Race Recaps

Castro, Buttafuoco victorious as Heat Pro League visits Watkins Glen

April 29, 2020


Rookie Maxwell Castro (PlayStation 4) and veteran driver Daniel Buttafuoco (Xbox One) scored big wins Wednesday night as the eNASCAR Heat Pro League returned to Watkins Glen International.

For the first time series’ history, competitors jumped behind the wheel of NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series machines. The switch was smooth for the field, however, as both races saw a fast and furious pace from start to finish with no cautions.

The action got started with the PlayStation 4 race, led throughout by a host of drivers including defending champion Brandyn Gritton, last week’s victor Nick Jobes and eRCR’s Joey Stone. But in the end, the battle for the win came down to Ganassi Gaming’s Castro and Germain Gaming’s Kyle Arnold.

Castro and Arnold traded blows in the closing laps before a showdown in the final turn saw the two make heavy contact. Castro somehow managed to stay pointed straight and limped across the line to claim his first career victory. Arnold was less fortunate, dropping to a frustrating fourth-place result behind Castro, Stone and Cody Giles.

Up next was the Xbox One division, which saw less drama courtesy of a dominant performance from Buttafuoco. The Germain Gaming driver started on pole and never looked back, cruising to a 3-second victory over Ganassi Gaming’s Luis Zaiter. Homestead winner Justin Brooks finished third ahead of Nick Walker and Slade Gravitt.

Zaiter’s P2 performance, paired with Castro’s victory on the PS4 side, rocketed the Ganassi squad into the overall points lead after two races.

The eNASCAR Heat Pro League returns next Wednesday from Dover International Speedway. Coverage begins at 8 PM ET on eNASCAR.com/live.