By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
The inaugural eNASCAR Heat Pro League Championship came down to the wire and ultimately, a tiebreaker at ISM Raceway.
While PETTY eSports’ 18diego_dd (Diego Alvarado) attempted to make his tires last in the Xbox One race, players from Stewart-Haas Gaming and Leavine Family Gaming juked it out for the championship. Exiting turn two, Alvarado’s right rear tire exploded. Contact from Stewart-Haas’ SHG Slick 14x (Josh Shoemaker) sent the No. 43 spinning.
At the same time, a last-ditch effort from LFG’s HD_Motorsports (Nicholas Vroman) saw the No. 95 bounce off the wall and across the line first. The win left Leavine and Stewart-Haas tied after the combined points from the PlayStation and Xbox races. Stewart-Haas won the race on the tiebreaker, most laps led.
Stewart-Haas’ PlayStation 4 player, SHG_HotRod_14p (Brandyn Gritton), explained how much tires meant.
“That was crazy. It was all about saving tires there. They end up slowing the car down, make those 22 laps because the car was set up totally run 18, 19 laps and I had to really back it down to make that run.”
While the PlayStation 4 race went caution two cautions in the Xbox One race set up that 22-lap run to the finish. While JR Motorsports and Team Penske eSports elected to pit for fresh tires, others remained on track. JRM and Penske were unable to make up the lost ground.
Stewart-Haas and Leavine’s players cruised to the finish with a comfortable margin over their championship rivals.
Shoemaker admitted that although the cautions hurt, they ultimately gave him the winning strategy.
“Well, in a way they screwed us. But in a way they really sort of saved us at the end. Being able to call that strategy and come back from that deep in the field without having actually fighting through the pack.”
Gritton, who had to watch on the sidelines, explained the intensity.
“It was nerve wracking, but at the same time he’d done this before. As far as the strategy, we practiced all night last night. I knew he had something he’s good at. He’s one of the best eRacers in the world and I didn’t lose faith in him for a second.”
Gritton dominated the PlayStation 4 race. His win and 58 laps led over ThAbEaR_95 (Josh Harbin) of LFG ultimately made the difference. That was the most laps lead by a Championship Four throughout the night.
Team Penske eSports finished the season in third with JR Motorsports rounding out the Championship Four teams.
The race at ISM Raceway was the culmination of the first eNASCAR Heat Pro League.