Track Specs: 2.5-mile tri-oval / 80 laps
LaPradd’s finish: 23rd
McCandless’ finish: 34th
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 29, 2025) – Briar LaPradd started off the 2025 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season in the annual non-points Clash at the virtual Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday night by winning the first of two heat races, which put him on the pole for the event. Unfortunately, both he and new teammate Blake McCandless were involved in crashes later on. (Watch the full race.)
LaPradd, driving his familiar No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet from the JRM stable, qualified 23rd and started the 10-lap first heat in 12th position. A series of moves took the Tennessee driver to the front of the field and over the final two laps, he assumed the lead and used a shove from Jordy Lopez to take the victory.
In the feature, LaPradd led six laps and was in the thick of the battle for the win before getting tangled up in one of Daytona’s frequent multi-car crashes with just three laps remaining in the 20-lap main. He finished 23rd.
McCandless, driving the No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet in his JRM debut, was also in the first heat and had a clean race, at one point pushing his teammate to the lead in the late going before falling back to 14th at the finish.
That put him 27th in the 20-lap feature. As the race entered its final three laps, at lap 17, McCandless was caught up in a multi-car crash in the mid-pack and finished 34th. McCandless came down from the broadcast booth to campaign the season in the iconic No. 8 for JRM and used the Clash to gain experience in the pack and see the level of competition in the top-tier series.
The regular season in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will begin on Feb. 11 at the virtual World Center of Speed.
Briar LaPradd, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet team
“Back in Daytona, back in the Ledford Billiard Supply No. 88 and we are back at JR Motorsports for 2025! Super excited for this season to get going. Big goals in mind after getting our first win last year. The heat race was wild. We quickly made moves to try to get to the front. We shuffled forwards and backwards quite a bit in the 10 laps we had. Our spotter, Steven Steffen, helped guide us through the final two laps perfectly and we found ourselves side-by-side for the lead in Turn 3. With the shove from Jordy Lopez and others from behind, we secured the heat win! In the feature, we held our ground for a while and ended up leading six of the 20 laps. Unfortunately, we got caught up in a massive wreck towards the end which resulted in a destroyed car. Luckily, that was only the Clash and we got some good practice up front for the season opener in two weeks!”
Blake McCandless, driver No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet team
“Venturing down from the broadcast booth to the track is going to be a welcome change this season, especially doing it behind the wheel of the iconic No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet with JR Motorsports. Tonight was all about getting some reps and being familiar with the extra level of competition that this series’ demands, and luckily we were able to experience some of that tonight. Had a good heat race and helped push my teammate to the win, but we got caught in a huge pileup during the feature event. We finished 34th and 35 of us got wrecked, but I suppose that’s something I will get used to by season’s end! I have a much better understanding of what to expect when we open the season in two weeks, and am confident with the moves I could make that if we find ourselves in the right position, a win is as good as ours.”