Late collision costs Miguel Gomes a top ten result at eNASCAR finale in Phoenix – Yevgen Sokolovskiy 17th, Gordon Barnes did not finish
In the eNASCAR finale in Phoenix, Miguel Gomes missed out on a hoped-for top ten result after a collision with Justin Campbell (Drive for Diversity). But the Portuguese rallied back to eleventh position in overtime to finish the fifth race of the championship inside the top 15.
Meanwhile, Yevgen Sokolovskiy got back into the action after early contact with Massimiliano Lanza (EuroNASCAR) and finished in 17th position. Gordon Barnes did not see the checkered flag in a turbulent race and was far from pleased.
Damage limitation in overtime
In the first 49 laps, Gomes reeled off a solid programme, scratching the top ten at times and never racing lower than in 16th place, despite contact with a NASCAR Mexico driver. The 41-year-old finally took the step into the top ten with eleven laps to go.
He first passed Jake Casio (NASCAR Peak Mexico Series) for the tenth spot, two laps later Ulysse Delsaux (EuroNASCAR) had to give way in ninth. With three laps to go, Gomes was in a three-way battle with Jaiden Reyna (Drive for Diversity) and Campbell for sixth.
But Cosio, who chased the side by side-racing Campbell and Gomes, underestimated the gap and pushed Campbell into the #46 Marko Stipp Motorsport Camaro. Both ended up in the SAFER-Barrier of Turn 1, which resulted in a yellow flag and therefore in overtime.
In the single „Green-White-Checkered“ attempt, Gomes drove forward from sixteenth to eleventh despite the damaged vehicle and got the best out of the chaotic ending. „It was unfortunately not the eNASCAR finale I was hoping for, but I was able to avoid the last crash in a wild finish in overtime and got the maximum out of it“, the MSM driver is quoted.
Sokolovskiy for the third time in 17th position
After finishing 17th in the season opener at Homestead-Miami and the fourth round at Daytona, Sokolovskiy claimed the same position for the third time, despite contact with Lanza on lap eight. The Ukrainian started the race in 19th position and, like team-mate Gomes, defied the late restart.
As Sokolovskiy was already a lap down at that point, he was unable to make up any further ground, but remained the best of those drivers who were one or more laps down. „Phoenix went well, I’m very happy despite the collision“, the #48 driver revealed.
Barnes had two accidents at the bottom of Rattlesnake Hill. He first tangled with Jocelyn Fecteau (NASCAR Pinty’s Series) on lap 3 and eleven laps later another collision ultimately resulted in his retirement. „That was a pure disaster. It was not how I wanted to finish the series“, the Briton raged about the incident, which was not his fault.
With the final round of the eNASCAR Championship, the Marko-Stipp Motorsport drivers stand as follows: Gomes is ninth on 131 points, Barnes is four places further back with 104 points and Sokolovskiy is 17th having scored 91 points.
With photo material from eNASCAR International iRacing Series (iRacing)
10 Februar 2022, Alessandro Righi