Track Specs: 1.54-mile quad-oval/104 laps
Ray’s finish: 4th
Novak’s finish: 5th
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 3, 2026) – JR Motorsports driver Malik Ray and Zack Novak continued their strong start to the 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing season on Tuesday night with top-five finishes in a wild race at the virtual EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Ray led the way in fourth, with Novak close behind in fifth. (Watch the full race).
Ray, who started 14th on the day, put the nose of his Tint Solutions Chevrolet in the wind on the very top line at the start, testing the limits of the fast and racy surface. He would climb into the top 10 over the first 20 laps before the caution waved, and the young driver headed to pit road with the rest of the field, taking four tires. Still in the top 10, Ray stayed in the pack and avoided a huge crash.
On the restart, Ray pushed his way to the front and led 20 laps before twitching loose in one of the sweeping corners and losing the top spot. The caution came out right after that, putting him in catch-up mode. He chased the leaders down to finish fourth.
Novak, driving the No. 8 Charleston Cue/Ledford Billiard Supply/WasherTech.com Chevrolet, started from the outside of the third row and ran in the top three for much of the first segment. The resulting jumbles on restarts saw him get shuffled into the wrong lanes on occasion and dropped down the running order.
Recovering nicely, Novak was able to avoid some of the carnage and race his way back into the top 20 with fresh tires late in the race, and he was able to charge back to fifth, one position behind Ray in the final order.
The twin top-fives did wonders in the point standings, with Novak holding down sixth position just 18 points off the leader. Ray’s finish pushed him up to 11th in the standings, 23 off the lead after two races.
In the team standings, the two-car JRM squad bolted to second in the rankings, five points off the leaders.
Next action for Novak and Ray will be on June 16, when the JRM duo will take on the oval at the virtual Iowa Speedway.
Malik Ray, No. 88 Tint Solutions/Logitech Chevrolet team:
“Our Tint Solutions Chevy was cookin’ all night! I rode around in the top 10 for the first 20 laps before pitting for four tires. A lot of guys took two and I lost a few spots, but missed the big wreck and worked into the top 10. From there it was time to go and I went to the front for 20 laps or so. I just missed a corner and fell back into the field, never could get back there. Settling for fourth was tough at one of my favorite tracks, but both Zack and I had good points days.”
Zack Novak, No. 8 Charleston Billiards & Cue/Ledford Billiard Supply/WasherTech.com Chevrolet team
“Really proud of our entire No. 8 team tonight. I qualified sixth and spent the first run in the top three. I had great speed all night, but got stuck in the wrong lane on a couple of restarts. Luckily, our Charleston Billiards & Cue/Ledford Billiard Supply/WasherTech.com Chevrolet was able to miss some of the wrecks. We were in the top 20 with fresh tires late and made a charge to fifth, finishing right behind Malik. I was pumped to get this strong result and get great points for our JRM teams.”