TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a three-wide photo finish at the start/finish line, Alex Bowman edged polesitter Corey LaJoie and Ryan Preece to win Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event at the virtual Talladega Superspeedway.
Bowman, who is “definitely not” one of the iRacing experts in the NASCAR Cup Series field, found his way to the lead with four to go in regulation after a timely push from late-race drafting partner Ty Dillon.
From there, Bowman held serve out front through an overtime finish – despite concerns about fuel – for his first eNASCAR iRacing victory in the five races held since the simulated exhibition series was formed.
Bowman’s victory in the GEICO 70 marked the third straight Pro Invitational score for Hendrick Motorsports, after teammate William Byron topped the previous two short-track events at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
After the finish, Bowman noted that a lane swap on the final restart and working with Ryan Preece on the final lap was ultimately what propelled him to the win at the simulated 2.66-mile oval.
“I guess that was just a case of right place, right time; the normal speedway racing deal,” said Bowman. “I felt like the bottom wasn’t the place to be, so I let Ty (Dillon) have the bottom on that restart and got up, and just tried to keep the run timed well. I knew that most of the time the top was leading there at the start‑finish line, so I really just have to thank (Ryan) Preece for pushing me … because that’s what made the difference at that point.
“When you’re that lead car, it’s really the guy behind you making the difference. I’m glad it worked out.”
Corey LaJoie, who qualified fastest among the 39 invited drivers and led four times for seven laps during the day, tried to slingshot past Bowman coming to the flagstand but came up .036 seconds short.
Ryan Preece crossed third, advancing from 31st on the grid after being the slowest driver to record a time in the 10-minute qualifying session held prior to the race.
Garrett Smithley and Landon Cassill were fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Byron, who was forced to start from the rear by race officials due to his back-to-back wins.
Brennan Poole, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10.
Ty Dillon was challenging for the win exiting turn four on the last lap and appeared to have a run on the bottom of the race track, but got spun into the grass as the lead pack entered the tri-oval.
Dillon finished 23rd.
The race was sent into overtime after Joey Logano got turned into the middle of the pack entering turn one with three laps left, sending Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney barrel-rolling wildly.
Among the other drivers collected in that incident were Ross Chastain, Joey Gase and Erik Jones.
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon made his return to competition – virtually – by competing in Sunday’s race in a No. 24 entry painted with a similar Pepsi scheme to the one he beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win with at Talladega in the spring of 2004.
However, Gordon was involved in two separate multi-car accidents during the day that relegated him to a 38th-place finish, including the Big One on lap 16 that collected nearly two-thirds of the field after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was hooked around in front of the pack on the back straightaway.
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series continues on May 3 at the virtual Dover Int’l Speedway.
The results:
1. 88-Alex Bowman [22], 2. 32-Corey LaJoie [1], 3. 37-Ryan Preece [31], 4. 51-Garrett Smithley [11], 5. 89-Landon Cassill [2], 6. 24-William Byron [32], 7. 15-Brennan Poole [7], 8. 18-Kyle Busch [19], 9. 1-Kurt Busch [13], 10. 96-Daniel Suarez [10], 11. 66-Timmy Hill [33], 12. 4-Kevin Harvick [24], 13. 95-Christopher Bell [34], 14. 47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. [15], 15. 52-JJ Yeley [20], 16. 77-Parker Kligerman [35], 17. 12-Ryan Blaney [39], 18. 10-Aric Almirola [21], 19. 2-Brad Keselowski [12], 20. 53-Joey Gase [28], 21. 49-Chad Finchum [18], 22. 31-Tyler Reddick [38], 23. 13-Ty Dillon [6], 24. 3-Austin Dillon [5], 25. 38-John Hunter Nemechek [8], 26. 41-Cole Custer [23], 27. 17-Chris Buescher [14], 28. 9-Chase Elliott [37], 29. 6-Ross Chastain [3], 30. 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [4], 31. 19-Bobby Labonte [27], 32. 48-Jimmie Johnson [25], 33. 14-Clint Bowyer [17], 34. 34-Michael McDowell [16], 35. 21-Matt DiBenedetto [9], 36. 22-Joey Logano [30], 37. 20-Erik Jones [26], 38. 24jg-Jeff Gordon [29], 39. 11.-Denny Hamlin [36].
Lead Changes: 27 lead changes among 13 drivers
Lap Leaders: Corey LaJoie 1-3, Ty Dillon 4, Corey LaJoie 5, Ty Dillon 6-10, Corey LaJoie 11, Brad Keselowski 12, Brennan Poole 13, Brad Keselowski 14-16, Denny Hamlin 17, Brennan Poole 18-20, Brad Keselowski 21-25, William Byron 26, Brad Keselowski 27, William Byron 28-35, Ty Dillon 36, Parker Kligerman 37-41, Clint Bowyer 42, John Hunter Nemechek 43-46, Corey LaJoie 47-48, Chris Buescher 49-51, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 52-53, Brad Keselowski 54, John Hunter Nemechek 55-61, Ty Dillon 62, Garrett Smithley 63, Ryan Preece 64, Garrett Smithley 65-66, Alex Bowman 67-74.
Laps Led: Brad Keselowski 11, John Hunter Nemechek 11, William Byron 9, Ty Dillon 8, Alex Bowman 8, Corey LaJoie 7, Parker Kligerman 5, Brennan Poole 4, Chris Buescher 3, Garrett Smithley 3, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2, Denny Hamlin 1, Clint Bowyer 1, Ryan Preece 1.
Caution Flags: Three for 12 laps
Margin of Victory: .036 seconds
Time of Race: One hour, 17 minutes, 35.001 seconds
Average Speed: 152.229 mph
Pole Position: 32-Corey LaJoie, 50.544 seconds (189.459 mph)