Ray keeps word to friend, but misses eNASCAR playoffs after Pocono

Jim Beaver eSports’ Malik Ray had a chance to secure his first career win and a spot in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoffs on Tuesday night. Lying between him and that pair of accomplishments was one of his best friends, Michael Guest, who was in pursuit of the same goal. Instead, Ray opted to keep his word to a close friend. It was a decision that went against the grain of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, and likely cost him a spot in the playoffs.

Ray’s night had been a tumultuous one. He started from the rear of the field after serving a penalty that prevented him from setting a qualifying lap. His simulator crashed while under caution, sending him a lap down. He inadvertently took tires in a frantic effort to rejoin the race. He charged through the field to lead the race then dropped back on strategy before finding himself behind Guest and Nick Ottinger battling for the win on the final lap.

Going into the final turn, Matt Bussa, Ottinger’s William Byron eSports teammate, charged into the fray, delivering a monumental shove into the rear of Ottinger and sending the former champion sliding through the corner. Moments before that, Ray, with a similar run of momentum, elected to fall in line behind his friend Guest, watching his chances of a playoff slip into the distance.

Two races before last night’s regular-season finale, Jimmy Mullis moved Garrett Lowe coming to the finish at Nashville Superspeedway to get his playoff spot. In the next race, Lowe used a similar move on Donovan Strauss to get his ticket to the postseason.

Lowe freely admitted to his aggression towards Strauss after the race and added that his attitude towards that kind of racing had changed since Nashville.

“I was going to have to move him; I did,” Lowe said. “Obviously I’m not too upset about it. I wouldn’t have liked to have been moved myself, but at the end of the day I did what I had to do so I think they understand that.”

Ray could have joined the list of individuals who punched their ticket to the playoffs with a forceful move, but as Guest explained, he remained truthful to what he told his friend.

“Me and him have said to each other for a long time that if we’re in that second position, we’re not going to be the people that full throttle someone for the win,” Guest said after the race.

“I had the chance to do that last year to get in the playoffs, and I didn’t so I’m really thankful that Malik [Ray] didn’t end up doing that to me tonight and raced out clean. Same with Ottinger, he could’ve done the exact same thing, I know [Ottinger] still made it [into the playoffs] but I do really appreciate the guys that race clean up front and don’t wreck for the wins.”

Despite finishing second, Ray was in a position to make the playoffs on points but a large wreck further in the pack granted Mullis the positions and points he needed to qualify in. It left Ray as the first man out of the postseason.

“I could’ve just had no regard and tried to drive through Michael [Conti] like how other people were doing but I’m just not going to race like that, and I showed that going into Turn 3,” Ray said. “I didn’t make contact with anyone. I’ll just take the P2 and move on.”

Ray’s team owner, off-road racer Jim Beaver, expressed his frustration with the system in a social media post after the race.

Michael Conti, a former series champion and an often-vocal critic of its driving standards and competition level, placed the blame for the chaotic 2023 regular season on the drivers.

“We need to look at ourselves and figure out how we can do better,” Conti said. “Because from where I sat, that was not very good on many accounts, and I’ll leave it there. I think we’ve gone backward over the last couple of years. I think you can place some blame on the box that we’re in and everything, but that only goes so far. Ultimately, it’s us. We’ve got the steering wheel, we’ve got the pedals we make the decisions, and the decision-making is just questionable at best.

“I hope these guys figure it out for the playoff races and get it together, because the people watching this series deserve more than what they got tonight. The people that put a lot of time into this to prep cars and perform their best week in and week out deserve better than to get run over a half a dozen times just for no fault of their own.”

Ray doesn’t see his approach to driving changing in the coming weeks. He also doesn’t believe he would’ve driven the race any differently had he already been locked into the playoffs.

“In hindsight, like playoffs or not, regardless if I was locked in or not, I still would have raced the same in that scenario,” he said.

“It doesn’t change how I race, it doesn’t change how I drive, you know what I’m saying? I’m not just going to be driving through people that are already in the playoffs because I’m mad or whatever. It’s not going to change anything. I’m obviously upset, but as far as it changing how I drive or how I feel, it’s not going to change anything.”

Guest commended the effort that Ray has put into this season. It’s an increased effort that is clearly paying off as Ray’s 2023 season has shown to be the best of his five-year eNASCAR career.

“I’m really proud of Malik and the way he has put so much effort into this year. He also deserves a playoff spot, I hate that I took it from him but I’m happy that I got in at the same time,” Guest said.

Among the drivers who will also be competing for the title this season are reigning champion Casey Kirwan, three-time winner Bobby Zalenski who will be shooting for his sixth Championship Four appearance but his first title, and series rookies Tucker Minter and Jordy Lopez representing Team Dillon eSports, the only team with both drivers in the playoffs.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series postseason begins in two weeks from the virtual Michigan International Speedway. Ten drivers will be compressed down to four after three races with the champion crowned after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on September 26.

Story originally appeared on Racer