Wilkerson wins eNASCAR College series opener in overtime thriller

Jacob Wilkerson of Tarrant County College District earned his maiden victory in the opening Tournament of the 2026–27 eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by Logitech G on Wednesday night. The 31st-place starter drove through the field to claim the Peachtree Pursuit at EchoPark in a dramatic finish, holding off Brian Mercurio of DeSales University and Jonathan Evans of Western Connecticut State University in a three-wide battle.

Wilkerson's breakthrough came in eNASCAR Overtime after a chaotic final lap. With Dylan Ault of Sacramento State leading and Mercurio challenging for the top spot, contact among the frontrunners reshuffled the order. Wilkerson, aided by Adam Garza of Triton College who had worked with him throughout the race, cleared Mercurio on the final restart and held the high line through Turn 4 to secure the win. Evans finished second and Mercurio third, with Garza fourth and Layne Graves of Wichita State rounding out the top five.

The victory was particularly impressive given Wilkerson's starting position and his failure to score points in the previous week's Semifinal round. "That was a crazy green-white-checkered there," Wilkerson said post-race. "Me and Adam Garza, we were working together the whole race, even though I wasn't up front most of the race. I had to drive from the back all the way to the front multiple times. That green-white-checkered, though, we just worked together to perfection. He stayed loyal to me, he pushed me… It feels great to finally win for the first time in my eNASCAR career, especially in the College Series."

Wilkerson's triumph leaves him atop the standings with 55 points, 13 ahead of Evans. The new Tournament format, introduced this season, features a single 100-lap Final round rather than multiple races and eliminations. The field endured multiple cautions throughout the race, with incidents on Lap 29 and Lap 52 disrupting early stability before late-race chaos set up the dramatic finish.

In a series first, the eNASCAR College iRacing Series also introduced an official School Championship this season. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte won the opening round, with John Babineau finishing sixth as the school's highest finisher among six drivers who made the Final Round, earning 40 points for the institution.

The second Tournament, the Queen City Crown at Charlotte Motor Speedway, opens for Time Attack entries through 4 October. Week 1 begins on Wednesday, 7 October at 19:00 ET, with Week 2 following on 14 October.