By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Even virtually, Dover International Speedway’s ‘Miles the Monster’ can take a bite out of the competition, as Nick Ottinger took advantage of.
Ottinger benefitted when two of his competitors bounced off the wall in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series visit to the virtual high banks at Dover. He first took the lead in the virtual No. 25 Logitech G Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on lap 80. What propelled Ottinger to the lead was race leader Ryan Luza bouncing off the wall.
The William Byron eSports driver cruised until a second caution waved towards the end of a green flag pit stop cycle. Ottinger’s teammate, John Gorlinsky spun in turns one and two. Alex McCollum then spun to avoid the slowed No. 97.
Shortly after the restart, Ottinger’s main competition, Garrett Lowe slapped the wall. Similarly, to Luza, the speed of the No. 21 SPIN App Ford Mustang disappeared after the incident.
While Lowe plummeted down the running order, Ottinger pulled away and never looked back. He took the checkered flag for the 15th time with 2.695 seconds to spare over Brad Davies. It was also the first points paying victory for William Byron eSports.
“It feels awesome,” admitted Ottinger. “That was honestly a workout, managing your stuff. Garrett (Lowe) gave me a run for my money. I want to go back and look at it because I think I gave him just enough room to race me. We both weren’t lifting in that situation because whoever got out front was going to win the race.
“What a car. What a Logitech G William Byron eSports machine. It’s a credit to all of our hard work with Team Conti, John (Gorlinsky). That was a lot of fun. It feels good to be back in victory lane, especially at a track like Dover where you have to be so precise. It’s really hard to be patient at this track as well.”
Having his best run of the season, Dylan Duval finished third. Luza and Keegan Leahy rounded out the top-five. Michael Conti, Eric J. Smith, Graham Bowlin, Bob Bryant, and Steven Sheehan completed the top-10.
The race started off with a bang as Chris Shearburn spun on the first lap. He collected Casey Kirwan, Brian Schoenburg, and Gorlinsky. Kirwan suffered the most damage as he limped around the track for the remaining 199 laps to finish a distant 35th.
Pole sitter Ray Alfalla once again showed excellent short-run speed. However, like prior races this season, he faded in the long run. The four-time eNASCAR Champion took the checkered flag in 25th.
Three eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series competitors, Brandon Kettelle, Kollin Keister, and Jeremy R. Allen did not take part in the Dover event. Logan Clampitt and Malik Ray both started the race with pass-thru penalties.
The Finish
1. 25-Nick Ottinger [2], 2. 88-Brad Davies [10], 3. 41-Dylan Duval [13], 4. 53-Ryan Luza [3], 5. 32-Keegan Leahy [29], 6. 8-Michael Conti [6], 7. 9-Eric J. Smith [5], 8. 18-Graham Bowlin [23], 9. 42-Bob Bryant [15], 10. 1-Steve Sheehan [17], 11. 3-Blake Reynolds [28], 12. 37-Christian Challiner [9], 13. 66-Jarl Teien [36], 14. 97-John Gorlinsky [25], 15. 51-Malik Ray [19], 16. 21-Garrett Lowe [7], 17. 33-Michael Guest [32], 18. 36-Chris Shearburn [18], 19. 6-Nathan Lyon [33], 20. 77-Ashton Crowder [4], 21. 54-Alex McCollum [14], 22. 75-Phillip Diaz [26], 23. 10-Justin Bolton [16], 24. 24-Jake Nichols [21], 25. 2-Ray Alfalla [1], 26. 5-Matt Bussa [8], 27. 15-Michael Guariglia [24], 28. 90-Zack Novak [35], 29. 99-Logan Clampitt [12], 30. 16-Chris Overland [37], 31. 4-Santiago Tirres [34], 32. 83-Bobby Zalenski [30], 33. 27-Corey Vincent [11], 34. 79-Brian Schoenburg [20], 35. 23-Casey Kirwan [22], 36. 46-Jimmy Mullis [27], 37. 55-Caine Cook [31].
Lead Changes: 14 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leader(s): Ray Alfalla 1-9, Ryan Luza 10-65, Garrett Lowe 66, Dylan Duval 67, Keegan Leahy 68, Bobby Zalenski 69-70, Jarl Teien 71-73, Ryan Luza 74-79, Nick Ottinger 80-124, Garrett Lowe 125-133, Ryan Luza 134-135, Zack Novak 136-138, John Gorlinsky 139, Jarl Teien 140, Nick Ottinger 141-200.
Laps Led: Nick Ottinger 105, Ryan Luza 64, Garrett Lowe 10, Ray Alfalla 9, Jarl Teien 4, John Gorlinsky 2, Zack Novak 2, Bobby Zalenski 2, Dylan Duval 1, Keegan Leahy 1.
Hard Charger: Keegan Leahy (+24)
Cautions: Two for eight laps.
Margin of Victory: 2.695 seconds.
Time of Race: One hour, 24 minutes, 55.873 seconds.
Average Speed: 141.291 mph.
Pole Winner: 2-Ray Alfalla 20.853 seconds (172.637 mph).
Fastest Lap: 9-Eric J. Smith 21.580 seconds (166.821 mph, lap 67).
Strength of Field: 6870 Average iRating