Track Specs: 2.5-mile triangular oval / 60 laps
LaPradd’s finish: 26th
McCandless’ finish: 32nd
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 6, 2025) – Briar LaPradd had a solid race for the second week in a row on Tuesday night, steadily running in the front half of the 40-car field at the virtual Pocono Raceway before losing ground on a late pit stop and finishing 26th. Blake McCandless had much the same journey as his teammate, finishing 32nd after pitting late in the event and losing track position in the run to the checkered flag. (Watch the full race.)
LaPradd, driving the familiar No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet, had a solid outing beginning in qualifying. The Tennessee native qualified a season-high 12th and spent most of the race running inside the top 10 on Pocono’s tricky layout.
Staying on plan throughout most of the race, LaPradd had solid pace and was just clicking off laps and waiting for the time to move forward.
Pitting under caution with around 15 laps remaining, LaPradd rejoined the field near the back and was trapped in the traffic and dirty air. He made it back to 26th at the checkered flag.
McCandless, driving the familiar No. 8 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet, rolled off 31st in the field at Pocono and avoided some on-track incidents to run much of the race in the top 20.
Taking a measured approach, McCandless searched out clean air and concentrated on missing the on-track accidents that occurred during the contest. Focused on fuel and tire management, the strategy was working as he made his way forward in the order.
The same late-race caution that stalled LaPradd took its toll on McCandless. Hitting pit road for tires and fuel, McCandless dropped several spots in the order and came back out in 32nd for the dash to the finish, ending the race in that position.
Series icon Bobby Zelenski won the race over Christopher Hill, with Zack Novak, six-time winner and point leader Steven Wilson and Seth DeMerchant rounding out the top five.
Next up on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule is the virtual Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19, the first round of the eNCCiRS Playoffs.
Briar LaPradd, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet:
“Tonight’s race was the first time this year that we really had something to work with, and it showed. We had solid pace in the Ledford Billiard Supply Chevy and everything seemed to be going in the right direction, but then we pitted with about 15 to go and got caught back in the pack. I couldn’t make any moves in the dirty air. It was definitely a step in the right direction and I have a good feeling about our momentum heading to Michigan in a couple of weeks.”
Blake McCandless, driver No. 8 C4 Energy Chevrolet team
“We were running a very clean race there for a while and had a shot at a solid finish, but deciding to pit on that late yellow was a tough call, and it ended up costing us what was going to be a really decent day. We just couldn’t make up the ground we lost after that. We’ll take the lessons from Pocono and come back stronger at MIS in a couple of weeks.”