Stewart-Haas Gaming won the inaugural eNASCAR Heat Pro League championship Wednesday at ISM Raceway. The finale consisted of two 70-lap races — one for the PlayStation 4 league and another for the Xbox One group — with 14 drivers competing in each. All of the action took place live in the NASCAR Plaza’s Studio 43 in Charlotte.
“We made it happen,”said Jake Morris, the voice of Stewart-Haas Gaming. “We’re champions, baby — again.”
The title came down to a tiebreaker. Stewart-Haas Gaming matched Leavine Family Racing with 4,079 points apiece in the final standings. Laps led ultimately was the determining factor that gave SHG the trophy.
Last-lap chaos at @ISMRaceway!@StewartHaasGmng edges out @LFGaming95 in a tiebreaker to capture the inaugural eNASCAR Heat Pro League title. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/vGC2KYzyXm
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 24, 2019
Team Penske Esports finished in third overall, six points under the leaders. JR Motorsports was then fourth, 12 points down.
Four of the eight playoff drivers were in the top five in their respective races. All of them were in the top 10.
The Xbox showdown had a last-lap lead change that led Nick Vroman (HDM Motorsports95, Leavine Family Gaming) to taking the checkered flag. Polesitter Josh Shoemaker (SHG Slick 14x, Stewart-Haas Gaming) was then second.
Brian Tedeschi (ShellVPower22, Team Penske Esports) wound up seventh, while Tyler Dohar (JRM Dohar88, JR Motorsports) was 10th.
Brandyn Gritton (SHG_HotRod_14p, Stewart-Haas Gaming) previously dominated the PlayStation 4 race, leading 58 of the 70 laps.
Josh Harbin (ThAbEaR_95, Leavine Family Gaming) took over second place with four laps to go, but Gritton was too far ahead for Harbin to catch up. Polesitter Corey Rothgeb (Pennzoil2, Team Penske Esports) ended up third. The fourth and final PS4 playoff driver, Jason Keffer (JRM Keffer, JR Motorsports), came in fifth.