Evan Seay, Richie Yost Win DIRTcar eSports Season 2 Kickoffs
DIRTcar eSports Tour – UMP Modifieds at Kokomo Speedway
Dec. 2, 2020 – He won the inaugural DIRTcar eSports Tour event back in April. And just like that, Evan Seay is now the Tour’s third multi-time Feature winner.
Forced to climb back up to the top after slipping back from his pole starting spot early in the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified Feature at the virtual Kokomo Speedway, Seay ran a strong yet patient race en route to the $250 victory, holding off a late-race charge from fellow iRacing Pro Kendal Tucker.
At the drop of the green, Seay, of Chesnee, SC, dropped back to second and proceeded to mix it up with the top-five through the first half of the race, trailing the likes of Alex Bergeron, of Drummondville, QC, and Blake Matjoulis as the race progressed.
A few caution flags bunched the field up for several restarts before halfway, setting the stage for a ferocious battle between leaders Bergeron and Matjoulis, of Ashville, NY. The two traded slide jobs several times before coming together out of Turn 2 on Lap 24, sending Matjoulis around into the wall and Bergeron around with contact from passing cars.
Both drivers restarted from much further back in the field from where they were as the leaders. Back to green the field went, Seay back to the lead now after assuming the spot after the incident.
Tucker, now back to the runner-up spot, gave Seay all he could handle as the laps wound down, chasing him on the high side. It seemed as though Seay was going to walk it on back to the checkers as he came to the stripe to take the white flag, but a yellow was suddenly thrown.
Seay was on top of his game, though, using that high-side momentum to carry himself through the green-white-checkered restart. After taking the white, Seay threw it to the bottom in the final two corners to protect the spot from Tucker trying to get by underneath. Some slight contact was made coming out of Turn 4, but Seay prevailed as he drove across the stripe first to collect $250 and 75 points toward the overall Tour championship.
This was Seay’s second career DIRTcar eSports Feature victory and first with the UMP Modifieds. Coming home in third was the first non-Pro driver finish in the field – Magnolia, TX’s own Karter Battarbee, after a great run inside the top-six all night long.
The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday night, Dec. 9, with the Drydene Pro Late Models from The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Catch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision!
Summit Racing Equipment Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 33-Evan Seay (1); 2. 00-Kendal Tucker (8); 3. 110-Karter Battarbee (4); 4. 105-Sheldon Oberle (11); 5. 2-Dylan Houser (16); 6. 10-Jesse Enterkin (19); 7. 127-Blake Matjoulis (6); 8. 1-Austin Carr (7); 9. 157-Drew Hopkins (9); 10. 171-Brandon Freeburg (21); 11. 0-Kevin Dedmon (14); 12. 787-Cody Zobrist (15); 13. 41-Matthew Logan (23); 14. 331-Dustin Hall (18); 15. 2-Craig Swartz (2); 16. 112-Devon Morgan (10); 17. 92-Cory Austin (24); 18. 242-Blake Stieb (17); 19. 99-Patrick Solari (20); 20. 3-Carden Cochran (12); 21. 12-Alex Bergeron (3); 22. 71-Keven Hebert (22); 23. 29-Richie Yost (5); 24. 93-Zane Yost (13)
Chevy Performance Street Stock League – Lanier National Speedway
There’s two new Dirt Street Stock sheriffs in town on iRacing, and their names are Richie and Zane Yost.
These two brothers from Griffith, IN, laid down the fastest two laps in Qualifying, won their Heat Races and dominated the inaugural 30-lap Chevy Performance Street Stock League Feature in Wednesday night’s kickoff to DIRTcar eSports Season 2 on DIRTVision.
Richie led all but two laps around the virtual 3/8-mile oval of Lanier National Speedway, making the most of the bottom-middle groove to hold off brother Zane and fellow podium finisher, Jesse Wall.
Wall, of Chesnee, SC, applied steady pressure on the Yosts the entire race but could not seem to find the speed to get by. Several caution flags spotted throughout the event presented him with a few chances to make it happen, but the leaders were just too strong out front.
One final chance for Zane and Wall presented itself with just three laps remaining as the field was bunched back up once again for a green-white-checkered finish. Even with the two right on his rear bumper, Richie held strong and brought it back home for the final checkered flag of the evening.
Richie picked up $100 for his first DIRTcar eSports Feature win just one hour after competing in the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified Feature aboard the DIRTcar eSports Tour at the virtual Kokomo Speedway.
The Chevy Performance Street Stock League action continues on the DIRTcar eSports network next Wednesday night, Dec. 9, with the first of two visits on the Season 2 schedule to the USA International Speedway. Registration for this event will remain open for all new entrants until Monday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. ET.
Don’t miss a moment of the action! Tune into DIRTVision presented by Drydene every Wednesday night to catch both DIRTcar eSports League races, and visit iRacing.com to learn more about the best in motorsports simulation.
Chevy Performance Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 29 Richie Yost (1), 2. 93 Zane Yost (2), 3. 2 Jesse Wall (3), 4. 16 Bryar Zimmerman (4), 5. 8 Tyler Jackson (6), 6. 10 Caleb Hudgeons (10), 7. 26 Corey Mullinax (17), 8. 18 Kyle Sirratt (12), 9. 52 Marty Czekala (18), 10. 07 Chris Meyers (9), 11. 002 Clifford Bellomy (21), 12. 20 Justin Johnson (19), 13. 28 Brian Smith (22), 14. 22 Ross Wece (16), 15. 12 Slade Johnston (14), 16. 33 Dillon Simmons (11), 17. 51 Justin Fuller (13) 18. 25 Nathan Lemons (20), 19. 66 Preston Dimsdale (5), 20. 21 Justin Schroen (23), 21. 101 Brent Evans (7), 22. 30 Brad Pascoe (8), 23. 46 Wayne Pearce (24), 24. 1 Andrew Gross (15).
DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP Automotive Racing Products (SDS), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams (SDS), DART (SDS), Fox Shox (SDS), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar.com