LaPradd Spoils The eNASCAR Playoff Party At Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Briar LaPradd played spoiler in Tuesday night’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff opener by stealing his maiden victory in a nail-biting photo finish.

Though LaPradd wasn’t one of the 10 drivers in championship contention entering the LogiPlay Days 140 at Michigan Int’l Speedway, he put his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro out front with authority when it mattered.

Utilizing fresher tires than many of the second-half frontrunners, LaPradd came from ninth to third on a lap-53 restart, then continued his roll by taking the lead following the sixth caution of the night.

The Manchester, Tenn., native drove past both Dylan Duval and leader Bobby Zalenski to assume command with 12 to go, holding the top spot the rest of the way at the two-mile oval in the Irish Hills.

However, LaPradd’s ultimate road to victory lane wasn’t as easy as the box score made it look.

He had to weather two restarts inside the final 10 laps, including a natural green-white-checkered finish in regulation, before he could secure the trophy in his 33rd career start.

LaPradd was masterful on the jump both times – particularly on the final restart, following Vicente Salas’ half-spin in turn three that led to the last of eight yellow flags – despite some nose damage late he picked up during the second half of the race.

But he had a challenge from Williams eSports’ Parker White in the final corner, after White pushed him clear going into the third turn before pulling to the inside coming onto the frontstretch.

The two banged doors as they approached the start-finish line, and ultimately, it was LaPradd edging ahead at the checkered flag by a scant .003 seconds – the second-closest finish in series history.

It led to an emotional celebration for LaPradd, who turns 22 on Aug. 27 and has watched his father battle through health challenges through much of the season.

“Man, this means a lot,” said LaPradd after becoming the 68th different driver to win a Coca-Cola Series event. “I’ve worked really hard since 2016 to [climb] through the ranks and have fun doing what I love. It’s been a long journey from [former backend team] Lockdown Racing to get here. Everybody over there helped me out for a long time. Team Conti now … I know we’ve had some struggles this year, but they’re a good group of guys and have pushed me to work so much harder.

“I really try to be a good guy on [the service] and race clean, and I think that was pretty clean. I had to do what I had to do to win, but it wasn’t as bad as Sunday night, I think,” LaPradd added, referencing Sunday’s wild ending at Richmond (Va.) Raceway where Austin Dillon was victorious. “I think I did pretty good trying to be the good guy there, going for a win. As much as I say I’m going do whatever it takes, I want to be respected as well, and Parker has always raced clean … so I wasn’t going to wreck him.

“I can’t believe I’m a Coke Series winner, honestly. It’s just unreal.”

The night’s biggest carnage came on lap 49, when playoff contender Nick Ottinger was tapped around in the middle of the lead pack, sparking a multi-car melee that involved some 25 cars when the smoke cleared.

Despite the seemingly massive nature of the incident, most of those collected were able to continue, generating several differing tire strategies that shaped the lead contenders down the stretch.

Both LaPradd and White made their final stops with 35 laps left, while Zalenski stayed out at that point on 25-lap tires to assume the lead. He stayed out front for the next 14 circuits – through the proverbial Big One, as well as a second accident – but didn’t have enough to hold back LaPradd down the stretch.

White climbed from 13th to third on the same restart that gave LaPradd the lead for good, and though the Norridgewock, Maine, driver eventually got to second in the closing stages, it was fractions of a second that ultimately defined winning and losing at the end of the night.

Despite coming so close to a first career victory in his own right, yet again, White still left pleased at being the highest-finishing playoff driver and said he “couldn’t have done anything differently” in the sprint to the finish line.

“I got a big push there down the back, was able to push Briar, and him getting clear was really all I needed to be able to challenge,” White recalled. “That’s exactly what he did … and I just completely sent it in. I knew my car would stick and it did that. But looking back on it, I really couldn’t have done anything different there. Briar did a very good job at just breaking my momentum enough … and that’s what you have to do at this level. We’re all that close.

“He said he didn’t know if it was clean., but it was definitely 100 percent clean,” White added. “I’m happy to see him get a win in this series. I’ve known Briar for quite a long time now, and if it wasn’t us getting the job done, I’m glad he was the one to do it.”

Spire Motorsports’ Casey Kirwan finished third, continuing his efforts to sew up 11th in points as the best non-playoff driver this season, followed by the Kevin Harvick Inc. duo of Jimmy Mullis and Matt Bussa.

QuikTrip Pioneers Gaming’s Graham Bowlin, LaPradd’s JRM teammate Kaden Honeycutt, BS+ Competition’s Garrett Lowe, RFK Racing’s Collin Bowden, and 23XI Racing’s Michael Guest closed the top 10.

With two races remaining before the Championship 4 are finalized, Wilson leads the series standings by nine over Bowlin, with ninth-seeded White jumping all the way to third by virtue of his runner-up finish.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season continues in two weeks, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Texas Motor Speedway. Keegan Leahy won the most recent race held at the 1.5-mile quad-oval in 2021.

A replay of every eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series event is available via iRacing’s YouTube channel.

The results:

1. 88-Briar LaPradd [16], 2. 53-Parker White [2], 3. 77-Casey Kirwan [10], 4. 29-Jimmy Mullis [22], 5. 62-Matt Bussa [30], 6. 48-Graham Bowlin [13], 7. 8-Kaden Honeycutt [6], 8. 89-Garrett Lowe [18], 9. 17-Collin Bowden [39], 10. 45-Michael Guest [34], 11. 51-Donovan Strauss [14], 12. 10-Steven Wilson [5], 13. 7-Malik Ray [40], 14. 6-Timmy Holmes [21], 15. 12-Garrett Manes [32], 16. 33-Taylor Hurst [29], 17. 99-Matthew Zwack [17], 18. 54-Daniel Faulkingham [3], 19. 18-Bobby Zalenski [8], 20. 80-Ryan Luza [28], 21. 11-Vicente Salas [12], 22. 42-Tyler Garey [38], 23. 38-Michael Cosey Jr. [25], 24. 14-Seth DeMerchant [9], 25. 23-Keegan Leahy [4], 26. 97-Tucker Minter [11], 27. 20-Wyatt Tinsley [1], 28. 41-Dylan Duval [7], 29. 40-Dylan Ault [19], 30. 22-Femi Olatunbosun [27], 31. 25-Nick Ottinger [31], 32. 5-Zack Novak [15], 33. 66-Kollin Keister [35], 34. 3-Jonathon Dulaney [24], 35. 36-Quami Scott [26], 36. 90-Jordy Lopez [36], 37. 55-Ryan Doucette [20], 38. 69-Ray Alfalla [23], 39. 34-Darik Bourdeau [37], 40. 27-Cody Byus [33].

Lead Changes: Nine among seven different drivers

Lap Leader(s): Wyatt Tinsley Pole, Parker White 1-3, Dylan Duval 4-14, Dylan Ault 15-18, Parker White 19-36, Briar LaPradd 37-38, Steven Wilson 39, Briar LaPradd 40-44, Bobby Zalenski 45-58, Briar LaPradd 59-70.

Laps Led: Parker White 21, Briar LaPradd 19, Bobby Zalenski 14, Dylan Duval 11, Dylan Ault 4, Steven Wilson 1.

Hard Charger: 17-Collin Bowden (+32)

Pole Position: 20-Wyatt Tinsley, 38.419 seconds (187.407 mph); first career and first of season

Rookie of the Race: 99-Matthew Zwack (17th)

Caution Flags: Eight for 24 laps

Winning Team: JR Motorsports

Margin of Victory: 0.003 seconds

Time of Race: One hour, seven minutes, 57.052 seconds

Average Speed: 123.619 mph

Fastest Lap: 89-Garrett Lowe, Lap 70, 38.439 seconds (187.310 mph)