(Photo credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images)

The first race of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs ended the same way nearly half the 14 regular-season races ended this season. With Steven Wilson taking the checkered flag.

Wilson, who tied an iRacing Series record with six wins in 14 races before the playoffs began, picked his record seventh win at a virtual Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday night, in a race it looked as if he had no shot at winning.

When Cody Byus brought out the caution with a solo spinout with fewer than three laps to go, Wilson was sitting in 32nd place.

But with teams low on gas and wanting fresh tires for the green-white-checker restart, the top 31 cars pitted while Wilson stayed out in his No. 77 Chevrolet, as did his Spire Motorsports teammate Femi Olatunbosun, whose No. 7 Chevy is not in the playoffs.

When the green flag dropped, Olatunbosun quickly fell in line behind Wilson and served as a de facto blocker for his teammate for 1 1/2 laps.

'It's huge,' Wilson said of clinching a spot in the Championship 4, the four cars that will race for the title in the season finale at a virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 7.

'There's a golden horseshoe. It's somewhere. And I got it,' said Wilson, an Iowa City native who won the season championship in 2023 and finished second last season. 'That (last caution) was so lucky because I was going to run out of gas. ... I don't know who caused (the caution), but I thank them very much.'

Casey Kirwan managed to get his No. 24 Chevy past Olatunbosun and into second place, 0.130 seconds behind Wilson. Olatunbosun finished third, with Parker White (No. 95 Chevy) and Vicente Salas (No. 11 Toyota) rounding out the top five.

'I would have won if there was no yellow,' Kirwan said after the race. 'I sat there and saved fuel the whole run, basically, and I could tell people around me were starting to save.'

Christopher Hill, running second when Byus spun, came in sixth place in the 73-lap race. Tucker Minter was the hard-luck driver, as went from leading when the last caution came out to finishing 35th.

The next two playoff races are at a virtual Texas Motor Speedway (Sept. 2) and a virtual Phoenix Raceway (Sept. 16). The race winners will receive automatic berths in the Championship 4 while a fourth will get in on points. If the same driver wins multiple playoff races, additional drivers will get in on points.

'It's a good thing for us since Steven won because he was basically locked in on points, anyway. (Thankfully) it wasn't somebody below the cut,' Kirwan said.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff standings

Rank. Name, Points

1. Steven Wilson, 2080*

2. Vicente Salas, 2042

3. Bobby Zalenski, 2038

4. Casey Kirwan, 2035

5. Parker White, 2033

6. Jordy Lopez, 2021

7. Dylan Duval, 2018

8. Tucker Minter, 2017

9. Zack Novak, 2009

10. Kollin Keister, 2006

*-Qualified for Championship 4 with race win

Remaining eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule

Sept. 2 -- Texas Motor Speedway

Sept. 16 -- Phoenix Raceway

Oct. 7 -- Homestead-Miami Speedway

--Field Level Media