Track Specs: 1.5-mile quad-oval / 100 laps
Conti's finish: 4th
King's finish: 29th
Team Standings: T-3rd (-79)
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 31, 2023) -- The two-car JR Motorsports eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing team continued its trek toward the season championship Tuesday night at the virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway, with Michael Conti logging a fourth-place finish and teammate Kevin King rallying to 29th after an on-track incident slowed his pace. (Watch the full race.)
Conti, on his farewell tour for the series, was on pace for a pole-winning lap in qualifying before a tight condition blunted the run and his No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis Chevrolet wound up 12th in the lineup for the start. King's No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet had solid pace in qualifying and the veteran driver slotted in ninth for the start.
Despite the good results, the race turned out very differently for the two JRM drivers.
Conti, already twice a winner this season in eight races, set about moving up the order at the waving of the green flag and had climbed to fifth at the first caution on lap 9. Unfortunately, the caution involved his teammate.
King, who had reworked his setup for the 100-lap race after a stellar effort in qualifying, got caught behind a car with less pace and, in the process of working around got pinched into the wall. The resulting damage was costly, as he emerged two laps down.
Conti used the restart to consolidate his gains and rode in third for 15 laps or so before rising to take the lead for a lap. At that point, the front tires on the WR1 Sim Chassis Camaro were worn, and Conti fell through the field to 11th before another caution slowed the race near the halfway point.
After taking care of the tire situation on pit road, Conti spent the remainder of the race working back toward the front. In the final shootout for the victory, Conti ran as high as third before settling in fourth at the checkered flag.
King spent 90 laps trying to get back on the lead lap in the Ledford Billiard Supply Camaro and finally got it done near the end of the 100-lapper. Once back on the lead serial, the veteran driver worked traffic and climbed to 29th at the finish.
Conti maintained his lead in the eNCCiRS point standings, expanding his margin to 26 points over Nick Ottinger. King's rally put him 27th in points, just 26 points off the coveted top 20. Drivers must finish in the top 20 in series points to be eligible for the series in 2024, and King has nine races to erase the deficit.
The performance puts JRM fourth in the team standings, 79 behind the lead, after nine races.
The JR Motorsports duo and the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will return to the track on June 13 at the virtual World Wide Technology Raceway.
Michael Conti, driver No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis JR Motorsports Chevrolet team
"Another race, another solid finish for the No. 8 WR1 Sim Chassis Camaro! We really focused on finding some pace in qualifying this week, and while our starting position doesn't really tell the whole story, we made some good gains overall. Aside from driving the front tires off the car on the first run, the race setup was on point as well. Even though we're comfortably into the post-season, we're still grinding just as hard every week and I believe our consistent speed speaks to that effort. Looking ahead to Gateway, I hope this year's race is kinder to our No. 8 team than last year's."
Kevin King, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet team
"Had a lot of race speed in testing, but wrecked early and never had a chance to find out. I just got stuck behind a car that didn't have much pace and got pinched into the wall. This No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet was really fast in race trim, and I salvaged some points in the end, but another disappointing race for us. We'll just have to try again in two weeks at Gateway."