In a stunning three-wide finish Tuesday at a virtual Daytona International Speedway to open the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season, Femi Olatunbosun emerged with his first-ever win on the circuit.
Olatunbosun guided the No. 79 Ford to a 0.009-second win over Garrett Manes in the No. 31 Chevrolet, thanks in part to a push from teammate Steven Wilson in the No. 10 Ford on the final lap of the green-white-checkered finish.
Wilson ended up in third place, 0.011 seconds back of Olatunbosun.
The result made Olatunbosun, who is from Revere, Mass., the 59th driver ever to win on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
“What a way to start off the year, right?” Olatunbosun said. “I don’t even know what to say. There is so much happening. …
“A lot of it was just staying patient early on … before lap 40. At that point, I was just thinking to stay patient, learn something or try to set up for the end of the race. We got a bit lucky with a bit of contact in front of us, and from that point on, the furthest back I fell was, maybe, third. Just trying to make the right move at the right time, and we definitely made that.”
He thanked his team, Clint Bowyer Racing.
“It’s so great to get a win in my first race with them, and hopefully it’s the start of many more,” Olatunbosun said.
Wilson, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said of the ending, “It was really close. … Could have turned left on Femi, but it kind of looked like he was going to block it, so I turned back and just pushed him because I wanted … one of us two to win because he’s one of my best friends on here, so happy we could do it.”
Wilson added of his podium finish, “It’s really exciting. Daytona’s one of those (tracks) where I don’t feel I do a very good job. It’s really all about putting yourself in the right position, and we did that today.”
Manes, from Powhatan, Va., was left to lament the narrow defeat.
“It was so close,” Manes said. “I knew it was going to come down to if I had help or not. I also knew there were teammates behind me, so I knew I was kind of in trouble. I made the best of my options there.”
He added with a smile, “Nine-thousandths of a second. Why?”
–Field Level Media
