Photo Finish! Saddleback College returns to eNASCAR College victory lane with John Forbes Jr at Talladega

The 26th race in the history of the eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by Playfly College Esports provided yet another first-time winner in the series. On Tuesday night, it was a matter of inches between Saddleback College’s John Forbes Jr and the University of Maine at Machias competitor Daniel Faulkingham. In fact, it was the closest finish in series history, the top-two separated by only 0.001 seconds.

Coming to the line, Faulkingham looked to have the advantage, with Ball State University’s Daniel Nanney tucked up right behind. On the top lane, Forbes Jr had the help of the University of West Florida’s Benjamin White. Contact separated the lines and trucks, and at the line, Forbes Jr had his nose barely ahead to score his first win in 19 career starts in the A-Main.

The big one strikes just past the white flag! PHOTO FINISH!!! THE SADDLEBACK BOBCATS RETURN TO eNASCAR VICTORY LANE WITH JOHN FORBES JR… by 0.001 SECONDS!@ENASCARGG | @playflygg pic.twitter.com/Zuwc3b5Azo

— iRacing (@iRacing) February 5, 2025

“That last restart, I felt like I was in a really good spot with (Logan Clampitt) and we were talking to each other, sorting out how things were going to go,” Forbes Jr said post-race. “It instantly went out the window. I tried to get into the gas, to get him rolling in the restart zone. It just shot me back off of him. I lost a spot, and from there, I was waiting for that third lane to pop out… We were going through the tri-oval coming to the white, and everything breaks loose.”

Indeed, the wreck just past the start-finish line at Talladega was massive, involving a majority of the field from the lead down to the last trucks in the lead pack. Being it was past the line and the white flag was displayed, the race stayed green until the end, and from there, it was a drag race among two tandems of trucks.

“Spotter tells me to go high,” Forbes Jr continued. “I trusted him, as I can’t see anything, just trucks everywhere. Then I see clear racetrack… there were four trucks left in this race.” Just ahead of Forbes Jr was Faulkingham and Nanney, and clearing the wreckage behind was White, the four trucks pulling away from Eastern Shore Community College driver Arron Brown as they rounded Turn 2.

“I haven’t even gone back to look at the replay to see what happened in the tri-oval,” Forbes Jr continued again. “I thought we lost the race… we were loose coming through, everybody was spinning, and then I see the ticker jump… I see a thousandth of a second. We took that one. I cannot believe that. That was insane.”

The victory mark’s Saddleback College’s fourth win in series history, the first three coming with Logan Clampitt back in the Spring season of 2023.

The race saw three caution periods for nine laps, and in 60 laps, there were 31 lead changes recorded at the line. Faulkingham led the field to the green from the pole position, tying for the most laps led at 12 with Chattahoochee TC’s Drew Jewah. On the final restart, a natural green-white-checkered, Jewah led the field back to the green. He was swallowed up in the big one on the white flag, finishing 17th.

USC Beaufort’s Connor Trifari led at the white, but was immediately clocked by a spinning Logan Clampitt (Cal State Fullerton) moments later. Clampitt wound up unable to make it back to the line, finishing 36th.

eNASCAR College iRacing Series results from Talladega Superspeedway were as follows:

eNASCAR College iRacing Series standings through Round 6 at Talladega Superspeedway are as follows (includes two drops):

1. Parker White | University of Maine at Augusta, 147
2. Steven Wilson | University of Iowa, 144
3. Logan Clampitt | Cal State Fullerton, 139
4. Daniel Faulkingham | University of Maine at Machias, 132
5. Zach Sprouse | George Mason University, 125
6. John Forbes Jr | Saddleback College, 122
7. Jonathan W Evans | Western Connecticut State University, 116
8. Nick Luetje | Purdue University in Indianapolis, 110
9. Daniel Nanney | Ball State University, 106
10. Matthew Zwack | University of Michigan, 106

Forbes Jr becomes the 11th different winner in series history, and all but ensures his place in the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a few months time. The University of Maine at Augusta’s Parker White failed to qualify for the A-Main event, participating in the B-Main for no points. The University of Iowa’s Steven Wilson also did not make the A-Main, but with drop weeks included, the pair still lead the standings after six races.

The next race on the College calendar is in the NASCAR Xfinity Series cars at Iowa Speedway. The Time Attack opens on February 18th and will run through February 27th. Once again, the top-40 eligible times will be invited to run the A-Main, scheduled on March 4th. That broadcast will be live on eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. 

The eNASCAR College iRacing Series is presented by Playfly College Esports and Logitech G. For more information on the series, visit eNASCAR.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

About the Series: The eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by Playfly College Esports and Logitech G gives college students from the United States and Canada the opportunity to compete for their share of $60,000 in scholarships. Using machines from the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 40 drivers qualify for each event by posting their fastest lap times in a two-week Time Attack through the iRacing UI. With hundreds of schools represented in each Time Attack, and only a maximum of three representatives per school, drivers are competing not only against the greater iRacing community, but also their own classmates, for a spot on the prestigious grid.

You may also like...

Recommended

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series | Power Rankings | Race 4 at Richmond Raceway

Recommended

BS+COMPETITION & BREMOTION JOIN FORCES FOR NASCAR EURO SERIES

Recommended

University of Maine at Augusta’s Parker White upsets in Iowa, scores third career eNASCAR College victory

Recommended

2024-25 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Race Preview: Iowa Speedway