Connor Yeroschak wins at Kansas, advances to eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Finale

September 23rd, 2026 by

Bobby Zalenski, Wyatt Tinsley advance on points and join Steven Wilson, Connor Yeroschak at NASCAR Hall of Fame showdown next month

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Championship 4 Finale is set.

Steven Wilson will be joined by Connor Yeroschak, the first time winner at Kansas Speedway on Tuesday night, along with Bobby Zalenski and Wyatt Tinsley at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte on October 13th. $100,000 is on the line, as is the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup. Wilson enters as the defending Series Champion, but will he be able to hold off a completely different cast this time around?

Yeroschak entered Kansas two points below the cut line for the Championship 4 Finale. After 100 laps, the defending eNASCAR College iRacing Series Champion can finally call himself an eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series winner. With a late restart looming, and a two-tire pit call, Yeroschak executed it perfectly, holding off Zack Novak on the restart and a late charge from Sebastian Marin to claim the win and advance to the title race. Yeroschak earns his first win in his 30th start, and becomes the 72nd different winner in series history, the third new winner on the year together with Garrett Manes and Quentin Warman.

“I’ve worked years for this,” an emotional Yeroschak said post-race. “All the way, up through the ladder, to not only have a chance to win a race and make the final four, but to get both done in one night when it really mattered. It was a perfect night, probably the best drive of my life… I would have never dreamt this. I’m just so proud of (my team) and I’m just excited for the opportunity to go try and win $100,000.”

Bobby Zalenski needed a top-10 finish to guarantee a spot in the Championship 4 Finale no matter what anyone else did. He got exactly that, but that was still way more than necessary considering the off nights from others in the fight. Wyatt Tinsley didn’t have a clinch scenario, but he needed to have a decent finish and at least finish better than either Yeroschak or Tucker Minter. With Tinsley’s ninth place run, that was plenty of points over Minter down in 24th considering Yeroschak’s win.

That leaves Steven Wilson, who’s been advanced to the Championship 4 since Michigan two races ago. Wilson will have the upper hand with being the defending two-time champion. Zalenski is hoping that this lucky seventh appearance in the Championship 4 Finale finally gets him that trophy. Both Yeroschak and Tinsley will be in uncharted waters, competing on stage in front of a live crowd at the NASCAR Hall of Fame for the first time, but with two straight wins for their backend alliance, either could prove to have the upper hand on October 13th.

YEROSCHAK WINS FROM THE POLE AS COMPETITION LACKS IN QUALIFYING

For a couple of races now, Connor Yeroschak (Letarte eSports) has either been the fastest or one of the fastest in final practice before the session switches over to qualifying, yet in qualifying, he has never been able to piece it all together. That changed on Tuesday night at Kansas Speedway, as Yeroschak managed to set the quick time over his Nexxus backend teammates Sebastian Marin (Kanaan Esports) and Matthew Morton (TC Esports). His closest championship competitor was Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) down in seventh, who needed to win to advance. Alongside Salas was Casey Kirwan (Kansas City Pioneers) who didn’t necessarily need a win, but that was likely going to be his scenario as the race played out.

Wyatt Tinsley (Kansas City Pioneers) was one of the three drivers entering the night above the cut line, and he would start from ninth, right behind the Salas-Kirwan row. Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team) qualified in 14th, four spots below his goal spot of 10th to clinch a Championship 4 Finale spot. The third and final driver above the cut entering the night was Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports), but his night did not start the way he had hoped. After clipping the wall in qualifying, invalidating his lap time, he was relegated to starting in 35th. With his closest rivals at the cut line at the front, he would need to work his way up swiftly and methodically.

It wasn’t just Minter back there. Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming) was 29th, Garrett Lowe (BS+Competition) was 32nd, and right below Lowe was rookie Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), who also had a solid chance to point his way in. On the opening lap, Conklin made a move to the middle in Turn 1. It didn’t work out, and his No. 17 Body Guard Mustang was sent head first into the outside wall. This collected Lowe and Ryan Luza (fgrAccel eRacing). Both Conklin and Luza would retire from the event. Lowe would have some repairs.

A WIN AND YOU’RE IN ON EVERYONE’S MIND

Up front, Yeroschak was holding steady, but the Deadzone alliance teammates were showing some strong speed in the middle of the run. Salas had made his move to third, and was nestled right behind his actual teammate Marin. However, Marin is aligned with Yeroschak on the backend, so when Salas was looking to make a move on Marin for the runner-up spot, he couldn’t get it done, burning up his tires in the process. Zack Novak (JR Motorsports), also on the Deadzone alliance, was up next to try and get around the Nexxus duo at the front. On Lap 33, Novak was in control for the first time.

On Lap 39, however, the caution flew for Quentin Warman (Hyak Motorsports), who made contact with Steven Wilson battling around the 10th spot. This brought the field down pit road for the first time, and Novak was able to maintain control. However, almost immediately on the restart, Kirwan managed to find another gear and take the lead from Novak on Lap 44. On the same lap, the caution flew for the third time on the night, this time involving Salas as he tried to move in front of Morton for the sixth spot.

The contact sent Salas spinning across the frontstretch. Simultaneously, another incident involving Michael Cosey Jr (ERA eSports Team) and Malik Ray (JR Motorsports) occurred in attempting to avoid the initial spin. Ray’s car was sent up into Donovan Strauss (Williams F1 Team Gaming) and Daniel Faulkingham (Rick Ware Racing). The scurry from that crash forced some drivers to take evasive action, including Minter, who went through the grass, couldn’t slow up enough, and that caused him to clip Seth Noell (eRacr) who was slowing on the apron.

POINTS ROLLER COASTER

With Kirwan out front, that threw a huge wrench into the Championship 4 Finale timeline. Kirwan was enough points behind the battle that a win would be his only option. While Kirwan led and the predictions had him taking the second transfer spot, that moved the line, and moved Yeroschak out. Tinsley was in sixth, while Zalenski was in 14th, and that was enough to keep Yeroschak out by just a few points on either driver. Kirwan maintained control, but Yeroschak knew he couldn’t let Kirwan win and knock him out.

On Lap 60, the two were side-by-side for the lead. Kirwan, on the top, had the advantage, but Yeroschak was forcing him up the track, at one point, forcing him into the wall ever so slightly. Yeroschak backed off for a spell, allowing Novak to get his composure back and regain the second spot. With 32 laps to go, Novak made the move back into the lead, and the points once again shifted, this time in Yeroschak’s favor. Even though Yeroschak was worse off in third, the fact that Kirwan wasn’t leading anymore put him back above the cut. He could technically just ride from there.

But, there was a first career win, and some incredible momentum on the line as well, so Yeroschak kept his foot in it. With 10 laps to go, the No. 40 took a dive on Kirwan for second, getting by with ease. Three laps later, Yeroschak made the move on Novak for the lead and began to pull away. It looked like this could finally be it for the Canadian College Series Champion.

Then the caution flag flew with six laps to go.

Everyone in the field came down for service. Not one car opted to stay out and gamble on late race theatrics. Yeroschak, and most of the field, took their two tires and re-entered the field almost in the same order they went down pit road. With a three-lap shootout and potential overtime looming, Yeroschak got the jump he needed to clear into the lead. The field kept their composure and Yeroschak made it across the line first to take the win and earn his ticket to the Championship 4 Finale.

RACE #12 | KANSAS SPEEDWAY | OFFICIAL RESULTS

POS. ST. NO. DRIVER TEAM LAPS INTERVAL LED BEST PTS.
1 1 40 Connor Yeroschak Letarte eSports 100 0.000 40 29.705 40
2 2 66 Sebastian Marin [R] Kanaan Esports 100 -0.389 0 29.814 35
3 4 8 Zack Novak JR Motorsports 100 -0.534 35 29.891 34
4 12 34 Michael Cosey Jr ERA eSports Team 100 -0.668 0 29.815 33
5 8 24 Casey Kirwan Kansas City Pioneers 100 -0.794 25 29.817 32
6 3 35 Matthew Morton [R] TC Esports 100 -0.860 0 29.952 31
7 22 77 Steven Wilson Spire Motorsports 100 -1.114 0 30.005 30
8 13 21 Michael Guest Vegas Inferno 100 -1.252 0 29.962 29
9 9 20 Wyatt Tinsley Kansas City Pioneers 100 -1.314 0 30.034 28
10 14 22 Bobby Zalenski ERA eSports Team 100 -1.494 0 30.107 27
11 24 7 Femi Olatunbosun Spire Motorsports 100 -1.551 0 30.042 26
12 29 95 Parker White Williams F1 Team Gaming 100 -1.684 0 29.839 25
13 16 14 Seth DeMerchant fgrAccel eRacing 100 -1.717 0 29.953 24
14 5 25 Christopher Hill William Byron eSports 100 -1.732 0 29.885 23
15 30 36 Thomas Lloyd [R] Letarte eSports 100 -1.807 0 29.797 22
16 34 51 Garrett Manes Rick Ware Racing 100 -1.803 0 30.000 21
17 21 3 Blaze Crawford Team Dillon Esports 100 -1.894 0 30.015 20
18 33 42 Logan Helton [R] eRacr 100 -2.039 0 30.105 19
19 18 47 Dylan Ault Hyak Motorsports 100 -2.075 0 30.067 18
20 39 5 Nate Stewart Jim Beaver eSports 100 -2.087 0 30.118 17
21 36 98 Cody Byus Apex Racing Team 100 -2.120 0 30.065 16
22 27 33 Kenny Brady [R] Team Dillon Esports 100 -2.157 0 29.879 15
23 11 69 Seth Noell [R] eRacr 100 -2.292 0 30.022 14
24 35 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 100 -2.294 0 29.887 13
25 25 01 Tommy Gossett [R] Vegas Inferno 100 -2.364 0 29.954 12
26 37 15 Kollin Keister Jim Beaver eSports 100 -2.409 0 29.931 11
27 40 16 Ryan Doucette Apex Racing Team 100 -2.456 0 30.092 10
28 20 89 Jordy Lopez BS+Competition 100 -2.488 0 30.060 9
29 17 55 Daniel Faulkingham Rick Ware Racing 100 -2.523 0 30.037 8
30 23 73 Jake Nichols TC Esports 100 -2.548 0 29.943 7
31 32 99 Garrett Lowe BS+Competition 100 -2.593 0 29.929 6
32 26 6 Dylan Basen [R] RFK Racing 100 -2.689 0 29.972 5
33 7 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 100 -3.135 0 29.926 4
34 28 86 Blake Reynolds Channel 199 Sim Racing 100 -3.621 0 30.004 3
35 6 199 Dylan Duval Channel 199 Sim Racing 97 -3L 0 29.981 2
36 10 50 Quentin Warman Hyak Motorsports 81 DNF 0 30.047 1
37 15 88 Malik Ray JR Motorsports 45 DNF 0 30.087 1
38 19 4 Donovan Strauss Williams F1 Team Gaming 45 DNF 0 30.135 1
39 31 17 Shawn Conklin [R] RFK Racing 0 DNF 0 ——— 1
40 38 12 Ryan Luza fgrAccel eRacing 0 DNF 0 ——— 1

POSTSEASON STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #12 | KANSAS SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 77 Steven Wilson Spire Motorsports 2118 Adv. 3 0 8 9
2 40 Connor Yeroschak Letarte eSports 2097 Adv. 1 1 4 9
3 22 Bobby Zalenski ERA eSports Team 2100 +28 3 2 4 6
4 20 Wyatt Tinsley Kansas City Pioneers 2091 +19 0 0 2 5
—————————————————————CHAMPIONSHIP CUTOFF—————————————————————
5 97 Tucker Minter William Byron eSports 2072 -19 0 0 7 7
6 24 Casey Kirwan Kansas City Pioneers 2068 -23 0 1 4 4
7 17 Shawn Conklin [R] RFK Racing 2055 -36 0 0 1 5
8 99 Garrett Lowe BS+Competition 2047 -44 1 0 1 2
9 95 Parker White Williams F1 Team Gaming 2042 -49 1 1 3 6
10 11 Vicente Salas Kanaan Esports 2018 -73 1 2 3 5

RELEGATION LINE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #12 | KANSAS SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
11 8 Zack Novak JR Motorsports 289 +92 0 0 2 6
12 50 Quentin Warman Hyak Motorsports 257 +60 1 1 4 4
13 66 Sebastian Marin Kanaan Esports 248 +51 0 2 2 4
14 25 Christopher Hill William Byron eSports 247 +50 0 0 2 3
15 35 Matthew Morton TC Esports 246 +49 0 0 0 2
16 14 Seth DeMerchant fgrAccel eRacing 245 +48 0 0 2 5
17 7 Femi Olatunbosun Spire Motorsports 242 +45 0 0 2 3
18 4 Donovan Strauss Williams F1 Team Gaming 239 +42 0 0 1 2
19 55 Daniel Faulkingham Rick Ware Racing 228 +31 0 1 1 4
20 51 Garrett Manes Rick Ware Racing 204 +7 1 0 1 2
—————————————————————RELEGATION CUTOFF—————————————————————
21 199 Dylan Duval Channel 199 Sim Racing 197 -7 0 0 0 3
22 89 Jordy Lopez BS+Competition 196 -8 0 0 1 4
23 34 Michael Cosey Jr ERA eSports Team 188 -16 0 0 1 2
24 3 Blaze Crawford Team Dillon Esports 186 -18 0 0 1 4
25 36 Thomas Lloyd Letarte eSports 185 -19 0 0 0 2
26 86 Blake Reynolds Channel 199 Sim Racing 169 -35 0 0 1 2
27 33 Kenny Brady Team Dillon Esports 159 -45 0 0 0 1
28 73 Jake Nichols TC Esports 153 -51 0 0 1 1
29 98 Cody Byus Apex Racing Team 147 -57 0 0 0 1
30 21 Michael Guest Vegas Inferno 146 -58 0 0 0 2

TEAM STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #12 | KANSAS SPEEDWAY

POS NOS. TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 7 | 77 Spire Motorsports 618 Ldr. 3 0 10 12
2 20 | 24 Kansas City Pioneers 580 -38 0 1 6 9
3 25 | 97 William Byron eSports 571 -47 0 0 9 10
4 4 | 95 Williams F1 Team Gaming 522 -96 1 1 4 8
5 36 | 40 Letarte eSports 514 -104 1 1 4 11
6 11 | 66 Kanaan Esports 490 -128 1 4 5 9
7 22 | 34 ERA eSports Team 477 -141 3 2 5 8
8 51 | 55 Rick Ware Racing 432 -186 1 1 2 6
9 8 | 88 JR Motorsports 426 -192 0 1 3 8
10 6 | 17 RFK Racing 425 -193 0 0 1 5

ROOKIE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #12 | KANSAS SPEEDWAY

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM POINTS + / – WINS POLES TOP 5’S TOP 10’S
1 17 Shawn Conklin RFK Racing 289 Ldr. 0 0 1 5
2 66 Sebastian Marin Kanaan Esports 248 -41 0 2 2 4
3 35 Matthew L Morton TC Esports 246 -43 0 0 0 2
4 36 Thomas Lloyd Letarte eSports 185 -104 0 0 0 2
5 33 Kenny Brady Team Dillon Esports 159 -130 0 0 0 1
6 6 Dylan Basen RFK Racing 136 -153 0 0 0 0
7 69 Seth Noell eRacr 133 -156 0 0 0 0
8 01 Tommy Gossett Vegas Inferno 123 -166 0 0 0 0
9 42 Logan Helton eRacr 89 -200 0 0 0 0

END OF SEASON NOTES AND SUPERLATIVES

The storylines are tightening up as the series enters its final race of the year on October 13th at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Steven Wilson, Connor Yeroschak, Bobby Zalenski, and Wyatt Tinsley will all have an equal chance at claiming the 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series title.

Missing out on the festivities were Tucker Minter, Casey Kirwan, Shawn Conklin, Garrett Lowe, Parker White, and Vicente Salas. All six had their own obstacles on Tuesday night that they all were unfortunately unable to overcome. Salas had the toughest outing, only scoring 13 points over three races, his Hail Mary attempt at Kansas faltering around midway with his spin from sixth place. White, meanwhile, had to claw his way from the 29th starting spot, getting up to 12th, but not able to get any more in his last chance effort.

Lowe had everything go off the rails on the opening lap together with Conklin. While Conklin’s race ended there, he still managed to clinch the 2026 Rookie of the Year honors over Sebastian Marin and Matthew Morton. Lowe, meanwhile, had that early damage to fix, wound up on an alternate strategy, and then wound up in a late race crash with Kollin Keister—Keister ironically driving his old ride for Jim Beaver eSports, the last time Lowe was in the Championship 4—in the back part of the field.

Kirwan showed the most promise of the group, but in the late stages, his tire preservation just wasn’t there. On the final restart, his fire-off speed also wasn’t the same as when he had taken the lead earlier. Ironically, however, if Kirwan had managed to get the win, and if Yeroschak would have beaten him by seven spots, Tinsley would have been out instead considering that he had fallen back to ninth by the end of the night. Regardless, the Pioneers return to the Championship 4 Finale for the third straight year with a third different driver, with Graham Bowlin representing the Kansas outlet in 2024 and Kirwan showcasing their colors in 2025.

Minter once again just misses out on a Championship 4 berth after showing that he was one of the top-four competitors through the season. His awful starting spot wasn’t a deal breaker, but his mid-race damage undoing all of his progress was without any late race shenaniganry.

In the battle for relegation, 18 drivers are now officially locked into the top-20 entering Homestead-Miami Speedway. Zack Novak, Quentin Warman, Sebastian Marin, Christopher Hill (William Byron eSports), Matthew Morton, Seth DeMerchant (fgrAccel eRacing), Femi Olatunbosun (Spire Motorsports), and Donovan Strauss are all locked into taking on Free Agency in the 2027 season. The two Rick Ware Racing entries of Daniel Faulkingham and Garrett Manes currently occupy the final two spots above the cut line, but neither are locked in just yet.

Faulkingham is 31 points above the cut, which means if he scores 10 points at Homestead-Miami, no matter what happens behind him, he’ll avoid the Qualifying Series ruckus. It’s not as simple for Manes, the Daytona winner, who is seven points ahead of Dylan Duval (Channel 199 Sim Racing), eight points ahead of Jordy Lopez (BS+Competition), 16 points ahead of Michael Cosey Jr, 18 points ahead of Blaze Crawford (Team Dillon Esports), and 19 points ahead of Thomas Lloyd (Letarte eSports). Blake Reynolds (Channel 199 Sim Racing) also has a mathematical shot 35 points back, but unless he wins and a lot of other crazy things happen, it will be back to the gulag for the former Championship 4 competitor.

Everyone more than 40 points back has officially been relegated. There are still some things for those drivers to race for, however, besides pride. In the Team Championship, while only the top-three teams of Spire, Kansas City, and William Byron eSports have a chance at the title, there is a huge clump of teams around the 10th place mark with relegated drivers as a part of those outfits that could use the points. Others that are relegated or about to be relegated, are looking to come home with a clean rap sheet in the incident department. Nine drivers have been clean this year, including Championship 4 competitor Wyatt Tinsley, but also including the likes of Faulkingham, Lopez, Lloyd, Reynolds, Dylan Basen (RFK Racing), Jake Nichols (TC Esports), Seth Noell, and another postseason competitor, Lowe.

NEXT RACE: CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS ARE MADE IN UPTOWN CHARLOTTE

In three weeks, the 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series season concludes with a title fight at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, live from Uptown Charlotte at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Tune in to the action starting at 7:30 p.m. ET for the extended Countdown to Green pre-race show. Join us at the Hall or watch live at eNASCAR.com/live or the iRacing social channels.

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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