ROSSBURG, Ohio – Kaeden Cornell finally shook off his string of near-misses and bad luck with a statement World of Outlaws iRacing Late Model Invitational victory Tuesday at the virtual Eldora Speedway.
The 19-year-old Missouri native appeared to be on his way to another podium finish – good, but a little frustrating by Cornell’s standards – until a late tangle by the leaders opened the door for him to pounce.
Following a restart with four laps left, Nick Stroupe and Ashton Winger were sliding one another for the race lead when they got together entering turn one after Stroupe tried to come across Winger’s nose to clear himself to the top spot.
That broke both drivers’ momentum, letting Cornell shoot by on the inside. He then raced away over the final two laps en route to a $1,000 victory – with plenty of enthusiasm to show for it after the fact.
“I have no clue what just happened!” Cornell explained. “I don’t know what it looked like, but it was chaos from my screen. That was so much fun.
“It was just full send, you just had to go,” he added. “I got wrecked earlier but I think it was just a racing deal, no one’s fault, really. But you just gotta get after it here, I love it. Up on the wheel, it was awesome!”
If making a late charge wasn’t enough, Cornell was dealing with some real-world chaos as while while he attempted to navigate his way through the virtual world on Tuesday night.
“I’m in Willard, Mo., and we just went through a tornado warning! I was just praying the lights didn’t come off (in) my dang house,” Cornell noted, again with excitement. “This is awesome! What a deal! I’m pumped!”
Mike McKinney finished as the runner-up ahead of Winger, with Bobby Pierce and Stroupe completing the top five.
Tyler Reddick, Logan Schuchart and Matt Cosner – who led the first 10 laps of the feature – were sixth through eighth, respectively. Ethan Toedter and Justin Allgaier filled out the remainder of the top 10.
In his first attempt on the virtual dirt, NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his World of Outlaws iRacing Invitational debut in a late model and came home 15th.
The results:
1. 50-Kaeden Cornell [6] [$1,000]; 2. 96-Mike McKinney [3]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger [7]; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce [22]; 5. 45-Nick Stroupe [9]; 6. 11-Tyler Reddick [14]; 7. 1-Logan Schuchart [12]; 8. 66-Matt Cosner [1]; 9. 29-Ethan Toedter [11]; 10. 7-Justin Allgaier [13]; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard [23]; 12. 2-Nick Hoffman [17]; 13. 88-Trent Ivey [5]; 14. 9-Devin Moran [10]; 15. 22-Joey Logano [19]; 16. 3-Austin Dillon [2]; 17. 0-Corey Gordon [20]; 18. 99-Matty Watkins [8]; 19. 39-Kevin Swindell [21]; 20. 0-Scott Bloomquist [15]; 21. 1-Logan Seavey [4]; 22. 71-Cruz Pedregon [16]; 23. 5-Chase Briscoe [18].
Lead Change(s): Three among four drivers
Lap Leaders: Matt Cosner 1-10; Ashton Winger 11-32; Nick Stroupe 33; Kaeden Cornell 34-35
Laps Led: Ashton Winger 22, Matt Cosner 10, Kaeden Cornell 2, Nick Stroupe 1
Hard Charger: 32-Bobby Pierce (+18)