Track Specs: 1-mile oval / 120 laps
McCandless’ finish: 22nd
Zwack’s finish: 26th
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 25, 2025) – On a day when tire wear was the main worry, the JR Motorsports team of Blake McCandless and Matthew Zwack managed to stay ahead of the game and earn quality finishes in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series at Dover Motor Speedway. Zwack filled in for Briar LaPradd in the No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet, as LaPradd dealt with a family matter. (Watch the full race.)
McCandless, driving the No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet, qualified 38th in the field, which led to a unique strategy play for the team. Knowing that tire management was a key to a good finish, McCandless stretched his fuel window to the maximum in an effort to have the freshest tires late in the race.
Despite falling a half-lap behind the leaders, McCandless was still working the plan at lap 27 when a caution came out, resetting the field and forcing him to recalculate his plan. Taking two tires on his pit stop—and gaining 11 positions in the process—McCandless played the waiting game, conserving tires from 29th position. As the laps wound down, drivers began to fall out with tire issues and McCandless used that and a last-lap pass to move the C4 Energy Camaro up to 22nd at the checkered flag.
Zwack started the race from 40th and had a similar strategy in mind on the tough Dover mile. With tire wear at a premium, Zwack saw his strategy of pitting short fall by the wayside thanks to the lap-27 caution flag, especially since he went for a slide down the front straightaway to avoid it.
Using the high and middle lanes, Zwack tried to gain positions before the tires evened out. After a tough battle with Garrett Lowe, the handling on the Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet went to the tight side and further slowed his run toward the front.
As tire issues began to claim his rivals, Zwack was able to gain six positions in the latter stages of the event to finish 26th.
Vicente Salas was first to cross the finish line, followed by Ryan Luza, Kollin Keister, Dylan Duval and Casey Kirwan.
Next up on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule is the Chicago Street Course on the streets of the Windy City on July 1.
Blake McCandless, driver No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet team
“We came in with a strategy that was a huge risk, but felt like was a way for guaranteed a solid finish. Once we were put on our back foot with the yellow, we re-grouped and stuck with the game plan well. I’m only disappointed that we probably saved a little too much at the end, because the tire wear was more than fine compared to the rest of the field. All in all, can’t complain with making up some ground in the points to get us closer to the top-20 threshold. Road-course racing definitely is not my strong suit, but we’ll see what we can pull off at the street course next week.”
Matthew Zwack, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet:
“It was cool to get an opportunity to return, especially for a team that has a longstanding history with the series. Toward the last 20 laps, the car started to tighten up super quickly and I had to drop off the pace to ensure we could get to the end of the race. Multiple cars were blowing tires and struggling. Between letting cars by and passing others on pit road, we missed out on a good chance at a top-20 finish with better tire management earlier in the run. Overall, it was great to get the chance to drive at the top level again and bring the Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet home safely. Thoughts and prayers go out to the LaPradd family.”