Big-Block Modifieds

BIG BLOCK BLAKE: 127 Industries Captain Matjoulis Wins Season 3 Tour Opener at Weedsport

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Yeager impressive in Tour debut, Ducharme notches career best finish

Blake Matjoulis got his goal of competing for a DIRTcar eSports Tour championship started off right with a win in the season opener Wednesday night on DIRTVision.

“We got a couple wins last season, and to start off like this, it’s definitely some good momentum for Week #2,” Matjoulis said.

A 50-lap contest stood before the Bicknell Racing Products Big Block Modified field of 38 strong at Weedsport Speedway. Matjoulis, of Ashville, NY, had yet to win with the Big Blocks on the DIRTcar eSports Tour, but looked as good as ever, backed by his newest iRacing team at 127 Industries.

Starting fourth on the grid, Matjoulis chased down early leader Tyler Ducharme, of Bomoseen, VT, in the opening laps with fellow frontrunners Alex Bergeron, Evan Seay and Dylan Yeager. Matjoulis found his first opportunity at the lead directly after a restart on Lap 18, where he rode the high side of the slicked-off track surface and gained enough speed out of Turn 4 to nip Ducharme at the line for the lead.

“I found something in [Turns] 1-2 that was about a tenth faster every lap and was pounding the fence in 3-4. That’s how I ended up getting the lead,” Matjoulis said.

That move proved to be all the #127 needed to get the lead. But, holding it was a different story. While the top side got him the lead, the bottom carried him to victory. Matjoulis quickly swapped lanes to the bottom in an effort to hold off Ducharme and wisely held the line through the remainder of the race.

Ducharme hits the infield jersey barrier in Turn 1 (Joe Grabianowski Photo)

Bergeron, of Drummondville, QC, was riding solidly in third with just under 15 circuits remaining when a bit of contact with his competition sent him in a near-spin through Turns 3-4, losing several spots. He impressively rebounded before the checkers, though, climbing back up to a fifth-place finish.

This incident inadvertently allowed the resurgence of Yeager and his charge back up to third, which he completed on the final lap.

“Alex [Bergeron] and Tyler [Schell] got together and I was able to capitalize on that and finally get around Richard [Murtaugh] for third-place, so we’ll take it,” Yeager said.

Back out front, the caution-sprinkled race allowed those behind Matjoulis multiple chances to make a move for the lead, but he was too good in the slick. The 2019 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model iRacing World Champion got a great final restart after the final caution in the closing laps and drove off to his third career victory with the Tour and the $250 check.

Ducharme was able to hang on for a runner-up finish, the best of his few DIRTcar eSports Tour starts since his debut last season.

Joe Grabianowski Photo

“Congrats to Blake, he ran a great race,” Ducharme said. “Once he got in front of me, I got back under him a couple of times. I’m not going to driver through him for a win, I wouldn’t do that to anybody.”

The DIRTcar eSports Tour next heads to the high, dirt-covered banks of Bristol Motor Speedway next Wednesday night, March 31, for a UMP Modified showdown in race #2 of 10. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision!

Bicknell Racing Products Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 127-Blake Matjoulis [4]; 2. 25-Tyler Ducharme [1]; 3. 48-Tyler Yeager [2]; 4. 033-Richard Murtaugh [7]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron [3]; 6. 32-Tyler Schell [10]; 7. 96-Gunnar Swanchara [9]; 8. 33-Evan Seay [5]; 9. 71-Keven Hebert [19]; 10. 213-James Boniface [14]; 11. 81-Bobby Sweeney [6]; 12. 0-Kevin Dedmon [15]; 13. 77-Brandon Planck [17]; 14. 1-Jesse Enterkin [23]; 15. 331-Dustin Hall [16]; 16. 17-Brett Rowles [22]; 17. 91-Felix Roy [11]; 18. 79-Maxime Plante [12]; 19. 114-Joe Garcia [24]; 20. 77-Blaise Baker [20]; 21. 2-Chance Carr [21]; 22. 41-Logan Rumsey [8]; 23. 115-Boddie Parker [18]; 24. 44-Mason Hammel [13]

3/24/21 – Big Block Modifieds at Weedsport Speedway

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Bicknell Racing Products Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 127-Blake Matjoulis [4]; 2. 25-Tyler Ducharme [1]; 3. 48-Dylan Yeager [2]; 4. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [7]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron [3]; 6. 85-Tyler Schell [10]; 7. 96-Gunnar Swanchara [9]; 8. 33-Evan Seay [5]; 9. 71-Keven Hèbert [19]; 10. 213-James Boniface [14]; 11. 81-Bobby Sweeney [6]; 12. 0-Kevin Dedmon [15]; 13. 077-Brandon Planck [17]; 14. 1-Jesse Enterkin [23]; 15. 331-Dustin Hall [16]; 16. 17-Brett Rowles [22]; 17. 91-Fèlix Roy [11]; 18. 79-Maxime Plante [12]; 19. 114-Joe Garcia [24]; 20. 77-Blaise Baker [20]; 21. 2-Chance Carr [21]; 22. 41-Logan Rumsey [8]; 23. 115-Boddie Parker [18]; 24. 69-Mason Hammel [13]

Qualifying (2 laps) – 1. 25-Tyler Ducharme [15.029]; 2. 48-Dylan Yeager [15.034]; 3. 12-Alex Bergeron [15.061]; 4. 127-Blake Matjoulis [15.066]; 5. 96-Gunnar Swanchara [15.067]; 6. 81-Bobby Sweeney [15.127]; 7. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [15.143]; 8. 41-Logan Rumsey [15.167]; 9. 33-Evan Seay [15.168]; 10. 85-Tyler Schell [15.171]; 11. 0-Kevin Dedmon [15.179]; 12. 79-Maxime Plante [15.212]; 13. 2-Chance Carr [15.23]; 14. 17-Brett Rowles [15.231]; 15. 91-Fèlix Roy [15.243]; 16. 77-Blaise Baker [15.256]; 17. 69-Mason Hammel [15.262]; 18. 213-James Boniface [15.266]; 19. 71-Keven Hèbert [15.266]; 20. 331-Dustin Hall [15.294]; 21. 077-Brandon Planck [15.326]; 22. 115-Boddie Parker [15.329]; 23. 1-Jesse Enterkin [15.341]; 24. 114-Joe Garcia [15.377]; 25. 717-Bobby Rafferty [15.39]; 26. 72-Joseph Grabianowski [15.398]; 27. 42-John Smith17 [15.406]; 28. 99-Matty Watkins [15.416]; 29. 29-Billy Richardson [15.457]; 30. 47-Blaze Benedict [15.546]; 31. 7-Jaxon Steele [15.554]; 32. 82-Eric Schroeter [15.565]; 33. 24-Chuck Mancabelli [15.619]; 34. 58-Ryder Sroufe [15.673]; 35. 4-John Bragman [15.702]; 36. 3-Justin Ziemiecki [15.847]; 37. 46-Jonathan Nause [15.882]; 38. 37-Randall Carter [DNQ]

Heat Race 1 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 25-Tyler Ducharme [1]; 2. 33-Evan Seay [3]; 3. 96-Gunnar Swanchara [2]; 4. 69-Mason Hammel [5]; 5. 077-Brandon Planck [6]; 6. 2-Chance Carr [4]; 7. 29-Billy Richardson [8]; 8. 24-Chuck Mancabelli [9]; 9. 46-Jonathan Nause [10]; 10. 717-Bobby Rafferty [7]

Heat Race 2 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 48-Dylan Yeager [1]; 2. 81-Bobby Sweeney [2]; 3. 85-Tyler Schell [3]; 4. 213-James Boniface [5]; 5. 17-Brett Rowles [4]; 6. 115-Boddie Parker [6]; 7. 37-Randall Carter [10]; 8. 72-Joseph Grabianowski [7]; 9. 58-Ryder Sroufe [9]; 10. 47-Blaze Benedict [8]

Heat Race 3 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 12-Alex Bergeron [1]; 2. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [2]; 3. 91-Fèlix Roy [4]; 4. 0-Kevin Dedmon [3]; 5. 71-Keven Hèbert [5]; 6. 1-Jesse Enterkin [6]; 7. 42-John Smith17 [7]; 8. 4-John Bragman [9]; 9. 7-Jaxon Steele [8]

Heat Race 4 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 127-Blake Matjoulis [1]; 2. 41-Logan Rumsey [2]; 3. 79-Maxime Plante [3]; 4. 331-Dustin Hall [5]; 5. 77-Blaise Baker [4]; 6. 99-Matty Watkins [7]; 7. 114-Joe Garcia [6]; 8. 82-Eric Schroeter [8]; 9. 3-Justin Ziemiecki [9]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (14 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 115-Boddie Parker [3]; 2. 77-Blaise Baker [2]; 3. 17-Brett Rowles [1]; 4. 114-Joe Garcia [6]; 5. 37-Randall Carter [5]; 6. 47-Blaze Benedict [11]; 7. 99-Matty Watkins [4]; 8. 58-Ryder Sroufe [9]; 9. 3-Justin Ziemiecki [10]; 10. 72-Joseph Grabianowski [7]; 11. 82-Eric Schroeter [8]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (14 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 077-Brandon Planck [1]; 2. 71-Keven Hèbert [2]; 3. 2-Chance Carr [3]; 4. 1-Jesse Enterkin [4]; 5. 4-John Bragman [8]; 6. 42-John Smith17 [6]; 7. 7-Jaxon Steele [10]; 8. 29-Billy Richardson [5]; 9. 717-Bobby Rafferty [11]; 10. 46-Jonathan Nause [9]; 11. 24-Chuck Mancabelli [7]

SEASON 3 IS HERE: Big Blocks Form Core of DIRTcar eSports Tour, Street Stocks Return

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Four DIRTcar-branded divisions plus Midgets also included in 10-race slate

The ground-pounding, earth-shaking, window-rattling Beasts of the Northeast Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds are back in all of iRacing’s virtual glory as the star attraction of DIRTcar eSports Season 3.

The virtual Big Blocks, which reached season-high car counts last season, are back as the focus of a 10-race Tour, every Wednesday from March 24 to May 26, for Season 3 – one that also includes the return of the Chevy Performance Street Stock League for its second season.

TOUR REGISTRATION
STREET STOCK REGISTRATION

Beginning with the first race at Weedsport Speedway on March 24, the Big Blocks will contest five races on the Season 3 Tour, alternating each Wednesday night with 360 Sprint Cars, Pro Late Models, UMP Modifieds, 358 Modifieds and the first-ever appearance by dirt Midgets. iRacing’s newest dirt track at Bristol Motor Speedway also has its spot on the docket, setting the stage for a Week 2 showdown with the UMP Modifieds.

All 10 races will be $250-to-win and pay back through the Feature field. Commemorative trophies will be awarded to the podium finishers in the final points standings after the Week 10 finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

The Chevy Performance Street Stock League will also begin March 24, setting out on a 10-race championship chase of its own. Racing across eight different tracks, competitors will chase a $100 top prize each night as Feature winner.

New to the Street Stock campaign in Season 3 is the highly requested addition of a points championship system, mirroring that of the DIRTcar eSports Tour. Trophies will be awarded to the podium finishers in final points after 10 races.

Following the precedent set in Season 2, the Street Stock League will once again be held with the more causal sim racer in mind, and thus only be available for competitors with iRatings 4800 and below.

Every race will once again be broadcasted on DIRTVision presented by Drydene, free to all account holders. Street Stocks will kick each night off with practice at 6:50pm ET and Qualifying at 7pm. The Tour session will open with practice at 7:50pm ET and follow with Qualifying.

Registration for each race tentatively closes the Monday before each event and is now open for all 10 events in each league.

DIRTcar eSports Tour Season 3 Schedule

March 24 – Big Block Modifieds at Weedsport Speedway (50 Laps)
March 31 – UMP Modifieds at Bristol Motor Speedway (40 Laps)
April 7 – Big Block Modifieds at Williams Grove Speedway (50 Laps)
April 14 – Pro Late Models at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (40 Laps)
April 21 – Big Block Modifieds at Lernerville Speedway (50 Laps)
April 28 – Midgets at Lanier National Speedway (30 Laps)
May 5 – Big Block Modifieds at Cedar Lake Speedway (50 Laps)
May 12 – 360 Sprint Cars at Kokomo Speedway (30 Laps)
May 19 – 358 Small Block Modifieds at USA International Speedway (40 Laps)
May 26 – Big Block Modifieds at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway (50 Laps)

Chevy Performance Street Stock League Season 3 Schedule

March 24 – Knoxville Raceway (20 Laps)
March 31 – Limaland Motorsports Park (25 Laps)
April 7 – Eldora Speedway (20 Laps)
April 14 – Fairbury Speedway (25 Laps)
April 21 – Cedar Lake Speedway (25 Laps)
April 28 – Lernerville Speedway (25 Laps)
May 5 – Limaland Motorsports Park (25 Laps)
May 12 – Eldora Speedway (20 Laps)
May 19 – Williams Grove Speedway (20 Laps)
May 26 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway (25 Laps)

RUN IT BACK: Seay Wins Feature, Tucker Wins Season 2 Tour Championship with Big-Blocks at Lernerville

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Eight consecutive top-fives for Tucker crown him Tour’s first-ever points champ while Seay starts, ends series with Victory Lane trip

Eight top-five finishes in eight weeks of racing. Now there’s a statistic worthy of a championship.

That’s exactly what iRacing Pro driver Kendal Tucker ended up with after the checkered fell in Wednesday night’s VP Racing Fuels Big-Block Modified Feature event at Lernerville Speedway. For his hard-fought efforts aboard the DIRTcar eSports Tour of Season 2, he now brings the first ever custom-made DIRTcar eSports Tour trophy home to his sim rig in Mt. Airy, NC.

Crossing the stripe right in front of him was the Feature winner, Evan Seay, who capped off his Season 2 campaign the same way he started it – in Victory Lane after leading green-to-checkered in the 50-lap contest.

“It’s definitely pretty cool to come out here and pick up the final win of the season,” Seay told announcer Chase Raudman in the DIRTVision post-race interview. “It’s a great cap to the second season of DIRTcar eSports.”

Over eight weeks of competition, Tucker never finished outside of the top-five. Not once. His worst finish came in Race #7, Pro Late Models at Eldora, where he placed fourth. Wednesday night marked his fourth runner-up finish of the season, just a few car-lengths back from Seay at the checkers.

“Season 2, it honestly couldn’t have gone any better, besides getting couple more wins,” Tucker said. “The ultimate goal at the end of the year, once we heard about this deal [DIRTcar eSports] was putting on, was just to be consistent.”

Tucker’s DIRTcar eSports Tour championship trophy

Seay led the points standings after Season 2’s opening round before Tucker took it over soon after his win with the Pro Late Models at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on December 9. He and Tucker kept it close at the top with their solid night-in and night-out finishes, but Seay sat out the fifth and sixth races on the Tour due to other non-sim commitments, forcing him to retire his horse in the points race.

“Congrats to Kendal [Tucker] on the championship. We had to miss a couple races, but I think we would have been pretty close in the points if I’d have been able to do those couple that we missed,” Seay said.

Regardless, Seay made up for it in the end by leading all 50 laps of Wednesday night’s Feature – his first-ever venture out with the Big-Blocks at Lernerville, which made it all that much more impressive.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know how this night was going to go. I hadn’t run this track with the Big-Blocks yet, so I was kinda winging everything,” he said.

Seay went largely unchallenged for the lead during most of the race. Except on the final lap, where Tucker dove low hard in Turn 1 and pulled a big slide job on the #33. But it didn’t stick, and Seay was easily able to cross back underneath him and take the lead back down the backstretch. Seay held strong in Turn 4 and brought it back home, collecting $250 for the Feature win as the only Tour driver in Season 2 to win more than one main event.

Tucker doing donuts on the front-straightaway after the checkered (Joe Grabianowski Photo)

Overall, both drivers had a terrific season as regulars of the DIRTcar eSports Tour and have plans to chase a points title again in Season 3.

“Hopefully, we’ll be back to defend the title and pick up a couple more wins along the way,” Tucker said.

Feature (50 Laps) – 1. Evan Seay, 2. Kendal Tucker, 3. Logan Rumsey, 4. Richard Murtaugh Jr, 5. Dustin Hall, 6. Chris Hile, 7. Blake Matjoulis, 8. Kevin Dedmon, 9. Jesse Enterkin, 10. Ross Wece, 11. William Racine, 12. Michael Canady, 13. Matt Yorker, 14. Alex Bergeron, 15. Matty Watkins, 16. CJ LaVair, 17. Joe Grabianowski, 18. Joshua Kunstbeck, 19. Chance Carr, 20. Tyler Ducharme, 21. Jonathan Nause, 22. Boddie Parker, 23. Cody Zobrist, 24. Hayden Cardwell

1/27/21 – Big-Block Modifieds at Lernerville Speedway

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VP Racing Fuels Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 2. 0-Kendal Tucker [4]; 3. 6-Logan Rumsey [8]; 4. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [16]; 5. 331-Dustin Hall [5]; 6. 5-Chris Hile [17]; 7. 127-Blake Matjoulis [3]; 8. 0-Kevin Dedmon [6]; 9. 1-Jesse Enterkin [11]; 10. 112-Ross Wece [21]; 11. 35-William Racine [10]; 12. 98-Michael Canady [20]; 13. 34-Matt Yorker [15]; 14. 12-Alex Bergeron [14]; 15. 99-Matty Watkins [19]; 16. 4-CJ LaVair [24]; 17. 55-Joseph Grabianowski [22]; 18. 11-Joshua Kunstbeck [12]; 19. 2-Chance Carr [9]; 20. 25-Tyler Ducharme [13]; 21. 46-Jonathan Nause [23]; 22. 115-Boddie Parker [18]; 23. 787-Cody Zobrist [7]; 24. 07-Hayden Cardwell [2]

Qualifying (2 Laps) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [15.464]; 2. 07-Hayden Cardwell [15.508]; 3. 127-Blake Matjoulis [15.571]; 4. 00-Kendal Tucker [15.607]; 5. 1-Jesse Enterkin [15.631]; 6. 0-Kevin Dedmon [15.649]; 7. 787-Cody Zobrist [15.659]; 8. 331-Dustin Hall [15.663]; 9. 25-Tyler Ducharme [15.677]; 10. 35-William Racine [15.682]; 11. 6-Logan Rumsey [15.7]; 12. 11-Joshua Kunstbeck [15.752]; 13. 34-Matt Yorker [15.772]; 14. 12-Alex Bergeron [15.786]; 15. 2-Chance Carr [15.811]; 16. 99-Matty Watkins [15.812]; 17. 112-Ross Wece [15.829]; 18. 4-CJ LaVair [15.857]; 19. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [15.861]; 20. 2-Bradley Steinruck [15.889]; 21. 115-Boddie Parker [15.909]; 22. 55-Joseph Grabianowski [15.912]; 23. 46-Jonathan Nause [15.926]; 24. 78-Baily Gelinas [16.043]; 25. 79-Maxime Plante [16.112]; 26. 86-Eric Schroeter [16.218]; 27. 29-Billy Richardson [16.221]; 28. 71-Cruz Pedregon [16.241]; 29. 56-Tyler Schneider [16.276]; 30. 5-Chris Hile [16.279]; 31. 03-Justin Ziemiecki [16.369]; 32. 98-Michael Canady [16.49]

Heat 1 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 2. 0-Kendal Tucker [2]; 3. 787-Cody Zobrist [3]; 4. 35-William Racine [4]; 5. 34-Matt Yorker [5]; 6. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [7]; 7. 03-Justin Ziemiecki [11]; 8. 55-Joseph Grabianowski [8]; 9. 99-Matty Watkins [6]; 10. 79-Maxime Plante [9]; 11. 71-Cruz Pedregon [10]

Heat 2 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 07-Hayden Cardwell [1]; 2. 331-Dustin Hall [3]; 3. 6-Logan Rumsey [4]; 4. 1-Jesse Enterkin [2]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron [5]; 6. 2-Bradley Steinruck [7]; 7. 98-Michael Canady [11]; 8. 112-Ross Wece [6]; 9. 86-Eric Schroeter [9]; 10. 46-Jonathan Nause [8]; 11. 56-Tyler Schneider [10]

Heat 3 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 127-Blake Matjoulis [1]; 2. 0-Kevin Dedmon [2]; 3. 2-Chance Carr [5]; 4. 11-Joshua Kunstbeck [4]; 5. 25-Tyler Ducharme [3]; 6. 115-Boddie Parker [7]; 7. 5-Chris Hile [10]; 8. 29-Billy Richardson [9]; 9. 78-Baily Gelinas [8]; 10. 4-CJ LaVair [6]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (14 Laps) (Top 6 transfer) – 1. 12-Alex Bergeron [1]; 2. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [2]; 3. 115-Boddie Parker [3]; 4. 98-Michael Canady [4]; 5. 55-Joseph Grabianowski [5]; 6. 4-CJ LaVair [9]; 7. 79-Maxime Plante [8]; 8. 29-Billy Richardson [6]; 9. 86-Eric Schroeter [7]; 10. 56-Tyler Schneider [10]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (14 Laps) (Top 6 transfer) – 1. 25-Tyler Ducharme [2]; 2. 34-Matt Yorker [1]; 3. 5-Chris Hile [5]; 4. 99-Matty Watkins [7]; 5. 112-Ross Wece [6]; 6. 46-Jonathan Nause [9]; 7. 2-Bradley Steinruck [3]; 8. 78-Baily Gelinas [8]; 9. 03-Justin Ziemiecki [4]; 10. 71-Cruz Pedregon [10]

PRO-STOPPER: Bailey Beats Giant Big-Block Field at Weedsport, Ends Pro Winner Reign

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Super DIRTcar Series stars shine in Feature, McLaughlin 22nd to 8th

WEEDSPORT, NY – The streak is over. Bryce Bailey has dethroned the iRacing Dirt Pro-license drivers and their 13-race reign over the DIRTcar eSports Tour with a victory in the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds’ debut on the Tour, making a stop to the Weedsport Speedway Wednesday night for race #3 of 8.

Not only did he beat iRacing’s very best on dirt, but Bailey also topped five real-life Super DIRTcar Series drivers that came out to take part – DIRTcar OktoberFAST finale winner Max McLaughlin, Jack Lehner, Chris Hile, Mike Mahaney and Demetrius Drellos.

Going all the way back to the beginning of Season 1, which kicked off in late April, each and every Tour Feature had been won by an iRacer with the “Pro” license class – a symbol of the driver’s hard work, simulation skill and dedication to bettering themselves and the rest of the motorsports simulation community. Thirteen consecutive events, with eight different winners, all donning the dark-shaded Pro license.

None of that seemed to matter to Bailey, a real-life DIRTcar Sportsman Modified driver from Waverly, NY. He never once flinched at the size or depth of the Season 2-high 53-car field, taking the lead on Lap 6 of the 50-lap Bicknell Racing Products Feature and bringing it all the way back home for the $250 victory.

“It definitely feels good to win in the cars you drive in real-life,” Bailey told DIRTcar eSports Announcer Chase Raudman in the post-race interview on DIRTVision. “It definitely makes you feel 100 percent better.”

And what a first race to win, against, by far, the toughest field the DIRTcar eSports Tour has seen all year long. With nine Pro-license drivers and five full-time Super DIRTcar Series competitors in the virtual field, this roster gave the word “competition” a whole new meaning when the green flag dropped.

Tucker (00) and Bailey (2) battling for the lead (Joe Grabianowski Photo)

Polesitter Hayden Cardwell, of Knoxville, TN, sped out to the early lead while Bailey and the rest of the field gave chase in the opening laps. But the former Tour winner only held strong for five laps before making contact with Bailey and some other cars in the top-five, spinning around in Turns 3-4 and bringing out the race’s first caution. Cardwell was sent to the rear in the exchange, and eventually called it quits five laps later, leaving him with a 24th-place finish in his first Season 2 start.

Bailey assumed the race lead for the restart and wasted zero time, widening the gap between he and a hungry Alex Bergeron, who hasn’t won a Tour race since late August, and most recent Tour Feature winner Kendal Tucker.

Several restarts came into play as the laps clicked off, but Bailey had the ice in his veins, surrendering the lead for only a mere corner after Tucker got a big run to his inside out of Turn 2 on Lap 38. Tucker slid way up high in Turns 3-4, allowing Bailey the lane to sneak back by out of Turn 4 and reclaim the lead.

“Kendal did what he had to do, I can’t diss it,” Bailey said. “I would have done the same thing. I missed the bottom and he just took it.”

That was Bailey’s only blemish the entire race. Even one final restart inside the final 10 laps couldn’t shake the young gun’s confidence, and he drove it all the way back home to seal it as the first non-Pro iRacer to win a DIRTcar eSports Tour event.

“The field was absolutely stacked. I’m not gonna lie, I was kinda peeing myself on the last restart, trying to keep my cool. I knew who I had behind me and I knew I had to get a good gap. I knew they were gonna be aggressive if they had a chance to win it at the end of the race,” Bailey said.

McLaughlin (32) and Bobby Hackel (97) battling for position (Joe Grabianowski)

Max McLaughlin led the Super DIRTcar Series driver field to the stripe with an eighth-place finish after winning Last Chance Showdown #1 earlier in the night. He started 22nd on the grid, right beside each of the other three SDS regulars in the Feature. Mike Mahaney came from 21st to finish 13th; Jack Lehner went 23rd-to-18th; Chris Hile finished 21st after a shotgun start on the grid.

The DIRTcar eSports Tour next takes the 360 Sprint Car division to The Sprint Car Capital of the World, Knoxville Raceway, next Wednesday night (Dec. 23) for a 30-lap, $250-to-win showdown presented by NOS Energy Drink. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision!

Bicknell Racing Products Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 002-Bryce Bailey [4]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [5]; 3. 80-Dylan Wilson [7]; 4. 02-Dylan Houser [11]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron [3]; 6. 112-Devon Morgan [6]; 7. 33-Evan Seay [2]; 8. 32-Max McLaughlin [22]; 9. 10-Jesse Enterkin [15]; 10. 000-Kevin Dedmon [8]; 11. 3-William Racine [9]; 12. 171-Brandon Freeburg [19]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney [21]; 14. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [10]; 15. 97-Bobby Hackel [17]; 16. 85-Hunter Heck [20]; 17. 41-Matthew Logan [18]; 18. 2-Jack Lehner [23]; 19. 21-Devin Willis [13]; 20. 787-Cody Zobrist [14]; 21. 5-Chris Hile [24]; 22. 01-Shane James [16]; 23. 127-Blake Matjoulis [12]; 24. 07-Hayden Cardwell [1]

12/16/20 – Big-Block Modifieds at Weedsport

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Bicknell Racing Products Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 002-Bryce Bailey [4]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [5]; 3. 80-Dylan Wilson [7]; 4. 02-Dylan Houser [11]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron [3]; 6. 112-Devon Morgan [6]; 7. 33-Evan Seay [2]; 8. 32-Max McLaughlin [22]; 9. 10-Jesse Enterkin [15]; 10. 000-Kevin Dedmon [8]; 11. 3-William Racine [9]; 12. 171-Brandon Freeburg [19]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney [21]; 14. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [10]; 15. 97-Bobby Hackel [17]; 16. 85-Hunter Heck [20]; 17. 41-Matthew Logan [18]; 18. 2-Jack Lehner [23]; 19. 21-Devin Willis [13]; 20. 787-Cody Zobrist [14]; 21. 5-Chris Hile [24]; 22. 01-Shane James [16]; 23. 127-Blake Matjoulis [12]; 24. 07-Hayden Cardwell [1]

Qualifying (2 Laps) – 1. 07-Hayden Cardwell [15.717] 2. 33-Evan Seay [15.73]; 3. 12-Alex Bergeron [15.825]; 4. 002-Bryce Bailey [15.854]; 5. 00-Kendal Tucker [15.862]; 6. 112-Devon Morgan [15.876]; 7. 80-Dylan Wilson [15.897]; 8. 46-Jonathan Nause [15.909]; 9. 3-William Racine [15.923]; 10. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [15.944]; 11. 02-Dylan Houser [15.969]; 12. 127-Blake Matjoulis [15.996]; 13. 101-Brent Evans [15.996]; 14. 171-Brandon Freeburg [16.007]; 15. 331-Dustin Hall [16.009]; 16. 01-Shane James [16.014]; 17. 97-Bobby Hackel [16.022]; 18. 21-Devin Willis [16.034]; 19. 787-Cody Zobrist [16.035]; 20. 85-Hunter Heck [16.061]; 21. 92-Trent Hitchens [16.061]; 22. 1-Austin Carr [16.068]; 23. 000-Kevin Dedmon [16.078]; 24. 003-Carden Cochran [16.095]; 25. 115-Boddie Parker [16.099]; 26. 9-Hunter Bates [16.127]; 27. 50-Charles Day [16.155]; 28. 2-Jack Lehner [16.156]; 29. 76-Donovan Lussier [16.177]; 30. 242-Blake Stieb [16.2]; 31. 98-Michael Canady [16.208]; 32. 32-Max McLaughlin [16.215]; 33. 41-Matthew Logan [16.232]; 34. 012-Ross Wece [16.234]; 35. 10-Jesse Enterkin [16.253]; 36. 08-Jack Speshock [16.254]; 37. 111-Demetrios Drellos [16.305]; 38. 88-Blayne Nichols [16.322]; 39. 5-Chris Hile [16.339]; 40. 35-Mike Mahaney [16.378]; 41. 7-Connor Dudek [16.397]; 42. 75-Travis Creech [16.412]; 43. 20-Bradley Steinruck [16.497]; 44. 54-Even Racine [16.521]; 45. 234-Ej McAuliffe [16.593]; 46. 93-Steve Miskolczi [16.608]; 47. 200-David Emigh [16.688]; 48. 23-Joey Ladouceur [16.969]; 49. 77-Anthony Corini [16.99];50. 15-Donovan Long [DNQ]

Heat 1 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 07-Hayden Cardwell [1]; 2. 112-Devon Morgan [2]; 3. 02-Dylan Houser [3]; 4. 01-Shane James [4]; 5. 92-Trent Hitchens [5]; 6. 93-Steve Miskolczi [10]; 7. 98-Michael Canady [7]; 8. 08-Jack Speshock [8]; 9. 7-Connor Dudek [9]; 10. 9-Hunter Bates [6]

Heat 2 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 2. 80-Dylan Wilson [2]; 3. 127-Blake Matjoulis [3]; 4. 97-Bobby Hackel [4]; 5. 32-Max McLaughlin [7]; 6. 50-Charles Day [6]; 7. 111-Demetrios Drellos [8]; 8. 75-Travis Creech [9]; 9. 200-David Emigh [10]; 10. 1-Austin Carr [5] 

Heat 3 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 12-Alex Bergeron [1]; 2. 000-Kevin Dedmon [5]; 3. 21-Devin Willis [4]; 4. 41-Matthew Logan [7]; 5. 2-Jack Lehner [6]; 6. 46-Jonathan Nause [2]; 7. 88-Blayne Nichols [8]; 8. 20-Bradley Steinruck [9]; 9. 23-Joey Ladouceur [10]; 10. 101-Brent Evans [3]

Heat 4 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 002-Bryce Bailey [1]; 2. 3-William Racine [2]; 3. 787-Cody Zobrist [4]; 4. 171-Brandon Freeburg [3]; 5. 5-Chris Hile [8]; 6. 003-Carden Cochran [5]; 7. 76-Donovan Lussier [6]; 8. 012-Ross Wece [7]; 9. 77-Anthony Corini [10]; 10. 54-Even Racine [9]

Heat 5 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker [1]; 2. 33-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [2]; 3. 10-Jesse Enterkin [7]; 4. 85-Hunter Heck [4]; 5. 35-Mike Mahaney [8]; 6. 234-Ej McAuliffe [9]; 7. 242-Blake Stieb [6]; 8. 331-Dustin Hall [3]; 9. 115-Boddie Parker [5]; 10. 15-Donovan Long [10]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (14 Laps) (Top 2 transfer) – 1. 32-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 5-Chris Hile [2]; 3. 111-Demetrios Drellos [6]; 4. 331-Dustin Hall [10]; 5. 76-Donovan Lussier [7]; 6. 20-Bradley Steinruck [9]; 7. 9-Hunter Bates [13]; 8. 93-Steve Miskolczi [3]; 9. 200-David Emigh [11]; 10. 77-Anthony Corini [12]; 11. 101-Brent Evans [14]; 12. 234-Ej McAuliffe [5]; 13. 08-Jack Speshock [8]; 14. 46-Jonathan Nause [4]; 15. 15-Donovan Long [15]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (14 Laps) (Top 2 transfer) – 1. 35-Mike Mahaney [3]; 2. 2-Jack Lehner [2]; 3. 98-Michael Canady [6]; 4. 012-Ross Wece [10]; 5. 23-Joey Ladouceur [12]; 6. 115-Boddie Parker [13]; 7. 7-Connor Dudek [11]; 8. 92-Trent Hitchens [1]; 9. 75-Travis Creech [9]; 10. 88-Blayne Nichols [7]; 11. 50-Charles Day [4]; 12. 242-Blake Stieb [8]; 13. 003-Carden Cochran [5]; 14. 54-Even Racine [15]; 15. 1-Austin Carr [14]