Quentin Warman plays postseason spoiler, earns first-career eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series win at Texas

Three Championship 4 Finale spots still up for grabs with one race left to decide

With a chance at $100,000 and the Dale Earnhardt Jr cup on the line, Tuesday night’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series finish at Texas Motor Speedway came down to three drivers not in that conversation.

Steven Wilson already punched his ticket two weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t withhold another win from one of his nine remaining postseason opponents. Seth DeMerchant has had a rough go in the 2026 season, and with fresh tires, a potential first win was on the table as the race entered eNASCAR Overtime. However, it was the Qualifying Series standout Quentin Warman, who lined up third on the final restart, who managed to get by them both in dramatic fashion to score his first career win instead.

What a FINISH from Texas! Quentin Warman had to strong arm his way around both Seth DeMerchant and the defending champion Steven Wilson to do it!@ENASCARGG | @CocaColaRacing | @LogitechG pic.twitter.com/dikaVVOYHH

— iRacing (@iRacing) September 16, 2026

Warman (Hyak Motorsports) qualified in third to start the night, and for the final restart, lined up in third with better tires than the two-time champion in front of him, but similar tires as the car on the outside of the front row. As the field rounded Turn 4 for the second-to-last time, Wilson (Spire Motorsports) was in control, but DeMerchant (fgrAccel eRacing) was closing in, looking to pick a lane that Wilson wasn’t entering Turn 1. Wilson chose low, which sent DeMerchant high, and as Wilson slid up off of the bottom ever so slightly in the center, Warman made his move.

Three wide through the exit of Turn 2, the trio ran down the backstretch and into Turn 3 not knowing who would go to what lengths to take the victory. Behind them, the first driver in the postseason with a chance to win his way into a Championship 4 Finale berth, Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports) was hoping they would all slip up and he could take advantage. Unfortunately for Minter, those three kept it clean.

Through the middle of the corner to the exit of Turn 4 for the last time, Warman managed to edge ahead, clearing both as Wilson fell into the grasp of Minter, ultimately finishing in fourth. DeMerchant didn’t have enough of a run off the exit, allowing Warman to cash in on his first win in his 29th career start, becoming the 71st different winner in eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series history, and the second first-time winner in the 2026 season, joining Daytona winner Garrett Manes (Rick Ware Racing) in that regard.

“To be honest, I was just hoping to get a good finish out of that,” a stunned Warman said post-race. “It lined up perfectly in 1 and 2. Steven got a little tight, I was able to take it three. That was just the absolute, most perfect scenario for me. I don’t even really know what to say right now.”

With the win, Warman elevates himself back up to 11th in the overall standings, with a chance to clinch into a position above the relegation line next week at Kansas Speedway, sitting a nice 69 points ahead of 21st with two races left. In the battle for the championship, as there was no win-and-in scenario among the top-10 not already locked in, at least two drivers will lock in on points at Kansas next week, and potentially a third if none of them win again. Only Wilson has that automatic bid so far. Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team), Wyatt Tinsley (Kansas City Pioneers), and now Minter sit above that cut line.

THE RELEGATION BATTLE AT THE FOREFRONT EARLY

The Championship 4 finale took a back seat early in the going in the 100-lap affair at Texas on Tuesday. Sebastian Marin (Kanaan Esports), who came into Texas under the top-20 relegation line, scored the pole position, his second of the season, but had to start the night alongside one of the drivers on that cut line just above him, TC Esports’ Matthew Morton. Quentin Warman, back in third, would be seeking his first career win and a chance to lock into the top-20 early, and it took until Tucker Minter in fourth to find one of the 10 eNASCAR postseason players.

Steven Wilson, who started in fifth, was looking to play a spoiler himself, and quickly moved around Warman and Minter before getting into a position to set up a pass on Morton for second. Marin, meanwhile, was in full control, and would ultimately lead the most laps at 36 before handing the keys to Wilson on Lap 37, tumbling through the field.

There was a pit cycle in the middle of the event, and that saw some drivers well below the cut line, such as Logan Helton (eRacr) and Cody Byus (Apex Racing Team) stay out, as well as one postseason competitor in Wyatt Tinsley looking to flip his fortunes, and Dylan Duval (Channel 199 Sim Racing), looking to get further ahead of the relegation line. Of course, that pit cycle would be cut short by a caution, and the playoff competition would be back at the forefront following the next restart.

IMPLICATIONS A-PLENTY

It wasn’t as if the 10 drivers with the red windshield banners were invisible the entire race, but it did take many of them a good amount of time to find their way to the front for one reason or another. Bobby Zalenski’s troubles came early, on Lap 4, as he found himself in a four-wide scenario with fellow playoff competitor Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), his own ERA eSports Team-mate Michael Cosey Jr, and a fill-in driver this week for Team Dillon Esports, Michael Frisch. Frisch was able to drift through unscathed, but Zalenski got into the wall and a slight tap from Dylan Duval as his car came to rest.

Through the long run, Zalenski was able to bide his time and save his equipment, moving up methodically before ultimately pitting, but his ability to pit later would set up a scenario where he would stay out on older tires at the end of the night.

One driver who did not have a single thing go his way all night was the Pioneers’ Casey Kirwan, looking to rebound from Michigan and make another Championship 4 Finale appearance in October. Kirwan was the first to pit, on Lap 40, which usually isn’t a great sign for strategy as he would have to suffer to the end on the oldest tires should the race go green to the end. It got worse on Lap 59 as he got tight in the center of the corner, allowing Spire’s Femi Olatunbosun to get to his left rear and make contact, sending him around for the second caution of the night.

Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION) was among those opting to stay out on this caution, as was Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming) and Zalenski. While Logan Helton was the first off of pit road in sixth, Wilson would restart in seventh, the first of the main players, with Marin, Minter, and Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) all in tow.

On Lap 66, as White lunged on Lowe for the lead into Turn 3, the third caution of the night flew for a spinning Blaze Crawford (Team Dillon Esports) on the backstretch, another victim of a four-wide gone wild. Wilson was already back up to third, but White, who pitted just before the caution prior, had decent tires at his disposal to hold off the champion.

For the next 20 laps, White was up front and maintaining the gap on Wilson, but another caution involving Kirwan set up for what would ultimately become White’s demise. White and Salas opted to pit, while Wilson and Zalenski were among those to stay out. White would restart in sixth, Salas eighth, but it was Seth DeMerchant in seventh who would get the best jump on the ensuing restart, allowing him to be in the prime position to take it away from Wilson in the late stages.

As DeMerchant moved into second, White and Salas both managed to get up to fourth and fifth, respectively. Separating the groups was Cosey Jr, who had also opted to stay out. White made a move inside on Cosey as Cosey turned down to the apron line in the corner. Whether it was a late move by White, or a late block from Cosey, either way, it resulted in a massive crash, taking out White and Salas in the process, ultimately forcing both to be in must-win situations at Kansas next week as they finished 38th and 39th on the night.

LATE RACE CAUTIONS SET UP OVERTIME THRILLER

The playoff drama didn’t stop there. On the second to last restart, as DeMerchant chased Wilson for the win, the final caution of the night flew as the field came across the line to complete Lap 96. Connor Yeroschak (Letarte Esports) was in a four-wide situation with Michael Guest (Vegas Inferno) on the top side. Originally, the bottom two consisted of Tinsley and the other Williams F1 Team car, Donovan Strauss. As they exited the corner, Tinsley and Strauss were clear, but the four-wide bottom side was replaced by Garrett Manes and Jordy Lopez (BS+COMPETITION).

Lopez slammed the wall, and clipped Yeroschak in the process. Lopez’s teammate, Garrett Lowe, also got a piece of the incident, and the race was destined for eNASCAR Overtime with Steven Wilson at the helm. Yeroschak and Lowe, despite their damages, would finish 14th and 15th, respectively.

On the final restart, with a Wilson win looming, both DeMerchant and Quentin Warman were in prime positions to snatch it away. Wilson won his way into the Championship 4 finale two weeks ago on old tires, so why wouldn’t he be able to do it again? Unfortunately for him, the tire wear was just enough to allow cars to get to either side of him on the final lap. A three-wide battle nearly to the line, and it was Quentin Warman, the Qualifying Series champion, proving his mettle in Fort Worth.

RACE #11 | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY | OFFICIAL RESULTS

POSTSEASON STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #11 | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

RELEGATION LINE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #11 | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

TEAM STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #11 | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

ROOKIE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #11 | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

ONE LAST CHANCE TO DANCE

Things are far from simple for the Championship 4 Finale fight entering Kansas next week. We know that Wilson is locked, and both White and Salas have to win to get in, no matter what. Any one of the nine remaining hopefuls can earn that win and get in, but at least two points positions are on the line, and that’s where the fun math starts for Bobby Zalenski in particular. Zalenski is 16 points above the cut, but 14 ahead of fourth place Tucker Minter should one of those drivers below the cut win it. With that in mind, Zalenski needs to finish within 13 spots of Minter, 15 of Yeroschak, 18 of Conklin, and 31 of Lowe. More simply put, if Zalenski finishes inside the top-10 at Kansas, he will be fighting for his first Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup in October once more.

Tinsley, Minter, Yeroschak, and Conklin are all under a nine-point blanket, and with every position counting for a point, there could be huge swings depending on those results. Lowe and Kirwan aren’t mathematically out of the points conversation yet, at 18 and 23 points back, respectively, but their best bet, and anyone’s really, is to just win it at Kansas, something Lowe has done before back in 2022, and something Kirwan has come close to doing in both 2022 and 2025, finishing third on both occasions.

NEXT RACE: KANSAS CUTOFF

Following Texas, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series will race next at Kansas Speedway, the third and final race of the 2026 Postseason. Steven Wilson is the most recent winner, but anything can happen with a spot in the Championship 4 Finale on the line.

The action from Kansas starts on September 22nd 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.­­

You may also like...

Recommended

2026-27 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Peachtree Pursuit at Echo Park | Time Attack Open Now!

Recommended

Logitech G returns as eNASCAR College iRacing Series presenting sponsor in 2026-27 collegiate season

Recommended

Start Your Engines! NASCAR 26 Launches Today on PC, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S

Recommended

2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series | Preview | Race 11 at Texas Motor Speedway