Motorsport News

Graham Bowlin Wins in Walk-Off Fashion at Pocono to Secure Coke Series Playoff Spot

24 Pocono Race 21

It took the whole regular season, but Graham Bowlin won his way into the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs.

Making a daring three-wide move in the third and final overtime, Bowlin picked up the fourth—and arguably biggest—victory of his eNCCiS career at the virtual Pocono Raceway to punch his playoff ticket.

“I don’t know, it just worked out for me,” Bowlin said during the Sunoco Post Race Report. “I wasn’t lifting all night man. I got bullied last race a couple of times. It is what it is. I’m in the playoffs now because of it.”

Tucker Minter got to the inside of Bowlin coming to the line but settled for second, followed by Femi Olatunbosun in third. Jimmy Mullis and Steven Wilson completed the top five.

With Pocono being the regular season finale, the 10-car eNCCiS playoff field was set following the conclusion of the race. While Bowlin won his way into the playoffs, Wyatt Tinsley fell outside the top 20 by one point, meaning his season-opening victory at Daytona does not count towards playoff eligibility.

TONIGHT’S ACTION

Donovan Strauss led the field to green, but the race did not stay green for long. The first caution came out just as the leaders completed the opening lap for a massive frontstretch crash that started when Garrett Manes got into the right rear of Olatunbosun, collecting about 10 cars.

The race restarted on lap five, but four circuits later, the yellow flag was unfurled again when four-time eNCCiS Ray Alfalla got spun down the front stretch by Cody Byus. The quick succession of yellow flags continued with the third caution on lap 14 when Minter and Michael Guest got together on the exit of turn 3.

The ensuing lap 18 restart set the stage for the longest green flag run of the race. This forced the drivers down pit road for for tires and fuel, with several different pit strategies in play to shake up track position.

After 29 laps under green, the yellow flag came out for the fourth time when Kaden Honeycutt unsuccessfully threw a block on Wilson, getting spun around on the frontstretch. This led to another schism in strategy, with the top six, led by Byus,…

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