out of it the moment Kirwan reentered the top-20, but in his attempt to win the race, wound up spinning instead, falling back to 22nd and missing the cut by 31 points.

Connor Yeroschak and Shawn Conklin both also made their way through the smoke to earn their berths into the Playoffs. Tinsley wasn’t as lucky, falling back to finish in 18th, but he still maintained ninth in the final Regular Season standings, four points ahead of Novak to claim his first playoff berth along with Yeroschak and Conklin, Conklin doing so in his rookie campaign.

Wilson, White, and Kirwan will all be looking to add another Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup to the ones they already own. The other seven drivers—Zalenski, Salas, Lowe, Minter, Conklin, Yeroschak, and Tinsley—will all be seeking their first. They’ll all have to earn their spot in the Championship 4 Finale over the course of the next three races at Michigan, Texas, and Kansas.

With the seeding, Zalenski enters as the No. 1 seed due to having three wins over Wilson’s two wins, despite both having the same number of Playoff Points and Wilson ending the Regular Season as the Regular Season Champion. Wilson, White, and Lowe were the three Segment winners, and all add an additional five Playoff Points to their totals.

In the Team Standings, Spire Motorsports still leads, but just barely over Williams F1 Team Gaming, William Byron eSports, and the only team with two drivers in the Playoffs, the Kansas City Pioneers. Conklin isn’t guaranteed the Rookie of the Year by entering the Playoffs, but with more than a race-and-a-half’s amount of points over Matthew Morton, it seems like it will just be a formality at this point with four races to go.

The William Byron eSports Bracket Challenge presented by Logitech G ends at Michigan. Parker White will face off against Connor Yeroschak for that honor. Yeroschak, the reigning eNASCAR College iRacing Series champion, knows a thing or two… or three… about winning Tournament brackets.

NEXT RACE: PLAYOFF SEASON STARTS AT MICHIGAN

Following Daytona, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series will race next at Michigan International Speedway to kick off the eNASCAR Playoffs. Last year, Steven Wilson clinched his ticket towards winning his second title by winning an improbable race at the two-mile oval in Brooklyn, Michigan. A late caution wound up costing Tucker Minter his chance at making the Championship 4. Will he find redemption in 2026?

The action from Michigan starts on September 1st with the Countdown to Green pre-race show 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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