Garrett Lowe returns to eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series victory lane at Iowa

Last year, BS+COMPETITION’s Garrett Lowe embarked on his first season of racing in the NASCAR Euro Series, complimenting his successful virtual racing arc in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series that’s been ongoing since 2019. His “Sim to Reality” story continues to be documented frequently, but the symbiosis between the disciplines hasn’t been fully beneficial to this point. In the first year of being his team’s “Hybrid Racer”, Lowe went winless in the Championship Series for the first time since the 2021 season, and he was relegated down into the Qualifying Series to kick off 2026.

Now, Lowe is hitting his stride on both accounts, finding success on the V8GP circuit overseas while existing in the top half of the Championship Series standings entering Iowa Speedway on Tuesday night. After the dust settled on the caution-free night in Iowa, Lowe managed to not only win his Heat race and lead the opening stint, but also pass the only driver previously to win a points-paying race at Iowa, Spire Motorsports’ Steven Wilson, through a wild pit cycle on a setup where it was hard to pass, claiming his sixth-career Championship Series win, tying for 11th on the all-time most wins list.

“I think we made it look really easy, but that was a really difficult race,” Lowe said post-race. “That was probably the most tire management that we’ve had in a really long time in this series, and it was a lot of fun. There was a little bit of pit strategy in the middle. I think we nailed that—good pit stops. The Legacy Esports Majors Garage group on the top of the pit box did a great job… keeping me in the right place on strategy. We just had a good run. I’m a little surprised, but nonetheless, a great way midway through the season.”

After qualifying in fourth, Lowe was split into the second Heat race of the night, lining up outside of Williams F1 Team Gaming’s Donovan Strauss. Lowe managed to take control and lead every lap, which would put him second on the grid in the Feature race. Once again, this time starting alongside Heat 1 race winner, Kanaan Esports’ Sebastian Marin, Lowe took control and kept it with that outside lane advantage.

At the end, through various strategies, Lowe managed to keep his No. 99 out front for the win. Lowe becomes the third different winner on the 2026 season, all but locking in his spot in the 2026 eNASCAR Playoffs. The win also moves Lowe up to second in the Segment 2 standings, just two points behind Wilson entering Indianapolis next week.

HEAT RACING RETURNS TO SET LINEUP

For the first time in the 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series season, the Short Track format was in play. The Short Track format contains Heat races with points on the line, the results of those races also setting the lineup for the Feature race later in the night. Odd-numbered qualifiers were placed in the first Heat, while even-numbered qualifiers went to Heat 2. JR Motorsports’ Zack Novak laid down the fastest lap in qualifying, while Donovan Strauss managed to pick up second. Sebastian Marin and Garrett Lowe were qualified in third and fourth, and would line up on the outside of their respective Heat’s front row.

The opening Heat had a bit of an ominous start as Novak was unable to get the power down on the inside lane. This caused a checkup which sent a number of cars crashing behind, including Casey Kirwan (Pioneers) and Femi Olatunbosun (Spire Motorsports). Novak was relegated back to third almost immediately as Marin and Matthew Morton (TC Esports) managed to get by and pull away. Novak lost one more spot before the end, to BS+COMPETITION’s Jordy Lopez, while Steven Wilson rounded out the top-five.

Wilson’s charge through the field was halted for a time by rival Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team), as the two rekindled their battle while fighting for seventh. Zalenski, who was on the losing end of a scuffle two weeks ago at Dover, did not cut his competitor any breaks, and that may have cost Wilson a shot at finishing better in the Heat and earning a better starting spot, and in turn, may have been the biggest factor in not claiming a third win at his home track on Tuesday night.

As for the second Heat, Lowe got around Strauss in a much cleaner start. The 20-car field held it together this time, but at the same time, went four-wide at times fighting for every inch. Strauss seemed to have a little more pace than Lowe from the jump, getting alongside at times, but the push on the inside heated up the No. 4’s tires to a point where he couldn’t keep up towards the end.

There would be an incident in the second Heat involving the two fgrAccel eRacing Toyotas and the William Byron eSports Chevrolet of Tucker Minter. Around halfway, Minter made a move to the inside of Ryan Luza for sixth, and off of the corner, the two made contact, namely with Minter’s right rear and Luza’s left front. Minter bounced off of the wall, but kept going. Luza also bounced off of the wall, but then slid down into his teammate, Seth DeMerchant, which ultimately sent Luza spinning hard into the wall. While his night would not be over, his starting position was compromised, and Luza would take the green in the Feature from last place.

Minter wound up seventh, while DeMerchant was relegated back to 11th. Lowe, meanwhile, wound up the victor, and perhaps in the best position entering the Feature race.

OUTSIDE LINE DOMINANT ON STARTS

Tuesday night featured three restarts, and each time, the outside line was the one to prevail. Zack Novak lost out to Sebastian Marin in the first Heat, while Donovan Strauss was at a disadvantage to Garrett Lowe in the second. Entering the Feature race, Lowe would start second, but in the preferred groove outside of Marin.

What wasn’t certain was how the Feature would play out. Cautions were turned off in the opening pair of Heat races, plus the races were just short enough that a driver could push through the run and hold control, as evident by Marin and Lowe leading all their laps.

For a 90 lap run, would it be more beneficial to have the lead early, or to save tires? Lowe got the jump, as expected from the Heat races, but Marin wasn’t giving up so easily.

All the rookie needed was one slide up and in front of Lowe, and it could have been an entirely different race. Lowe, however, was able to keep Marin from getting by, and for the third time on the night, the outside line was the winning one.

CAUTION-FREE RACE SETS UP FOR STRATEGIES ACROSS THE BOARD

Being a fixed setup race, these 40 drivers were all on a level playing field. Some had that play into their hand, while others struggled to find comfort in a piece they wouldn’t normally run. Not many drivers could make passes. At the end of the night, Femi Olatunbosun was the biggest mover, going from 39th on the grid to 19th, but most others only were up a couple of spots, with outliers like Dylan Duval (Channel 199 Sim Racing) up 16 places, or Quentin Warman (Hyak Motorsports) grabbing a top-five after having to gain 13 spots from 18th on the grid.

There was also an early philosophy split among the field. A driver can make it to the end without pitting in a 90-lap race at Iowa Speedway. Fuel wasn’t a concern. Tires, however, were a huge concern, and at points, there were some tires that virtually went to zero percent. A caution at the right time for those opting to run long, or in some cases, stay out the entire way, could be a complete game changer. That caution never came, which meant that the winning story came from pit stops around halfway.

Steven Wilson started in ninth, and immediately chose to race and not pace, moving up to fourth before halfway. His tires were cooked in that run, and so on Lap 46, the two-time champion was the first to enter pit road for service, kicking off the pit cycle. An earlier stop, or undercut, would mean fresher tires sooner, thus faster lap times earlier. Lowe, up in the lead, opted to pit two laps later, which cost him the cycle lead and put him on offense for his next portion of the race. Wilson, meanwhile, would be on defense as he would need to both navigate traffic, manage tires, and hold off fresher tires.

It was Lap 59 when Lowe’s advantage paid off. Wilson led the cycle prior, but his tires getting cooked sooner gave Lowe the edge he needed to get by and take the cycle lead on Lap 60. Wilson would ultimately fall to third in the cycle before the end of the race, as Marin was also able to get by before the checkered flag waved.

Then there were the drivers who were trying to make it from the get go. Bobby Zalenski started in 15th, but quickly fell back outside of the top-30 before too long. His goal was to run long, either getting a caution at the right time, or running the tires optimally the entire way to outlast those who came in to pit.

With 25 laps to go, Tucker Minter relinquished the lead, either seeing the writing on the wall that the pitters would overtake early enough to salvage points, or knowing his tires would not last the entire stint in any case. Minter would finish in 26th. This handed the lead over to the ERA eSports Team-mates of Michael Cosey Jr and Bobby Zalenski. Zalenski went by almost immediately, bringing Casey Kirwan through to second. Cosey Jr was fading fast, and came in to pit a few laps later.

With 17 laps to go, Lowe was there, and made it look easy. Zalenski had made his bed, but it only got worse from there. With 10 laps to go, Zalenski experienced a virtual blowout as one of his tires went to zero percent. This forced the game to give him a meatball flag, which meant he had to pit, and thus his strategy would result in a 38th place effort. Kirwan was one of the few to make it the entire way without having to pit, finishing 23rd, just ahead of Jake Nichols (TC Esports) who also made it, finishing 24th. Up front, it was all about Lowe, who executed a perfect race.

RACE #5 | IOWA SPEEDWAY | OFFICIAL RESULTS

PLAYOFF STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #5 | IOWA SPEEDWAY

* = Segment 1 Champion, earns additional five Playoff Points

TEAM STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #5 | IOWA SPEEDWAY

SEGMENT #2 STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #2 OF 3 | IOWA SPEEDWAY

ROOKIE STANDINGS FOLLOWING RACE #5 | IOWA SPEEDWAY

POINTS SITUATION LEAVING IOWA

Through five races, Steven Wilson’s worst finish so far is a fourth place effort in the season opener at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His EchoPark win, runner up at Coronado, win at Dover, and now third place effort at Iowa leaves him in a place where he leads in almost every category he is a part of, including wins, top-fives, top-10s, and most importantly, points. The two wins lock him into the eNASCAR Playoffs, but even without considering them, he’s earned a 36 point lead over second place Vicente Salas, and a 63 point gap over the new driver in third, Garrett Lowe.

It’s so close between everyone else not named Wilson or Salas, that the top-15 is separated by only 28 points. Wilson is also leading the Segment 2 standings, but just by two points over Lowe entering the Segment finale at Indianapolis next week. Jordy Lopez has a decent shot as well, sitting in third, just 10 points back. Spire Motorsports still leads the Team Standings, now over Kanaan Esports by 29 points. ERA eSports Team was one of the top teams, but they’ve now fallen outside of the top-10 after a disastrous two races at Dover and Iowa.

The leading ERA driver, Bobby Zalenski, is now 12th in the points, but locked in with two wins should he stay about 20th. It sounds crazy to say, but Zalenski is only 25 points ahead of 21st, which is a closer gap than the third-to-15th gap mentioned previously. Ahead of Zalenski in points without wins are Donovan Strauss and Sebastian Marin, but the win is the ultimate card to the Playoff field, and thus makes their points position irrelevant unless they are one of the seven drivers currently best in points without a win. New winners will only continue to shrink that number as well, so truly, only three points paying positions are actually guaranteed to this point.

Finally, in the rookie battle, RFK Racing’s Shawn Conklin has been quietly impressive. Conklin didn’t have the flashy pace as his rival, Marin, but he methodically stayed in the conversation and was rewarded with his second top-10 of the season, which moves him up to seventh in the points, and eighth on the Playoff board. Marin’s solid outing moves him up to 11th in points, or 12th on the Playoff board. Matthew Morton is also hanging on to the fight, in third of the nine drivers, 16th in the standings after five races.

NEXT RACE: SEGMENT 2 ENDS AT THE BRICKYARD

Following Iowa, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series will race next at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once again, this will be a quick turnaround as the series will not have an off-week in-between races 5 and 6.

The Brickyard was home to a record-tying sixth win of the 2025 season for one Steven Wilson. The race came down to late race theatrics, including the previous winner, Daniel Faulkingham, giving up the lead late due to low fuel. Wilson held on through a trio of eNASCAR Overtimes to take the win.

The action from Indianapolis starts on July 14th with the Countdown to Green pre-race show at 7:45 p.m. ET.

For more information on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit eNASCAR.com or iRacing.com/eNASCAR.
For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit iRacing.com.­­