Last week, Ryan Luza claimed his fourth victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, locking himself into the playoffs as he pursues his second-consecutive championship. Now, beginning Tuesday night at Darlington Raceway, eight drivers will compete for the 2018 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series title and a five-figure prize.
1: Ryan Luza (+2)
The 2017 champ kicks off the playoffs with some momentum from a big win at his home track, heading into a race where he led laps and finished third last year. He also managed to earn the top playoff seed despite missing three races in the regular season.
2: Ray Alfalla (-1)
The playoffs mean it’s time for Ray Alfalla to get into his usual championship form. He’s lucky the first round takes place at Darlington, a track where he’s won three times, including last year’s race. He’s led laps in every single series race at the track “Too Tough to Tame” and we expect he’ll extend that streak to nine races Tuesday.
3: Keegan Leahy (-1)
While Texas was a bit of a letdown for Keegan Leahy after winning the pole and leading laps early, Canada’s lone playoff driver looks to rebound and score his fourth victory of the year – not bad for a first season.
4: Bobby Zalenski (–)
Bobby Zalenski’s streak of suboptimal finishes continued in Texas, where he finished 22nd. Zalenski finished sixth at Darlington last year, and if he can repeat his performance this year, it would make for a nice rebound after a troublesome August.
5: Nickolas Shelton (+2)
It’s hard to guess what to expect from Nick Shelton, who’s been hot and cold in 2018 and hasn’t raced in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series at Darlington yet. Still, you must be doing something right if you made the playoffs.
6: Nick Ottinger (+2)
Nick Ottinger earned his best finish of the season since his win at Daytona – third in Texas – and that marks his fifth top-10 finish in the last six races. Ottinger won at Darlington in 2013, but hasn’t finished better than 13th since.
7: Michael Conti (-2)
The Texas runner-up has scored four top fives at Darlington throughout his career, including a second-place last year. He’s still chasing his first victory in 2018, and the playoffs is a good time to start winning.
8: Matt Bussa (+1)
Matt Bussa made the playoffs field by just 10 points over Christian Challiner, representing his team Gale Force Radicals online alongside teammate Nick Ottinger. In five starts at Darlington, Bussa hasn’t cracked the top 10, but he was consistent enough throughout the regular season to make the playoffs in a competitive field.