Veteran driver Dylan Duval ended an eight-year victory drought on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, prevailing in the third overtime at a virtual Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Tuesday.
Though Duval has logged the eighth-most starts in series history, the win was just his second. The other came back in 2016 at a virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The first two overtime attempts for the race to end green-white-checkered both weren’t completed when a caution flag came out both times due to wrecks. The third attempt is the last one allowed, so the order was frozen when another multi-car wreck caused a caution.
At that moment, Duval’s No. 41 Ford was barely ahead of Tucker Minter’s No. 97 Chevrolet. As a result, Duval became the sixth winner in the series’ seven races this season.
“It feels incredible,” said Duval, a Halifax, Nova Scotia, resident. “I can’t thank everyone enough who stuck with me through this journey these years. … Man, it’s been a long time coming. Last year was a big confidence boost for me. I felt like I could have and maybe should have won a couple of races last year, and, you know, it just didn’t happen. So I’m happy that we were able to turn it around and win tonight. …
“I feel like I kind of called my shot this week. I’ve been saying I’m going to go out and win this thing, and damn right, we did it.”
Minter, from Warrenton, Va., said of the finish, “I definitely thought I was ahead of Dylan. I saw the caution light … come up on the screen and I knew (Garrett Lowe) was close to me. I had no idea where he came from. He had so much momentum. I knew Dylan was way behind me, but when I saw I’d let the 41 go by, it was a little bit of a bummer.
“It’s just kind of the way this season’s been, kind of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. … At least we’re finishing second, kind of clicking off some good finishes here.”
Duval officially won by 0.149 second over Minter, crossing the finish line under caution. Lowe, in the No. 89 Ford, came in third. Bobby Zalenski’s No. 18 Toyota took fourth place, and Daniel Faulkingham’s No. 54 Toyota placed fifth.
The series resumes on May 21 at a virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway.
–Field Level Media
