Ray Alfalla started 37th in the pack but still rode to his first eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series victory of the season, prevailing on Tuesday at a virtual Nashville Superspeedway.
Alfalla added to his record career win total on the circuit by adding No. 27. He has earned victories in 12 of the 13 seasons of eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series racing.
Zack Novak ran the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, but he couldn’t catch Alfalla and wound up in second place, 0.194 seconds back. Alfalla held on after taking just two new tires on his final pit stop after some of his competitors changed all four tires.
“What a season it’s been,” said Alfalla, a Cape Coral, Fla., resident who drives the No. 51 Toyota. “I’m so happy to get back to Victory Lane. We messed up in qualifying. That’s unfortunately been the case this year for a lot (of the events), but then we got a good break with the yellow (flag late in the race).
“We were top three there. We knew we had pretty good speed … but of course it’s really difficult to pass from the back. But once we were up front, we thought we had a pretty good car to contend.”
Regarding his lengthy history with the circuit, Alfalla said, “I’m one of the dinosaurs, I guess now. I’ll be 33 here next week, so compared to all these guys who are in high school and college, I feel like an old man. But I still feel like I’m on top of my game.”
Novak, a Clinton, Conn., resident who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet, posted his third consecutive runner-up finish.
“We were really, really strong for about 30 laps, and then it kind of went away,” Novak said.
Blake Reynolds came in third place in the No. 15 Ford, and Michael Guest took fourth in the No. 9 Ford. Michael Conti rounded out the top five in the No. 8 Chevrolet.
The next eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race is scheduled for July 5 at a virtual Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
–Field Level Media