2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Clash on the Beach | Tournament 2, Week 1 Recap

It was a wild Week 1 for the Clash on the Beach at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday night. The second Tournament of the 2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by PlayVS College League saw 120 students enter, but only 39 survive and advance after the first week's activities.

120 entries were snake split into three groups of 40 drivers. Each group went through their First and Second Rounds, which included two Heat races and a Last Chance Qualifier for Round 1, and a longer feature race for Round 2, where 13 drivers in each advanced. Unlike the opening week, where track position meant much more, Daytona is more of a great equalizer, with drivers starting from the rear finding their way above the cut line while some who qualified up front wound up eliminated.

With this Tournament format, however, winning the Second Round feature meant the same as finishing in 13th place. All 39 drivers will have to re-qualify in Week 2, and run the gauntlet of the Semifinal Heats and LCQ to make the Final Round. Winning, in any case on Wednesday night, was mostly for bragging rights, and there were some tense moments, even when an advancing spot was all but guaranteed.

Freshman student Carson Bowers (Purdue University) won in his series debut in the Second Round of Group 1, while Sacramento State's Dylan Ault and Purdue University at Indianapolis's Jacob Bradley, two veterans of the series, won Group 2's and Group 3's Second Round feature events. Many of the usual suspects, such as the defending champion Logan Clampitt (Cal State, Fullerton), Matthew Zwack (Michigan), Daniel Faulkingham (Maine at Machias), and Connor Yeroschak (Calgary) all advanced onwards as well.

Qualifying in each group set the lineup for each respective Heat race. Jose Solis Jr (UCONN) took the opening pole in Group 1, but failed to advance to the Second Round through his Heat race. The only driver in the opening Tournament at Charlotte to run every possible lap that he could have, Solis found himself advancing to the Second Round feature through his LCQ, and then made one of the most daring wreck avoidances, along with UNLV's Nathan Scott, and the two worked together for the rest of the laps to both advance.

Zwack did claim the pole for the second group, but alongside him on the charts was Mizzou's Thomas Coonan. Coonan had an all-around terrible night, wrecking out of the Heat, forced to run the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). In the LCQ, Coonan was turned at the front of the field again, and wound up 13th and out of contention. Longtime series competitors Layne Graves (Wichita State) and Arron Brown (Eastern Shore CC) also found elimination in this same race, and now all three have yet to make it through to Week 2 in either Tournament.

There were definitely a couple of drivers in the third group that watched the first two groups and figured out that finishing position didn't matter, as long as it was above the cutoff line in each race. In the Second Round feature, once the top-12 had broken away from the rest of the wreckage, both Yeroschak and Morton opted to bow out of the pack and coast it home to advance. Converse University's Jake Cummings was lucky that the lead pack had such a lead as he wrecked across the line to finish the feature. 

Not only did the drivers have to worry about themselves, but in most cases, needed to work together to get through to the next week. It paid off for Yeroschak and Morton. It nearly ended badly for Elijah Wells (Texas Tech) who had to work with Brendan Argenio (Folsom Lake) and Jeremy Burns (Longwood) to catch Faraz Khan (UC Santa Cruz) for the final spot. Wells made the transfer, while the other three did not, which was a risk they all assumed in working with one another to have the chance in the first place.

This was a common theme through the night. Getting in a wreck wasn't the end, as with no cautions, drivers could still form back up and work together to catch and pass other drivers. It ended in tears for some, such as Chase Schaffer (UNOH) who had just enough nose damage that he couldn't catch Austin Johnson (Fresno State) in Group 2's LCQ. It ended in dramatic fashion for others, such as Saddleback's John Forbes Jr coming to blows with Maryland's Ted Hirsch for the final Group 2 transfer to Week 2.

The rivalry talk expanded on Wednesday night, as drivers from schools such as Penn State with Andrew Voigt and The University of Alabama with Trevor Dyer qualifying for their first Tournaments. Penn State was eliminated, but Michigan (Zwack) and Ohio State (Matthew Morton) continued through. In the case for Alabama, that school also eliminated, their biggest rival, Auburn, also saw their driver, Logan Smith, also fail to advance. Tennessee advanced, however, with driver David Smith behind the wheel.

Between the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of Northwestern Ohio, there were 15 students entered into the opening week. Add Belmont Abbey into the conversation and you'll find 20 of the 120 entries. In Week 2, and for the second Tournament in-a-row, only UNOH has multiple drivers competing still, with both Isaac Shelley and Jack Stoneman advancing. UNC Charlotte was only able to see Connor Trifari advance, while the Abbey only has Jeramiyah Taylor remaining.

WEEK 2 ADVANCING DRIVERS

Next week, the Clash on the Beach will conclude with the Semifinal Round Heats, Semifinal Round LCQ, and the Final Round. Points will be awarded to all 39 drivers, with drivers not advancing out of the LCQ earning points for 26th on back. The top-25 that make the Final Round will earn points based on the results, and the Tournament winner will also collect $3,000 in scholarship prizes.

Tune in on Wednesday, October 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. ET for the conclusion. Races will be streamed live at eNASCAR.com/live and across all of iRacing’s social media channels. The third Tournament is the Harvest Cup at Iowa Speedway. Time Attacks open on October 28th and run until November 6th.

For more information on the eNASCAR College iRacing Series, visit https://pcl.gg/pages/enascar.
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