After a nail-biting start to the final race, Keegan Leahy has won his first eNASCAR Championship.
Photo Credit: iRacing/Keegan Leahy
He did it, and we called it. is the 2021 eNASCAR champion and $100,000 richer. The Canadian-born sim racer prevailed in a thrilling race and beat out his three feisty opponents. But how did it happen?
Ahead of the sensation
This eNASCAR Coca Cola Series season has been full of excitement and surprises. As we highlighted in our video ahead of the playoffs, many drivers were able to earn the spot at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the season.
With all that anticipation building up, it was no surprise to see many hopeful faces on social media ahead of the race.
It all comes down to this.@CocaColaRacing | 9 PM ET pic.twitter.com/4MI8J5PMET
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 12, 2021
Front row lockout
Green flag stops are underway for the championship contenders!
— iRacing.com (@iRacing) October 13, 2021
approaching the halfway point in Texas.
Broadcast: https://t.co/yj2VU77Eau pic.twitter.com/7L8Xo9oWot
With a dominant performance in qualifying, the two teammates Mitchell deJong and Keegan Leahy secured the top two positions at the start. The third finals participant Bobby Zalenski started ninth, while the final competitor, Logan Clampitt, only managed to start 31st. So everything already seemed in line for the 23XI Racing team.
Throughout the first run, Mitchell deJong seemed like the fastest car while Keegan waited for his opportunity to strike. After the first cycle of pitstops Keegan saw his opportunity to pass his teammate by lap 92.
New race leader and championship leader at lap 92: @KeeganLeahy
— Justin Melillo (@justinmelillo) October 13, 2021
Could this be the pass for the title?#eNASCAR | @iRacing pic.twitter.com/yCPddtX7jd
Intense finish
While driving to a lead of over three seconds, Leahy was far from a winner at this point. Incredibly Logan Clampitt made his way to the top of the grid after starting from the back. Clampitt was gaining big chunks of time each lap, and suddenly the win seemed in jeopardy.
With less than 25 laps to go, @KeeganLeahy‘s lead is shrinking. We’re going to have a WILD finish as @LoganClampitt_ closes in on the leader.https://t.co/yj2VU77Eau pic.twitter.com/SVqQltizKA
— iRacing.com (@iRacing) October 13, 2021
However, the veteran Canadian prevailed and secured his first eNASCAR title after coming ever so close two years earlier.
The kid from Canada! 🏆@KeeganLeahy is your 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Champion!
— iRacing.com (@iRacing) October 13, 2021
The @23XIRacing driver wins at Texas and claims the $100,000! pic.twitter.com/Vb3HJsEvGU
“That maturity I talked about before really helped me. I think I talked myself up a lot, but I performed as well. With my development as a driver, I was able to cut out all the stress and nerves. I ultimately deserved it” said an elated Leahy in the post race presser. With this win he joins an elite group of esports driver who call themselves champions and makes himself $100,000 richer.
We from OverTake congratulate Keegan Leahy on getting his first eNASCAR Championship!
Did you watch the final of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing series? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!