Top eNASCAR Drivers Novak, Ray Set for JR Motorsports Debut

May 18, 2026

In this year’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, JR Motorsports’ lineup includes a pair of drivers who have battled for championships, logged wins and been near the front of the field.

This year’s lineup includes 2019 series champion Zack Novak, driving the No. 8 Ledford Billiard Supply/WasherTech.com Chevrolet and Malik Ray in the No. 88 Tint Solutions/Logitech/PGR Esports/Fort Worth Print Screening Chevrolet for JRM.

The team will make its debut Tuesday night at 8 p.m., taking on the virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway in the opening round of the 2026 championship.

With the pair in JRM colors for 2026, JRM has a former series champion and a Championship 4 participant last season in Novak and a driver in Ray that is known for his race craft and always moving to the front for a full-time assault on the championship, and both are looking forward to the chase.

“It’s an honor to be with JR Motorsports in this series,” Novak said. “I am so excited and thrilled and really just any word that I could use to describe being happy when I heard about the potential of this coming about. I talked to my family about it and they all agreed with me that, you know, this is just an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Ray was equally thrilled to join Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s organization in the most popular NASCAR esports discipline there is.

“I watched the video of him (Earnhardt Jr.) in his first championship on iRacing in like 2007 or 2008,” Ray said. “I watched him and now I’m in the same series and driving for him. I got started from that video. He dominated the whole thing. It was just him and Josh Berry. I thought it was cool. I’m excited, and I would say more motivated than before because I know this team probably has a lot of eyes on them in comparison to the rest.”

Novak is coming off a season in which he won once and posted eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and 84 laps led on the way to a fourth-place finish in the points. His 2024 victory at the virtual Atlanta Motor Speedway came in a photo finish. Last season, Ray earned three top-five and seven top-10 finishes and led 11 laps, good for 20th in the standings at season’s end.

Tune in to www.enascar.com/live at 8 p.m. ET to watch the opening race of the season.