The last time eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series fans saw XSET driver Casey Kirwan, he was accepting the inaugural Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cup from its namesake at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte after winning the 2022 series title. But that $100,000 champion’s prize from last year hasn’t made Kirwan any less hungry to keep winning, and he proved it with his second straight win in the preseason Clash at the Coliseum on Tuesday night.

To do it, Kirwan would have to not only survive the chaos of multiple wrecks and lapped traffic on the quarter-mile Los Angeles Coliseum oval, but also claw his way up from ninth place on the starting grid after finishing third in his heat. Corey Vincent qualified on pole in his first race with the Pittsburgh Knights, but it was Garrett Lowe who would win that heat as he made his debut in Jim Beaver eSports colors. Kirwan’s XSET teammate Ryan Luza and RFK Racing rookie Timmy Holmes would lead every lap of their respective heats, while Kanaan Esports rookie Parker White would win the last chance qualifier.

The 70-lap feature started with Lowe reasserting himself as the driver to beat, putting a gap on Holmes before the first caution for a track-blocking incident. Holmes led a lap after the restart, but Lowe would quickly reclaim the point until Kansas City Pioneers’ Derek Justis and William Byron eSports’ Matt Bussa got tangled for the second and final caution of the night. By then, Kirwan had climbed to third; on the final restart, he made quick work of Holmes for second, and from there the chase was on.

Lowe led a race-high 37 laps, but on Lap 39, Kirwan was finally able to make his move. The defending champion never looked back, dicing his way through lapped traffic and challenging his 2022 playoff opponent to match his moves. When all was said and done, Kirwan’s margin of victory was more than a second over Lowe, while White put in a heroic drive to go from 16th to third. Kevin King’s long-awaited return to the series and debut for JR Motorsports saw him come home fourth, while Williams Esports’ Vicente Salas completed the top five.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Clash at the Coliseum feature results were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Name

Manufacturer

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

1 9 95 Casey Kirwan Chevrolet 70 32 13.443
2 1 15 Garrett Lowe Ford 70 -1.117 37 13.532
3 16 11 Parker White Toyota 70 -3.391 0 13.570
4 7 88 Kevin King Chevrolet 70 -4.230 0 13.476
5 15 55 Vicente Salas Chevrolet 70 -4.520 0 13.516
6 3 6 Timmy Holmes Ford 70 -6.641 1 13.521
7 6 18 Bobby Zalenski Toyota 70 -7.639 0 13.442
8 22 42 Kollin Keister Chevrolet 70 -9.340 0 13.575
9 17 12 Garrett Manes Ford 70 -9.436 0 13.454
10 20 33 Tucker Minter Chevrolet 70 -9.512 0 13.561
11 18 17 Kaden Honeycutt Ford 70 -9.780 0 13.534
12 4 2 Corey Vincent Toyota 70 -12.338 0 13.645
13 10 38 Michael Cosey Jr Ford 70 -13.038 0 13.622
14 11 23 Michael Guest Toyota 70 -13.621 0 13.682
15 5 3 Jordy Lopez Jr Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.527
16 21 45 Keegan Leahy Toyota 69 -1 L 0 13.634
17 12 40 Dylan Ault Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.701
18 2 4 Ryan  Luza Chevrolet 69 -1 L 0 13.551
19 13 75 Zack Novak Chevrolet 68 -2 L 0 13.605
20 19 54 Daniel Faulkingham Toyota 68 -2 L 0 13.621
21 14 97 Matt Bussa Chevrolet 29 -41 L 0 13.692
22 8 31 Derek Justis Toyota 19 -51 L 0 13.557

 

The first points-paying round of the 2023 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season will take place at Daytona International Speedway as always, where Femi Olatunbosun will aim to defend his first career eNASCAR win from last year. The race will stream at eNASCAR.com/live on Tuesday, February 14 at 9 p.m. ET, with live Countdown to Green coverage directly preceding the race.

For more information on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit www.enascar.com or www.iracing.com/enascar. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

Images via Justin Melillo

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