The eNASCAR College iRacing Series completed race two of the Fall 2022 season on Tuesday at the virtual Auto Club Speedway, with a nail-biter of a finish between eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series drivers Steven Wilson and Logan Clampitt.
The SCW 150 began with Daniel Faulkingham (University of Maine at Machias) on the pole, and he pulled into an early lead that lasted over 20 laps.
Lap 4 of the race saw Jake Cummings (Wingate University) go around and make hard contact with the wall, yet the race stayed green.
The action began early with hard racing all throughout the field, specifically with Tyler Garey, Anthony Burroughs, Tucker Minter, and Steven Wilson battling for positions in the bottom half of the top 10.
By lap 15, the race saw Daniel Faulkingham, Dylan Ault, and Logan Clampitt pull away, leaving the top 3 separated by just seven-tenths of a second.
The first lead change of the event occurred on Lap 22 of the 60-lap race. Logan Clampitt (Saddleback College) pulled a nose ahead of Daniel Faulkingham at the start/finish line, and finally cleared him in Turn 1 on the following lap after a short battle.
Similar to his battle earlier in the race, Tyler Garey (Palm Beach State College) found himself in an intense race for the sixth position alongside John Hall, AJ Green, Tucker Minter, and Daniel Buttafuoco, with Garey prevailing.
At the halfway point in the race, the first of the green flag pit stops amongst the leaders began. Race leader Logan Clampitt hit pit road while Steven Wilson (University of Iowa) moved up to p3, the biggest mover up to that point. It didn’t take long before the rest of the leaders followed Clampitt into the pits, capped off with a massive save on pit entry by Jose Solis Jr. (University of Connecticut).
The pit cycle was completed after Cei Bowen (Ivy Tech South Bend) brought his car to pit road on Lap 40 and relinquished the lead back to Logan Clampitt.
With 20 laps remaining in the race, Logan Clampitt held a 1.5-second lead over competitor Steven Wilson.
Wilson slowly but surely chipped away at the gap to Clampitt, bringing it down to one second with 12 laps remaining.
Hard racing between Dylan Ault, John Hall, Tucker Minter, Tate Lightle, and Jose Solis Jr. brought a great battle for the 5th position as the laps were winding down. This battle intensified on lap 53 with a huge save from Hall (Massachusettes Maritime Academy) after contact with Lightle (Eastern Oregon University).
By lap 54, Wilson found himself just three-tenths of a second behind Clampitt for the race lead, while Minter (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) passed Ault (California State University, Sacramento) for the fifth position.
The gap for the lead disappeared on lap 57, with Wilson right on the back bumper of Clampitt’s No. 97 machine.
Clampitt threw a block on Wilson into Turn 1 but allowed Wilson to use the momentum off the outside to make a move to the inside going into Turn 3. Clampitt hung tough on the outside of three and four to lead the lap, but they remained side-by-side with two laps to go.
Slight contact between the two drivers entering Turn 1 caused Clampitt to drift up the track, allowing Wilson to clear him and extend his lead. At the white flag, it was all Wilson. Clampitt made a move from deep into Turn 3 on the final lap, which amounted to his last shot at the victory, but Wilson rounded the final corner to go two-for-two in the Fall 2022 season of the eNASCAR College iRacing Series and claimed the $3,500 scholarship money.
The top five finishers stayed close in the caution-free race with Clampitt coming home in the runner-up spot, less than a half-second behind Wilson. Faulkingham, Garey and Minter rounded out the top-five finishers.
Here was the complete top-10 finishing order, all of which took home prize money in the event:
- 10 – Steven Wilson, 60 Laps
- 97 – Logan Clampitt, -0.451 sec.
- 39 – Daniel Faulkingham, -2.156 sec.
- 26 – Tyler Garey, -2.261 sec.
- 10 – Tucker Minter, -2.398 sec.
- 75 – Jose Solis Jr., -3.217 sec.
- 56 – Tate Lightle, -3.502 sec.
- 03 – John Hall, -3.917 sec.
- 42 – Dylan Ault, -3.945 sec.
- 52 – Jack Coyne, -4.514 sec.
Time trials for the third round of the Fall 2022 eNASCAR College iRacing Series at the virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval begin this Friday, October 21st, and run until Thursday, November 3rd. Race three of the season will be Tuesday, November 8th, at 8 pm EST. For more information regarding the eNASCAR College iRacing Series, visit eNASCAR | About eNASCAR College iRacing Series.
