DIGITAL DOMINATION: Seay Dominates Charlotte for $1,000 Win in Inaugural Digital Dash

One-hundred thirty nine other drivers signed-up for a chance to take down the best Dirt Oval racers in the biggest Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified event in iRacing history. In the end, all fell to their knees and bowed at the feet of CFM eSports ringer Evan Seay, who led all 50 laps of the inaugural DIRTcar Digital Dash to collect the biggest cash prize in DIRTcar eSports history.

“We’ve won here with DIRTcar eSports before in the Big Blocks, but that wasn’t with the competition we have here tonight,” Seay said. “It’s not easy, and it definitely feels great to come out here and win again, not just for $250 but for $1,000 is awesome.”

Seay is now $1,000 richer after dominating the second day of the two-day event, first winning Magnum Race Design Preliminary Round Feature #1 before setting quick time in Final Round Qualifying and winning the big show from the pole. The Matjoulis-Seay SpeedShop #33 fended off pressure from runner-up Dylan Houser all race long, mastering restarts to keep Houser’s #2 at bay behind him.

“I know Dylan is always going to be there on those restarts – he’ll trying anything he can to get you off your game,” Seay said. “It was hard to figure out which line to choose going into [Turn] 1. I didn’t know which line I’d go if I had him cleared to the top, or if I didn’t have him cleared what line I could go.”

Houser nearly had Seay cleared for the lead on one of the late-race restarts, but the yellow was quickly thrown right after and forced him back to second. Try as he may, Houser was unable to take advantage on the restarts and get by for the lead.

“It was very tough, especially with these cars how the wig-out so bad before you take the green or even just pacing,” Houser said. “[Seay] makes one little move and you don’t know if he went or if he didn’t. So, you’ve got a 50/50 shot at timing it right.”

Third-place Dylan Wilson earned Hard Charger honors after a shy Qualifying effort of 23rd placed him nearly dead-last on the starting grid. In the end, he avoided the accidents and made every lap count on his way to the front, collecting $500 for his efforts.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

DIRTcar Digital Dash Feature (50 laps) – 1. 33-Evan Seay; 2. 2-Dylan Houser; 3. 80-Dylan Wilson; 4. 12-Alex Bergeron; 5. 02-Bryce Bailey; 6. 213-Jim Boniface; 7. 21-Caleb Schellenberg; 8. 85-Hunter Heck; 9. 42-Jordan Casey; 10. 6-Koulten Herbert; 11. 19-Mike Augustine; 12. 91-Felix Roy; 13. 002-Logan Gill; 14. 13-Aiden Bierlein; 15. 157-Drew Hopkins; 16. 82-Dalton DeWert; 17. 96-Gunnar Swanchara; 18. 88-William Watson; 19. 75-Ryan Gofmanas; 20. 32-Izaak Deoliveira; 21. 00-Kendal Tucker; 22. 37-Robby Swan; 23. 74-Loic Bernier; 24. 5-Isaac Salas

4/28/21 – Midgets at Lanier National Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 laps) – 1. 2-Dylan Houser [7]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [2]; 3. 22-Mason Hannagan [1]; 4. 41-Logan Rumsey [12]; 5. 85-Tyler Schell [13]; 6. 000-Kevin Dedmon [9]; 7. 331-Dustin Hall [18]; 8. 88-Garrett Hulsey [4]; 9. 42-John Smith17 [15]; 10. 17-Brett Rowles [16]; 11. 14-Jake Erickson [17]; 12. 48-Dylan Yeager [8]; 13. 6-Rylan Gray [11]; 14. 12-Alex Bergeron [6]; 15. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [3]; 16. 26-Hank Silver [21]; 17. 33-Evan Seay [5]; 18. 29-William Richardson4 [22]; 19. 32-Ross Wece [20]; 20. 09-Chris Olson [10]; 21. 46-Jonathan Nause [24]; 22. 1-Jesse Enterkin [19]; 23. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [23]; 24. 127-Blake Matjoulis [14]

Qualifying (2 laps) – 1. 22-Mason Hannagan [15.333]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [15.336]; 3. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [15.406]; 4. 26-Hank Silver [15.418]; 5. 48-Dylan Yeager [15.436]; 6. 41-Logan Rumsey [15.437]; 7. 88-Garrett Hulsey [15.445]; 8. 33-Evan Seay [15.469]; 9. 115-Boddie Parker [15.474]; 10. 85-Tyler Schell [15.477]; 11. 06-Rylan Gray [15.492]; 12. 12-Alex Bergeron [15.494]; 13. 2-Dylan Houser [15.503]; 14. 14-Jake Erickson [15.521]; 15. 000-Kevin Dedmon [15.558]; 16. 127-Blake Matjoulis [15.567]; 17. 1-Jesse Enterkin [15.622]; 18. 331-Dustin Hall [15.657]; 19. 09-Chris Olson [15.68]; 20. 42-John Smith17 [15.709]; 21. 32-Ross Wece [15.715]; 22. 29-William Richardson4 [15.752]; 23. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [15.763]; 24. 46-Jonathan Nause [15.767]; 25. 13-Matt Remick [15.775]; 26. 17-Brett Rowles [15.827]; 27. 23-Allen Burgan2 [15.994]; 28. 82-Eric Schroeter [15.999]

Heat Race 1 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 22-Mason Hannagan [1]; 2. 88-Garrett Hulsey [3]; 3. 2-Dylan Houser [5]; 4. 09-Chris Olson [7]; 5. 85-Tyler Schell [4]; 6. 127-Blake Matjoulis [6]; 7. 29-William Richardson4 [8]; 8. 13-Matt Remick [9]; 9. 82-Eric Schroeter [10]; 10. 26-Hank Silver [2]

Heat Race 2 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker [1]; 2. 33-Evan Seay [3]; 3. 48-Dylan Yeager [2]; 4. 6-Rylan Gray [4]; 5. 14-Jake Erickson [5]; 6. 42-John Smith17 [7]; 7. 17-Brett Rowles [9]; 8. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [8]; 9. 1-Jesse Enterkin [6]

Heat Race 3 (10 laps, top-4 transfer) – 1. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [1]; 2. 12-Alex Bergeron [4]; 3. 000-Kevin Dedmon [5]; 4. 41-Logan Rumsey [2]; 5. 115-Boddie Parker [3]; 6. 32-Ross Wece [7]; 7. 46-Jonathan Nause [8]; 8. 23-Allen Burgan2 [9]; 9. 331-Dustin Hall [6]

Last Chance Showdown (14 laps, top-12 transfer) – 1. 85-Tyler Schell [1]; 2. 127-Blake Matjoulis [4]; 3. 42-John Smith17 [5]; 4. 17-Brett Rowles [8]; 5. 14-Jake Erickson [2]; 6. 331-Dustin Hall [15]; 7. 1-Jesse Enterkin [14]; 8. 32-Ross Wece [6]; 9. 26-Hank Silver [16]; 10. 29-William Richardson4 [7]; 11. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [11]; 12. 46-Jonathan Nause [9]; 13. 23-Allen Burgan2 [12]; 14. 115-Boddie Parker [3]; 15. 82-Eric Schroeter [13]; 16. 13-Matt Remick [10]

STEADY AS SHE GOES: Dylan Houser rides high line to DIRTcar eSports Midget victory

The DIRTcar eSports Midget debut at Lanier provided a plethora of exciting moments from start to finish

Dylan Houser stuck to his plan and became victorious. He didn’t let the pressure of others sway his mentality. Nor did he buckle under that pressure either.

He demonstrated the importance of a smooth and steady race during the first-ever DIRTcar eSports Midgets presented by NOS Energy Drink event Tuesday night at Lanier National Speedway, and became $250 richer because of that.

Mason Hannagan and Kendall Tucker were the class of the 24-car field, leading the majority of the race between them. Hannagan took the early lead but was unable to shake Tucker. While Hannagan rolled the bottom, Tucker found virtual grip around the top of the track and drove by him for the lead on Lap 4.

There was then a war, worthy of a Game of Thrones episode, from second to seventh with drivers crisscrossing every turn. Their bumpers were used as swords, for both attack and defense, and there was little care for personal space as they slid within inches of each other.

Hannagan had to fight off the likes of two-time iRacing World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car World Championship titleholder Alex Bergeron, Evan Seay and Houser – making his way from seventh in his #2 Midget – for second. He was able to do so for the majority of the event, especially when Bergeron was spun late in the event.

However, while everyone moved to the top during the second half of the event, including the leader, Houser committed himself to the top. Up there, he looked like a man running a mountain top while everyone else was at the base. But with an easy throttle and steady hands, Houser was flawless around the high line. He made his way to second and Tucker’s bumper as the checkered flag neared.

While Tucker continued to run the bottom, Houser slowly edged his way further and further alongside Tucker’s #00 Midget. He edged him by a nose for the lead and was able to hold it for a late-race caution.

When the race resumed, Houser returned to the top of the track and cruised his way to a big win in DIRTcar eSports competition with Tucker second and Hannagan third.

He stuck to his plan… and became victorious.

Due to unfortunate technical difficulties, the winner was unable to be interviewed.

The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday, May 5, with the return of the Big Blocks presented by Hoosier Racing Tires at Cedar Lake Speedway.

Check out the entire race broadcast livestream for FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene or on the DIRTcar Facebook page at 7:50pm ET.

CHAMP DEFENDS TURF: Tucker Wins in Back-to-Back Seasons with Pro Late Models at Charlotte

Houser leads most laps, finishes fifth, Matjoulis rebounds with second podium

Forty laps in Wednesday’s DIRTcar eSports Tour Feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Kendal Tucker only needed one to steal the show.

In one of the most exciting finishes in DIRTcar eSports history, Tucker, the defending Tour champion and Pro Late Model race winner at Charlotte from Season 2, pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the closing laps of Wednesday’s Drydene Pro Late Model Feature and beat Alex Bergeron and Tyler Schell to the line to win his third career Tour Feature.

“That was a wild one right there, to say the least,” Tucker said.

Dylan Houser, of Ocala, FL, led the majority of the race on iRacing’s new dirt tire model – a total of 33 under his belt by race’s end – and maintained the lead as he came to three-to-go with Bergeron and Tucker right on his heels. Tucker, of Mt. Airy, NC, took the most advantage of Houser’s scrubbing of the outside Turn 2 wall by throwing a wicked slide job as the three dove into Turn 3.

He clipped the infield tractor tire, somehow stayed with it, and raced side-by-side with Bergeron for the lead as they crossed for two-to-go. Houser jumped underneath each of them and slid his way back to the lead while Bergeron and Tucker crossed it back underneath him on the backstretch.

Lead in-hand as they took the white flag, Bergeron rolled high coming out of Turn 2. Houser drifted up into him and made contact as Tucker re-entered the picture underneath them both, also banging off Houser as they entered Turn 3. A final slide job from Tucker in Turns 3-4 on them both sealed the deal as he crossed the stripe and collected $250 for the epic victory from the 10th starting spot.

“No matter how far back I start, it definitely makes it a lot harder,” Tucker said. “But with these longer-distance races, it kinda bails you out if you can keep the car clean coming up through the field.”

With all of the insanity between Tucker, Houser and Bergeron in the final three circuits, Tyler Schell and Blake Matjoulis had been on a mission to capitalize. Which, they did, taking advantage of further contact between Houser and Bergeron to grab third and fourth at the line.

Tucker (front) coming to the checkered with the ensuing melee for 2nd-5th behind him (Joe Grabianowski Photo)

Bergeron had also made significant contact with the outside Turn 4 wall coming to the checkers. It was later determined that he scrubbed the wall through the entire corner and was therefore penalized two spots post-race for wall-riding. This awarded Schell and Matjoulis the final two podium spots and a career-best finish for Schell.

The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, with the Hoosier Racing Tire Big Block Modifieds at Lernerville Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker (10); 2. 85-Tyler Schell (16); 3. 127-Blake Matjoulis (7); 4. 12-Alex Bergeron (5); 5. 2-Dylan Houser (2); 6. 115-Boddie Parker (23); 7. 1-Jesse Enterkin (21); 8. 80-Dylan Wilson (3); 9. 17-Brett Rowles (15); 10. 48-Dylan Yeager (1); 11. 71-Keven Hebert (12); 12. 41-Logan Rumsey (18); 13. 09-Tanner Tomasi (8); 14. 717-Bobby Rafferty (20); 15. 37-Randall Carter (17); 16. 033-Richard Murtaugh (13); 17. 4-Huey Quillen (24); 18. 8-Tyler Jackson (9); 19. 13-Damian Kiefer (4); 20. 000-Kevin Dedmon (11); 21. 101-Brent Evans (22); 22. 331-Dustin Hall (14); 23. 33-Evan Seay (6); 24. 5-Nathan Waddell (19)

PRO POWER: Tucker Wins Second Career Tour Pro Late Model Race at Charlotte

North Carolinian scores second career eSports Tour victory, again in Pro Late Models

CONCORD, NC – If there’s one area of iRacing Dirt that Kendal Tucker really excels in on the DIRTcar eSports Tour, it’s surely with the Pro Late Models.

Holding off fellow iRacing Pros Dylan Houser and Evan Seay in the final laps, Tucker, of Mt. Airy, NC, scored his second career DIRTcar eSports Tour victory Wednesday night with the Drydene Pro Late Models at The Dirt Track at Charlotte after leading all but one lap en route to his $250 victory.

His previous Pro Late Model finishes with the Tour are impressive; three starts in three races and three podium finishes with a lone victory. Tucker experienced bad luck several times over the course of the Season 1 schedule, racking up a few “so close” moments that left him hungry for another trip to Victory Lane.

But to do it, he had to defend the top spot from one driver in particular, on a mission to finally put his name in the win column after several starts – Dylan Houser.

Tucker grabbed the lead from polesitter and Cometic Gasket Quick Time Award winner Sheldon Oberle on Lap 2 and rode the high line for the opening laps, until a caution came out with five laps complete. Tucker and his Swindell SpeedLab #00 then chose the bottom lane for the restart, and never strayed from it all race long.

“Probably one of the hardest things to do on here, in my opinion, is to stick that bottom,” Tucker told Tour announcer Chase Raudman after the race on the DIRTVision. “There’s a lot of guys that can go up there and bounce it off the fence, have their right-rear off the wall and pick up some speed. I’m just not one of those guys that can make it work. I’m more of a finesse-type of guy. I like to put the car in the middle-bottom area.”

With a 40-lap distance, the rest of the field behind Tucker had plenty of chances to make up the ground. Houser, of Ocala, FL, applied the pressure all race long from two grooves higher than Tucker, scraping his car right off the wall each lap, but could not reel the leader in. He made one final scramble for the lead on the final lap in Turns 3-4, rim-riding the cushion in search of a quick burst of speed, but came up just one spot short.

“I thought I was going to get [Tucker]; With about five-to-go, I threw everything out the window,” Houser said of his last-lap mentality. “Just started entering on the fence and threw it wide-open. I was closing in on it, just ran out of laps on that one.”

Two lanes to choose from on Charlotte’s dirt surface made for some spectacular inside-outside racing, and Houser chose the more grueling of the two, in search of the momentum to carry him through the turns.

“It was really, really crazy up there,” Houser said. “I wasn’t going to go down there and run the bottom; I’m not one to get down there and run by the yuke tires, so I went up [high] and scraped every bit of paint that was on that wall off.”

Rounding out the podium was inaugural Tour Feature winner Evan Seay. Largely a top-five car for most the race, Seay, of Chesnee, SC, said the stipulation of the fixed car setup makes it challenging to overcome large deficits, and thus he was unable to catch the leaders in the end.

“Kendal, [Dylan] Houser, these guys are all Pro [iRacing license] guys, they’re fast and they don’t make a whole lot of mistakes,” Seay said. “It’s just very difficult to make that much ground up, even though it wasn’t a whole lot. But I’m still happy with third-place; did better than I thought I was going to do.”

The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday night, Dec. 16, when the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds make their long-awaited debut on the Tour schedule at Weedsport Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision, or sign up to compete at DIRTcar.com/eSports.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (click for full results)

Drydene Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker [3]; 2. 2-Dylan Houser [2]; 3. 33-Evan Seay [4]; 4. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [13]; 5. 13-Ryder Cantillo [6]; 6. 12-Alex Bergeron [12]; 7. 112-Devon Morgan [9]; 8. 3-Carden Cochran [8]; 9. 157-Drew Hopkins [17]; 10. 10-Jesse Enterkin [11]; 11. 171-Brandon Freeburg [14]; 12. 787-Cody Zobrist [19]; 13. 000-Kevin Dedmon [20]; 14. 1-Austin Carr [7]; 15. 77-Robert Fletcher [15]; 16. 41-Matthew Logan [24]; 17. 22-James Miller [5]; 18. 30-Maxime Plante [21]; 19. 101-Brent Evans [10]; 20. 85-Hunter Heck [16]; 21. 98-Michael Canady [22]; 22. 105-Sheldon Oberle [1]; 23. 71-Keven HÈbert [23]; 24. 8-Tyler Jackson [18]

Wilson Scores First DIRTcar eSports Win at Charlotte, Makes Seventh Winner in Eight Races

CONCORD, NC – Make it seven different winners in eight races in the DIRTcar eSports league.

Dylan Wilson earned himself a hard-fought victory in Wednesday night’s DIRTcar eSports Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified Showdown after battling it out with Alex Bergeron and Dylan Houser in the latter portion of the race to score the big check at The Dirt Track at Charlotte and a new virtual trophy on his shelf.

Wilson led the opening circuits but was quickly tracked down by the race’s Hard Charger, Dylan Houser, who started 14th on the grid and made the pass for the lead just 15 laps in. Houser kept up the momentum while Bergeron began to put the pressure on next, taking the lead for a few laps himself just past the halfway point.

Wilson and Houser later became locked in a dogfight for the lead in the final laps, trading multiple slide jobs in lapped traffic. But in the end, it was Wilson coming out on top, making the final pass on Houser for the lead with 5 laps to go to take the checkers.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar eSports action continues in two weeks’ time with the DIRTcar Street Stock Showdown at USA International Speedway on July 29. Sign up today at DIRTcar.com/eSports, and catch all the action on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

DIRTcar eSPORTS SHOWDOWN; DIRTcar UMP Modifieds at The Virtual Dirt Track at Charlotte; July 15, 2020 – RESULTS

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT Feature (44 laps) — 1. 80-Dylan Wilson [1] [$350+$25/Summit]; 2. 2-Dylan Houser [14] [$250]; 3. 12-Alex A Bergeron [3] [$150]; 4. 42-Jordan Casey [4] [$100]; 5. 00-Kendal Tucker [2] [$75]; 6. 157-Drew Hopkins [8] [$75]; 7. 71-Keven Hebert [11] [$45]; 8. 124-Brandon Bolton [9] [$40]; 9. 18-Kyle Sirratt [6] [$35]; 10. 75-Dustin Beck [13] [$30]; 11. 23-Ethan Toedter [15] [$20]; 12. 11-Josh Vinci [20] [$20]; 13. 118-Trevor Landrum [12] [$20]; 14. 27-Joby Baugh [17] [$20]; 15. 7-Tyler McGoldrick [10] [$20]; 16. 68-DJ Stikeleather [16] [$20]; 17. 190-Seth Smyser [21] [$20]; 18. 17-Bruce Jones [23] [$20]; 19. 49-Braden Johnson [5] [$20]; 20. 533-Sean Powers [7] [$20]; 21. 46-Jonathan Nause [19] [$20]; 22. 92-Caleb Kill [24] [$20]; 23. 21-Quinn Wallis [18] [$20]; 24. 3-Jake Hoffman [22] [$20]. Lap Leaders: Dylan Wilson 1-14, 31-35, 39-44; Dylan Houser 15-28, 36-38; Alex Bergeron 29-30. Hard Charger: Dylan Houser +12.

RACING ELECTRONICS Qualifying — 1. 80-Dylan Wilson [16.414] [$25/Cometic Gaskets]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [16.446]; 3. 12-Alex A Bergeron [16.506]; 4. 42-Jordan Casey [16.520]; 5. 157-Drew Hopkins [16.538]; 6. 18-Kyle Sirratt [16.546]; 7. 2-Dylan Houser [16.564]; 8. 49-Braden Johnson [16.566]; 9. 124-Brandon Bolton [16.634]; 10. 533-Sean Powers [16.671]; 11. 92-Caleb Kill [16.691]; 12. 118-Trevor Landrum [16.693]; 13. 17-Bruce Jones [16.697]; 14. 71-Keven Hebert [16.718]; 15. 68-DJ Stikeleather [16.729]; 16. 7-Tyler McGoldrick [16.763]; 17. 11-Josh Vinci [16.779]; 18. 21-Quinn Wallis [16.781]; 19. 75-Dustin Beck [16.789]; 20. 27-Joby Baugh [16.795]; 21. 14-Austin Wagner [16.817]; 22. 23-Ethan Toedter [16.889]; 23. 190-Seth Smyser [16.904]; 24. 3-Jake Hoffman [16.987]; 25. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [17.173]; 26. 46-Jonathan Nause [NA].

DRYDENE Heat 1 (10 laps) — Top 4 transfer — 1. 80-Dylan Wilson [1] [$25]; 2. 42-Jordan Casey [2]; 3. 533-Sean Powers [4]; 4. 7-Tyler McGoldrick [6]; 5. 75-Dustin Beck [7]; 6. 23-Ethan Toedter [8]; 7. 17-Bruce Jones [5]; 8. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [9]; 9. 2-Dylan Houser [3].

COMP CAMS Heat 2 (10 laps) — Top 4 transfer — 1. 00-Kendal Tucker [1] [$25]; 2. 49-Braden Johnson [3]; 3. 157-Drew Hopkins [2]; 4. 71-Keven Hebert [5]; 5. 11-Josh Vinci [6]; 6. 92-Caleb Kill [4]; 7. 27-Joby Baugh [7]; 8. 46-Jonathan Nause [9]; 9. 190-Seth Smyser [8].

ARP FASTENERS Heat 3 (10 laps) — Top 4 transfer — 1. 12-Alex A Bergeron [1] [$25]; 2. 18-Kyle Sirratt [2]; 3. 124-Brandon Bolton [3]; 4. 118-Trevor Landrum [4]; 5. 68-DJ Stikeleather [5]; 6. 21-Quinn Wallis [6]; 7. 3-Jake Hoffman [8]; 8. 14-Austin Wagner [7].

WRISCO Last Chance Showdown (14 laps) — Top 12 transfer — 1. 75-Dustin Beck [1] [$25]; 2. 2-Dylan Houser [13]; 3. 23-Ethan Toedter [4]; 4. 68-DJ Stikeleather [3]; 5. 27-Joby Baugh [8]; 6. 21-Quinn Wallis [6]; 7. 46-Jonathan Nause [11]; 8. 11-Josh Vinci [2]; 9. 190-Seth Smyser [14]; 10. 3-Jake Hoffman [9]; 11. 17-Bruce Jones [7]; 12. 92-Caleb Kill [5]; 13. 14-Austin Wagner [12]; 14. 126-Jeffrey Eddy [10].