By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
After avoiding the carnage, Mason Moriarty led the final lap of the NWP 400 at the virtual Talladega Superspeedway.
Run to the Finish
Multiple late-race incidents forced the caution to wave. The wide range of iRacing members found themselves repeatedly swept up in the incidents. Firecracker 400 winner Michael Cosey Jr. led most of the race and jumped from 20th to the lead late after a field-consuming wreck on an overtime restart.
However, another field consuming in the final overtime wiped out many of the competitors. Emerging from the smoke were Moriarty, Millad Radman, and Matthew Oliveira.
Final Lap
Moriarty defended the lead as the duo behind him crashed off turn four. He narrowly avoided disaster as the dup clipped his right-rear quarter panel. When he took the checkered flag, the virtual No. 22 Utztown Family Chiropractic Ford Mustang had just under a one second lead. Moriarty’s win netted the 16-year-old a $1,000 payday.
“Oh my God, (I’m feeling) very shaky,” admitted Moriarty. “I came across the stripe and I think I was the leader of the inside (line). Then they all wrecked. At that time, I was with Millad. I just can’t thank him enough for not wrecking me and Oliveira for not wrecking me. I almost got hooked when they got together. Just can’t believe.
“I felt like I was the underdog, behind all of the top guys Cosey, Ryan Vargas, all of them. I just can’t believe this.”
Notables
Radman, Victor Lugo, NASCAR Drive for Diversity competitor Jaiden Reyna, and David Kreutz completed the top-five. Oliveira, Chase Willis, Tyrrell Baker, Benjamin A. Walker, and eRacr Roval Racing Series competitor Brandon Paunetto rounded out the top-10. Polesitter Travis Brown finished 25th.
On-Track Incidents
The NASCAR Weekly Podcast (NWP) 400 was slowed 12 times by cautions for a combined 36 laps. The longest green flag run lasted about 40 laps, just shy of a full fuel run and green flag pit stops.
Several drivers were a ‘pinball’ throughout the race as they were swept up in multiple incidents. Among those was NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Vargas, and his JD Motorsports crew chief, Kase Kallenbach. Both raced up front but were ultimately caught in the proverbial hornet’s nest.
Other drivers were able to save their two fast repairs until the closing stages of race including Seth Eggert and Paunetto. While Eggert was involved in each of the final five cautions, Paunetto was swept up in several mid-race cautions.
For Paunetto, the NWP 400 was the first major race since a surgery sidelined him from the eRacr Roval Racing Series season finale. He won the NWP 400 Open, earning $25 and a spot in the main event on iRacing.
The results:
1. 22-Mason Moriarty [41] ($1,000), 2. 9-Millad Radman [5], 3. 26-Victor Lugo [40], 4. 3-Jaiden Reyna [6], 5. 62-David Kreutz [25], 6. 57-Matthew Oliveira [9], 7. 7-Chase Willis [13], 8. 24-Tyrrell Baker [28], 9. 29-Benjamin A. Walker [14], 10. 05-Brandon Paunetto [30] ($25), 11. 00-Michael Cosey Jr. [7], 12. 84-Kase Kallenbach [24], 13. 98-Dale Greenwood [20], 14. 15-Jesse J. Jones [39], 15. 09-Towle Owen [37], 16. 96-Benjamin Fanning [42], 17. 77-Gary Owen [33], 18. 94-Heidi L. Storch [2], 19. 12-Evan Marasco [18], 20. 87-Daniel M. Mostellar [11], 21. 44-Joey Stone [31], 22. 60-Cody Rawling [22], 23. 32-Jimmie Riggs [21], 24. 99-Garrett Gomez [38], 25. 01-Travis Brown [1], 26. 92-Ace Gomez [29], 27. 5-Braden Muhvic [34], 28. 63-Seth Eggert [4], 29. 2-Joe West [10], 30. 33-Donald Mensing [27], 31. 90-Chase Schaffer [3], 32. 1-Maxwell Castro [35], 33. 38-David Cabrera [32], 34. 6-Ryan Vargas [12], 35. 75-Alexander Krahnke [15], 36. 10-Patrick Hoarle [6], 37. 42-Justin Monds [8], 38. 8-Davis Lewis [36], 39. 17-Cory Liles [17], 40. 73-Antonio J. Mancini [43], 41. 25-Darian Gilliam [26], 42. 48-Michael Kouremetis [19], 43. 19-Victor Higgins [23].
Lead Changes: 50 among 14 drivers.
Lap Leader(s): Heidi L. Storch 1-2, Michael Cosey Jr. 3-11, Justin Monds 12, Michael Cosey Jr. 13, Jaiden Reyna 14-15, Benjamin A. Walker 16, Jaiden Reyna 17, Michael Cosey Jr. 18-20, Jaiden Reyna 21, Michael Cosey Jr. 22-24, Justin Monds 25, Michael Cosey Jr. 26-30, Jaiden Reyna 31, Michael Cosey Jr. 32-35, Chase Schaffer 36, Jaiden Reyna 37, Michael Cosey Jr. 38-40, Jaiden Reyna 41-42, Michael Cosey Jr. 43, Heidi L. Storch 44, Michael Cosey Jr. 45-47, Millad Radman 48, Michael Cosey Jr. 49-58, Millad Radman 59, Michael Cosey Jr. 60, Millad Radman 61, Michael Cosey Jr. 62-76, Millad Radman 77-78, Michael Cosey Jr. 79, Heidi L. Storch 80-81, Michael Cosey Jr. 82-84, Millad Radman 85, Chase Willis 86-88, Millad Radman 89, Patrick Hoarle 90, Chase Schaffer 91, Millad Radman 92, Matthew Oliveira 93-95, Millad Radman 96-103, Travis Brown 104, Matthew Oliveira 105-108, Millad Radman 109, Jaiden Reyna 110, Millad Radman 111, Jaiden Reyna 112, Michael Cosey Jr. 113, Jaiden Reyna 114, David M. Mostellar 115-120, Tyrell Baker 121-124, Michael Cosey Jr. 125-133, Mason Moriarty 134.
Laps Led: Michael Cosey Jr. 72, Millad Radman 18, Jaiden Reyna 11, Matthew Oliveira 7, Daniel M. Mostellar 6, Heidi L. Storch 5, Tyrrell Baker 4, Chase Willis 3, Justin Monds 2, Chase Schaffer 2, Travis Brown 1, Patrick Hoarle 1, Mason Moriarty 1, Benjamin A. Walker 1.
Hard Charger(s): 22-Mason Moriarty (+40).
Caution Flags: 12 for 36 laps.
Margin of Victory: 0.876 seconds.
Time of Race: Two hours, 41 minutes, 41.634 seconds.
Average Speed: 132.265 MPH.
Pole Winner: 01-Travis Brown, 52.590 seconds (182.088 MPH).
Fastest Lap: 44-Joey Stone, Lap 27, 47.845 seconds (200.146 MPH).
Featured Photo Credit: Photo by Seth Eggert / Kickin’ the Tires.