What happened
Hector Collazo led all 36 laps from pole to win Wednesday’s Big Apple Battle final at Watkins Glen for Daytona State. Sacramento State’s Dylan Ault finished 1.400 seconds behind, with Georgia’s Avery Mendoza 3rd.
Details
Collazo and Ault pitted together on Lap 30. Ault got the jump out of his pit box, and the two ran side by side. Collazo regained the lead before the end of pit exit.
Mendoza stopped around halfway on his way to the podium. Longer tire stops hurt Ball State’s Daniel Nanney, who fell from 3rd to finish 10th, while Horry-Georgetown’s Timothy Holmes benefited from the pit cycle to finish 4th.
Holmes left with an 18-point student championship lead over Tarrant County’s Jacob Wilkerson, who finished 18th. Nose damage hindered Wilkerson throughout the race.
Collazo won in his first series final and moved to 13th in the student standings. Collazo collects the winner’s $3,000. Ault stood 3rd in the championship with 113 points, 22 behind Holmes.
Ault’s runner-up finish secured Sacramento State’s school-event victory. UNC Charlotte placed 4th through Alexander Papadimitriou’s 6th-place finish and retained the school championship lead with 115 points, 8 ahead of Ball State.
Background
The eNASCAR College iRacing Series final used a 70-minute format on the Watkins Glen layout incorporating the Boot. Collazo had finished 2nd to Ault in their semifinal before reversing that order in the final.