Track Specs: 2.3-mile road course / 30 laps
LaPradd’s finish: 23rd
Honeycutt’s finish: 31st
Team Standings: 6th (-66)
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 10, 2024) – The trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the legendary virtual Brands Hatch circuit in England for the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series saw the two-car JR Motorsports contingent of Briar LaPradd and Kaden Honeycutt finish 23rd and 31st, respectively, on Tuesday night. Both drivers suffered early contact on the tight course and rallied to the finish. (Watch the full race.)
LaPradd, driving the No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply/Race Face Digital Chevrolet, suffered a shunt in his heat race, getting pushed off the track and spun early in the 15-lap qualifier. That put him 27th for the start of the 30-lap main.
On the initial start, just out of Turn 1, the Tennessee native suffered a similar fate as a car returning to the track crossed the nose of the No. 88 Chevrolet and caused damage that would plague him the rest of the race. LaPradd persevered with the damage and brought his Camaro home in 23rd position.
Honeycutt, who finished 22nd in his 15-lap heat, found passing to be tough on the sweeping layout. His race changed in Turn 2 on the initial lap, when he spun off the nose of another machine and sustained heavy damage. He brought his No. 8 FilterTime Chevrolet home in 31st position at the end of 30 laps.
The result did damage to both drivers and team in the point standings. Honeycutt fell from sixth to 15th in the driver points, 52 off the lead, while LaPradd dropped from eighth to 12th, 47 points in arrears. In the team ranks, JR Motorsports fell three spots to sixth, 66 off the top spot.
Road-course master Bobby Zalenski won the race over polesitter Steven Wilson, the defending series champion. Tucker Minter was third, followed by Nick Ottinger and Vicente Salas.
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will race again on April 23 at the virtual Dover Motor Speedway.
Briar LaPradd, driver No. 88 Ledford Billiard Supply/Race Face Digital JR Motorsports Chevrolet team
“I had some fun figuring this track at Brands Hatch out in testing, but I didn’t enjoy it a whole lot when it came time to race it. We qualified toward the back and tried to charge our way to the front, and in the heat race we got punted off the track. In the main event, a car bottomed out and spun across the nose, which damaged our Ledford Billiard Supply Chevrolet. We managed the damage and brought it home 23rd. These next few races are strong tracks for us and I’m looking forward to it.”
Kaden Honeycutt, driver No. 8 FilterTime JR Motorsports Chevrolet team
“It’s really hard to pass at Brands Hatch. We started 22nd in the main and didn’t make it out of Turn 2 after getting spun. The Filter Time Chevrolet was destroyed. That’s unfortunate, because we could have salvaged a great finish to stay up in the standings. We’re still in the playoff picture and that’s all that matters. Thanks to Deadzone Racing and Steven Steffen for the great job spotting all night. We’ll keep our head down and go on to Dover.”