Track Specs: 2.677-mile road course / 24 laps
McCandless’ finish: 27th
LaPradd’s finish: 33rd
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 5, 2025) – An international excursion for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series on Tuesday night was a mixed outcome for JR Motorsports drivers Blake McCandless and Briar LaPradd. (Watch the full race.)
McCandless, driving the No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet, had the better of the day at the virtual Autódromo José Carlos Pace road course in Sao Paulo, Brazil, finishing 27th after a bruising run around the legendary road course, which is the home of Formula One’s Brazilian Grand Prix. LaPradd battled to a 33rd-place finish.
McCandless was forced to improvise for the race, having suffered a mechanical issue on his sim rig two days before the event. A quick refit to his clutch pedal that would aid in braking saved the effort. Finishing 25th in his 12-lap heat race, McCandless avoided another melee on the first lap of the main event and gained five positions to 20th.
In the main, McCandless was faced with the same situation in Turn 1, again managing to avoid the carnage and waged a tense battle in the mid-pack to come home 27th at the checkered flag.
LaPradd, driving the No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet, had trouble in the early stages of his sprint race as he caught part of a multi-car crash in Turn 1 on the opening lap, which put him back to 40th. He managed to regain four spots to end the qualifier in 36th.
In the 24-lap feature event, the Tennessee driver missed the lap-one, Turn-1 mess and rallied to 25th in the early going, but locked up into Turn 1 a few laps later and lost all the ground he’d gained. Starting his climb back, LaPradd made up a couple of spots and finished 33rd at the checkered flag.
Steven Wilson won the event, holding off road-course ace Bobby Zelenski over the final laps to take the top spot. Vicente Salas, Casey Kirwan and Parker White rounded out the top five. The two-car JR Motorsports team will next compete in two weeks at the virtual Richmond Raceway.
Blake McCandless, driver No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet team
“I know it’s strange to call a 27th-place run a win in some ways, but for me this is something to be proud of. I’ve been sim racing for more than 15 years, but nearly all of that experience has been on ovals. Road courses have always been a particular struggle for me, especially with this track that I had never made a lap at until a few weeks ago. It was tough to see where I stacked up pace-wise tonight, because I put in so much time with our C4 Energy team to be as prepared as possible for this race. Luckily, we were able to manage our own race, minimize mistakes, and despite having to re-learn how to drive with our brake issue just days before the race, was able to turn in a solid effort. Now that we have my absolute favorite tracks coming up next in Richmond and Rockingham, as well as a new build on the sim, I’m pumped as ever to get back towards the front half in points and chase a win here soon!”
Briar LaPradd, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet team
“It was another rough night in the Ledford Billiard Supply No. 88, this time at a road course. I kind of expected that as my road-course skills just aren’t there compared to most in the field. Turn 1 was not good for me all day with the two incidents that happened in front of me. We rallied and started climbing the order, but Turn 1 got me again. I’m ready for Richmond in a couple of weeks.”
