Zalenski adds record-extending eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series road win at Brands Hatch

Bobby Zalenski continues to rewrite the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series history books.

For the eighth straight season, Zalenski is a winner at the top level of eNASCAR competition, scoring his 15th career series victory at Brands Hatch on Tuesday night. It’s the sixth different road course where he’s won. Should he stay above the top 20 line by the end of the Regular Season, he should be racing in the eNASCAR Playoffs for an eighth straight season as well.

From the fifth starting spot in the Main after finishing fifth in the Sprint, Zalenski took the lead away from M80’s Steven Wilson on Lap 17 of the scheduled 30-lap event. Wilson struggled to get back to Zalenski’s bumper. By the end of it, the winningest road course racer in eNASCAR history collected his ninth career road course win, now sitting with six more road victories than the next closest driver, former eNASCAR competitor Mitchell deJong.

“I can’t believe we won, especially after the Sprint,” said Zalenski post-race. “I tried to play the invert, like Steven did, but I guess I wasn’t aggressive enough. I knew that was going to be annoying coming in… Just had a dream start in the actual feature race. Steven and Vicente (Salas) got together there… I kept staying with (Wilson), and I kept getting closer, then I had an opportunity, and I had to take it.”

With a Sprint race and Main race scheduled for the first time in eNASCAR history, drivers faced a new format with qualifying points on the line. Zalenski qualified in fifth, which inverted him to fourth for the Sprint. Together with the Main race victory, Zalenski collects 44 points and jumps from outside the top 20 into sixth. Zalenski also takes the early lead in the Segment 2 standings.

SPRINT RACE: Qualifying featured the only invert of the night, as Parker White (Williams Esports) claimed the pole position and eight bonus points, but would start from the eighth spot in the Sprint. However, the most lucrative position to qualify was eighth. Wilson ran the exact lap needed for eighth place, which offered only one bonus point, but more importantly, the invert to the pole position. Nick Ottinger (William Byron eSports) inverted to second with his teammate, Tucker Minter, moving up to third.

The 15-lap qualifying race wouldn’t offer any additional points, but it would set the lineup for the Main race later on. On the start, Wilson was able to get away cleanly as Minter moved up into second. White wound up losing a spot to the ninth place qualifier, Casey Kirwan (Spire Motorsports). Kirwan got as high as sixth, but eventually conceded the spot back to White, who took off towards the leaders almost immediately.

Ahead, Ottinger was under fire from Zalenski for fourth. White caught them both, but no positions changed hands. From seventh, Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) was making up the most ground, moving up into third by the end of the race. Only one car failed to finish—Spire Motorsports’ Malik Ray. The laps lost wouldn’t matter, as he would still start the Main on the same lap as the rest of the field, just from 40th instead of where he was running inside the top 30.

MAIN RACE: In the Sprint, Wilson looked to be the class of the field, while Zalenski looked to be struggling for pace. By the end of the second lap in the Main, Zalenski was on Wilson’s bumper, in part thanks to the calamity that ensued moments before.

Salas, who started in third, moved up on the start ahead of Minter, just like Minter did to his teammate in the Sprint. On the second lap, Salas took a look inside on Wilson, the two colliding in Druids. The contact continued down the hill, eventually leading to a spin from Salas. Wilson got by unscathed, as did Zalenski. Salas got back into line right in front of White, who was in sixth at the time, forcing the Williams Esports machine wide at the Bottom Bend. White fell back to near 20th while Salas recovered quickly, still racing in the top five. White would recover for an eighth place finish.

Up front, Zalenski hounded Wilson, looking for a mistake from the defending series champion. That moment came just after halfway, on Lap 17. Calamity corner, a.k.a. Druids, was a prime passing location for those brave enough to out brake their opponents. Wilson didn’t expect it, and the two made contact, forcing Wilson wide and Zalenski through into the lead.

Salas, meanwhile, was the fastest car on track. recovering to third and closing quickly on the leaders. He got to Wilson’s back bumper on the final lap, but went for another spin while pushing to get by for the runner-up spot. Zalenski, however, had checked out, and won again on a road course by nearly two seconds.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Race 5 at Brands Hatch results were as follows:

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Driver’s Standings through Round 5 are as follows:

1. Casey Kirwan, 156
2. Steven Wilson, 154 (1 WIN)
3. Nick Ottinger, 151
4. Vicente Salas, 144
5. Parker White, 128
6. Bobby Zalenski, 116 (1 WIN)
7. Wyatt Tinsley, 115 (1 WIN)
8. Zack Novak, 115
9. Donovan Strauss, 115
10. Kollin Keister, 114

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Segment 2 Standings through Segment Race 1 are as follows:

1. Bobby Zalenski, 44
2. Vicente Salas, 39
3. Tucker Minter, 37
4. Parker White, 37
5. Steven Wilson, 36
6. Jordy Lopez, 36
7. Nick Ottinger, 35
8. Wyatt Tinsley, 32
9. Casey Kirwan, 31
10. Garrett Lowe, 28

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Team Standings through Round 5 are as follows:

1. Spire Motorsports (#7/#77), 280
2. William Byron eSports (#25/#97), 258
3. Kanaan Esports (#11/#66), 258
4. Williams Esports (#51/#53), 243
5. Kevin Harvick, Inc. (#29/#62), 219

Kirwan maintains his points lead, but by only two points over Wilson leaving England. Ottinger continues to sit in third as Salas jumps up to fourth. With the way qualifying points played out, Salas sits second in the Segment standings, five points behind Zalenski despite finishing in fifth. Wilson drops from second to fifth with only earning a single qualifying point. In the Team Championship, Spire Motorsports continues to lead the way.

The 40 top-rated eNASCAR drivers return in two weeks for a date with Miles the Monster. Tune in on Tuesday, April 23rd, at 7:30 p.m. ET for the Countdown to Green. Race coverage at Dover Motor Speedway begins at 8 p.m. ET at eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels.

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.

You may also like...

Recommended

This Week in iRacing: April 30-May 6, 2024

Recommended

THIS WEEK: BMW M Power Tour at Brands Hatch

Recommended

iRacing Downshift #57: Making Social Media Waves with Doug Hunt

Recommended

iRacing 101: The NASCAR iRacing Series and Other Year-Long Series