Steven Wilson became a hometown hero on Tuesday night, holding off Parker White in overtime to win at a virtual Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, as part of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
Wilson, who resides in Iowa City, Iowa, came away with his third victory of the season. His No. 10 Ford got a push from White coming around the final turn, but Wilson was prepared for it, and he coasted across the finish line shortly after, 0.091 seconds ahead of White.
Things got chippy toward the end of regulation, as Wilson cut out in front of Graham Bowlin, forcing him to the outside edge of the track and grabbing the lead. Bowlin tried to answer with a bump and run, but he couldn’t find a way to get around Wilson.
“I’ll be honest … I kind of used (Bowlin) up there,” Wilson said before overtime started. “He has a free will back at it, but I just really want to win this goddamn home race for me. I really want to win here. So, I’ll do what I can for it I guess.”
Bowlin, racing in the No. 48 Toyota, ended up coming in third, behind White’s No. 53 Chevrolet.
“I don’t know what I could have done differently,” said Bowlin, who lives in Houston. “I drove a pretty good race, and I pass (Wilson) around the outside cleanly, and then I was holding a steady gap at the end before the caution came out. Was probably gonna win if it went green. Same thing if it went green with two tires, and he just throttled into my left rear.
“Like, I don’t know.”
Wyatt Tinsley (No. 20 Toyota) came in fourth and Zack Novak (No. 5 Chevrolet) landed in fifth to round out the top five.
The series will resume on June 25 at a virtual Nashville Superspeedway.
–Field Level Media