Dylan Duval | The MotorSportsNews.Net(work)

Stewart-Haas eSports Announces Drivers for 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series

by MikeJanuary 13, 2021January 13, 2021

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Jan. 12, 2021) – Stewart-Haas eSports, the simracing extension of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has named its two drivers for the 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series – Dylan Duval and Graham Bowlin.

Duval returns to Stewart-Haas eSports for a second straight season. The 25-year-old from Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the first Canadian iRacing winner in series history, taking the checkered flag at virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. Duval has made 93 starts in his eight-year career, scoring nine top-five and 25 top-10 finishes while earning a best points result of fifth in 2016.

“I’m extremely proud to be back with Stewart-Haas eSports,” said Duval, who is a graphic designer when not competing in iRacing events. “It meant the world when they picked me last year and it’s really encouraging to know that this team has my back. They believe in my ability to run up front and I’m ready to show they made the right decision in having me return for a second season.”

New to Stewart-Haas eSports is Bowlin, a Texas native who was a rookie in the 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The 18-year-old from Houston finished 11th in the championship standings for Joe Gibbs Racing. He earned two poles and notched two top-fives and six top-10s with 90 laps led. Bowlin also scored a non-points victory in the All-Star Race at virtual North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“I’m genuinely excited to join Stewart-Haas eSports,” said Bowlin, a senior in high school. “I have high expectations for this season and I think that being paired with Dylan makes our team really strong.”

Bowlin will race Stewart-Haas eSports’ No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang and Duval will pilot the team’s No. 41 Ford Mustang.

Smithfield has increased its involvement with Stewart-Haas eSports in 2021. The American food company with a global reach will be prominently featured on Bowlin’s No. 10 Ford Mustang for every race and will be the presenting sponsor of Stewart-Haas eSports LIVE, the team’s exclusive, in-race onboard stream. Smithfield will also present a weekly track overview that will be shared across the Stewart-Haas Racing and Stewart-Haas eSports social media accounts.

“To amplify our 10th consecutive year of sponsorship within the sport, Smithfield is expanding its involvement by becoming more active in the esports space through our overall partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Tim Zimmer, Chief Marketing Officer, Smithfield. “We’re proud to support the emerging esports initiative within the industry and are thrilled to take this next step with Stewart-Haas eSports and Graham Bowlin.”

The 2021 season marks the 12th year of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series and it is the only officially sanctioned esports series of NASCAR. The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series features the top-40 paved oval simracers in the world competing in racecar replicas engineered from the ground up in cooperation with real-world race teams, applying accurate mechanical and dynamic models on exact copies of NASCAR’s greatest venues.

The schedule for the 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will be released at a later date.

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Drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval Ready for First Short Track of 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Season

by MikeApril 1, 2020

Details:

• Event: eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (Round 4 of 20)

• Time/Date: 9 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 31 (TONIGHT)

• Location: Virtual Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

• Distance: 250 laps (133.25 miles)

Where to Watch:

• eNASCAR.com/live

• Facebook.com/NASCAR

• YouTube.com/NASCAR

• Twitch.tv/iRacing

Overview:

• This is the first time in 2020 that the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will compete on a short track. All of the series’ previous races have come at tracks 1.5 miles in length or longer.

• This is the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series’ fourth visit to the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, but only its second since 2011.

• Last year’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race at Bristol was run under the lights. This year’s edition is a daytime affair.

• Stewart-Haas eSports drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval come into Bristol after each earned their season-best result in the series’ last race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Duval finished 15th and Bolton was 17th.

• Duval finished 25th in last year’s race at Bristol, while Bolton makes his Bristol debut tonight.

Justin Bolton, driver of the No. 10 Get Busch Delivered! Ford Mustang:

“We’ve run well, but we don’t have the finishes to show for it. We were up toward the top-five at the end of the first run in our last two speedway races, but haven’t been able to get it done when it mattered. We’re going into Bristol optimistic that we can turn our season around. I’ll be driving the No. 10 Get Busch Delivered! Ford Mustang, and we’ve been spending a lot of time working on this setup. We feel confident that we’ll have something to compete with. And for those of you who are 21 or older, go to Busch.com/delivery and then enter your zip code to see what options are available in your area. From there, you can get Busch delivered right to your doorstep. While we’re racing, you can relax and unwind with an ice-cold Busch.”

Bolton is a 25-year-old engineer on Stewart-Haas Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team who helped Cole Custer to a career-high seven victories in 2019. Bolton has raced in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series off and on since 2014, accumulating 49 starts with nine top-five finishes and a career-best points result of ninth in 2015. The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, native also has real-world racing experience, as Bolton has raced Legends cars and Late Model stock cars, winning the 2013 Fall Classic at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in the Limited Late Model division.

Dylan Duval, driver of the No. 41 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang:

“Coming into the season, Bristol is the track I had circled as being the one I was most concerned about. Last season at Bristol, I really struggled and wasn’t happy with how we performed. The racing at Bristol is so close quarters – having an ill-handling car can lead to a very long night of racing. We’ve turned a lot of laps and have explored many setup options to get our PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang dialed in for tonight’s race. There are a lot of unknowns going into it. It’s our first race on the low-downforce package, and this race will be in the daytime as opposed to last year’s race, which was at night. We’ve done our homework, though, and I think we’re prepared. This season has started off pretty rough for us – having an issue on pit road at Daytona and struggling with dirty air and passing at California. Going into Homestead last week, we needed to start turning our season around and we did exactly that with running inside of the top-10 and, ultimately, finishing 15th. Coming into Bristol, I’m hoping to build off of what we did at Homestead and continue to make up some points.”

Duval is a 24-year-old from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The graphic designer debuted in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series in 2012 and is the first Canadian iRacing winner in series history, taking the checkered flag at the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. Duval has made 76 starts in his seven-year career, scoring eight top-fives and earning a best points finish of fifth in 2016.

About Stewart-Haas eSports:

NASCAR is the ultimate test of driver acumen and mechanical know-how, where teams scrutinize every detail in a never-ending quest for speed. Stewart-Haas Racing has thrived in this environment, winning races and championships to firmly establish its presence in NASCAR. Stewart-Haas eSports emulates these efforts in the virtual world, where sim technology provides a visceral experience that amplifies the grit and determination of NASCAR drivers in the real world. Stewart-Haas eSports is a natural extension of Stewart-Haas Racing, where competition and simulation are one. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com and follow on Twitter @SHR_eSports.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 70 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

Clint Bowyer Finishes 11th in O’Reilly Auto Parts 125; Chase Briscoe Gets Spun in Qualifying Race, Doesn’t Advance to Feature

by MikeMarch 30, 2020

Details:

• Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2)

• Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series

• Date: Sunday, March 29

• Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

• Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)

• Winner: Timmy Hill of MBM Motorsports

• Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 125-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Stewart-Haas eSports Results:

• O’Reilly Auto Parts 125

• Clint Bowyer (Started 15th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 130 of 130 laps)

• Qualifying race

• Chase Briscoe (Started 7th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 30 of 30 laps)

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang:

“Today was all about survival, guys. I needed a redo for my Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang because I got together with (Greg) Biffle, ‘The Biff’, off of (turn) two. I guess we were three-wide. I didn’t realize we were three-wide. My spotter Jeff Gordon, I had to fire him halfway through the race and moved to Larry McReynolds. Larry said nothing when we were three-wide and I wrecked and collected a bunch of them. But again, a great time was had by all. Timmy Hill, big win for him and his brand. It’s going to be a lot of fun to compete in this over the next few weeks. But, man we are all in this together! Looking forward to next week.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Ford Mustang:

“Unfortunately, we didn’t make it through the qualifying race this week, so we’ll have to wait and give it another shot next weekend at Bristol. We had a really fast Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Mustang and it would’ve been interesting to see how we stacked up against the Cup drivers.”

Notes:

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

• Xfinity and Truck Series drivers have to race their way into the feature event, and only four open spots were available for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125. Alex Labbe won the 30-lap qualifying race, followed by Anthony Alfredo, Ty Majeski and Ruben Garcia, Jr.

• As an Xfinity Series driver, Briscoe was one of 32 drivers in the qualifying race attempting to finish in the top-four to earn a place in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125. Briscoe was spun on lap 14 while running sixth, effectively ending his opportunity for a top-four finish.

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.

• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.

Next Up:

• Stewart-Haas eSports returns to action on Tuesday, March 31 in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway with drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval.

• The race starts at 9 p.m. EDT with live coverage via:

• eNASCAR.com/live

• Facebook.com/NASCAR

• YouTube.com/NASCAR

• Twitch.tv/iRacing

• Duval and Bolton come into Bristol after each earned their season-best result in the series’ last race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Duval finished 15th and Bolton was 17th.

About Stewart-Haas eSports:

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Duval and Bolton Score Best Finishes Thus Far in 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Season

by MikeMarch 18, 2020March 18, 2020

Event: eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (Round 3 of 20)

Date: Tuesday, March 17

Location: Virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Distance: 134 laps (201 miles)

Winner: Ryan Luza of Williams eSports

Stewart-Haas eSports Results:

● Dylan Duval (Started 24th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)

● Justin Bolton (Started 14th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)

Notes:

● Duval’s 15th-place drive was his best result of the season. His previous best was 31st, earned Feb. 25 at the virtual Auto Club Speedway.

● Bolton’s 17th-place effort was also his best finish of the season. His previous best was 24th, earned at Auto Club Speedway.

Dylan Duval, driver of the No. 41 Mobil 1/Haas Automation Ford Mustang:

“We had a really good Mobil 1/Haas Automation Ford Mustang tonight. Unfortunately, I didn’t qualify the best. Thankfully, my spotter/crew chief Nick Neben called a very aggressive race. We were able to leapfrog through the field and ended up 15th after struggling on the old left-side tires. Overall, a great rebound for us tonight. Looking forward to Bristol in a couple of weeks.”

Justin Bolton, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

“Drove up to seventh and did what we could in dirty air. Got damage on a restart and couldn’t come close after that. Same story as California (Auto Club Speedway). The Smithfield Ford Mustang was really good, we just got hit in the side on a restart and it ruined our race – couldn’t keep up down the straights at that point. I tried running the top to mediate the problem, but we just couldn’t get the speed we had the first run and got passed by all the cars we passed to start. Thanks for everyone for tuning in, though. Can’t wait to move on from this and get to Bristol.”

Next Up & Where to Watch:

The next event on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule is Tuesday, March 31 at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. The race starts at 9 p.m. EDT with live coverage via…

● eNASCAR.com/live

● Facebook.com/NASCAR

● YouTube.com/NASCAR

● Twitch.tv/iRacing

About Stewart-Haas eSports:

About Stewart-Haas Racing: