2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Sunset Splash | Tournament 6, Week 1 Recap

The 2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series powered by PlayVS College League entered its final Tournament of the season with the first week of the Sunset Splash on Wednesday night. Racing at a track well-known for crowning champions, 120 students entered Homestead-Miami Speedway with aspirations of taking home the final Tournament victory, but only 39 still have that opportunity following Rounds 1 and 2.

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.

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. This week was perhaps one of the most tame of the season, and for the most part, the drivers advancing are most of the usual suspects, including the three championship contenders.

Two of those title runners—Daniel Faulkingham representing the University of Maine at Machias and Connor Yeroschak racing for the University of Calgary—were able to win their Groups and remind the field why they are still the top seeds left in the overall points. The third, that being the defending champion of the series, California State University, Fullerton's Logan Clampitt, finished second only to Yeroschak in Group 3. The first Group of the night was won by The Ohio State University's Matthew Morton.

Now with six Tournaments of Week 1 data in the bank, the final numbers show that 86 drivers out of a potential 550 registered drivers were able to qualify for at least one Semifinal appearance. Those 86 drivers collectively represent a total of 75 different schools. In the 34 schools represented this week, only one will make its debut—Richard Bland College, with Davian Tobin representing. The other 33 schools and 38 drivers have all been here before.

Digging deeper into the numbers, for the second-straight Tournament, the University of Northwestern Ohio is one of the two schools sending the most drivers to the Semifinal Round. Through all six Tournaments, they are the only school to make the Semifinals every round with different drivers. Next week, they'll have Isaac Shelley, Matteo Mitchell, and Tyler Skoczen all going for the Tournament title. The other school with three drivers is the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte will have Blake Wynn, Brandon Hudson, and Connor Trifari all in the last Semifinal of the season. One other school has more than a single driver, and that's Belmont Abbey College. The Abbey is sending both Jake Innes and Jalen Atkins to the final Week 2 in the Spring Semester.

Besides UNOH, 13 other schools have made it to the Semifinals every single Tournament with the same driver. They include Bradley Erickson (ASU), Daniel Nanney (Ball State), Clampitt (CSU Fullerton), Timothy Holmes (Horry Georgetown), Maverick Davis (Kettering), Jacob Bradley (Purdue Indy), Dylan Ault (Sac State), Morton (The Ohio State University), Adam Garza (Triton), Yeroschak (Calgary), Jose Solis Jr (UCONN), Faulkingham (UMaine Machias), and Matthew Zwack (Michigan).

So far, a No. 1 seed has not been able to win a Tournament overall. In the Queen City Crown, Erickson finished fourth after setting the quick time in the Time Attack. In the next Tournament, it was Clampitt as the No. 1 seed in the Time Attack, but wound up sixth after last lap shenanigans. Dylan Ault has been the No. 1 seed for the Harvest Cup (finished sixth), Great Lakes Gauntlet (did not make the Final Round), and Old Dominion Classic (finished 24th). Once again, Ault is the No. 1 seed in the Time Attack, and in his Group 1 Second Round, finished in third.

Yeroschak has never been the No. 1 seed, but has three Tournament wins at Daytona (No. 39 seed), Iowa (No. 4 seed), and Martinsville (No. 2 seed). Dylan Basen (Pasco-Hernando State College) was the No. 30 seed in his win in the Queen City Crown. Faulkingham was the No. 14 seed when he won the Great Lakes Gauntlet. This goes to prove that while Qualifying speed is important, race pace and management is what earns Tournament titles.

SUNSET SPLASH | WEEK 2 ADVANCING DRIVERS

Next week, the Sunset Splash 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. We will also crown a champion that will take home $10,000 in scholarships.

Tune in on Wednesday, April 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. ET for the conclusion to both the Tournament and the season. The event will be streamed live at eNASCAR.com/live and across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Sunset Splash | Week 1 | Homestead-Miami Speedway

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