Justin Brooks, Kyle Arnold collect wins at Virtual Dover

THE VIRTUAL DOVER, Del. –– The third pair of races in the 2020 eNASCAR Heat Pro League are over and done, and after two exciting battles on both the XBOX One and PLAYSTATION 4 sides, both Justin Brooks (JTG Daugherty Throttlers) and Kyle Arnold (Germain Gaming) celebrated victories on Wednesday night.

The series took to the concrete banks of Dover International Speedway. Both races were 70 laps, went green flag from start to finish, and included two pit stops for each racer for tires and fuel.

For Brooks in the XBOX race, he had to hold off Arnold’s teammate, Daniel Buttafuoco, who stayed right on his bumper for the majority of the race. With some help from a pair of lapped vehicles, Brooks took control and cruised to his second victory on the 2020 season, the first driver with multiple wins this year.

The PLAYSTATION race had more players with their hand in the running for the virtual trophy, but a few late race penalties, as well as a few split strategy calls gave Arnold the opportunity to take advantage, and take redemption from a tough loss last week at the virtual Watkins Glen International.

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Brooks started on the pole on the XBOX race, and from there, it was a struggle for most of the rest of the field.

Brooks, along with Nicholas Walker (Roush Fenway Gaming) and Daniel Buttafuoco (Germain Gaming) pulled out to an early advantage, running nose to tail for the majority of the first stint.

Buttafuoco made his way around Walker just before the first pit stops. Brooks stopped first, then Buttafuoco a lap later.

The earlier pit allowed Brooks an advantage after it cycled, but Buttafuoco was able to close the gap right to the No. 37’s back bumper.

Meanwhile, Walker had fallen out of the picture. It looked like it was going to be a battle of previous winners on the season to see who might become the first multi-time winner on the season.

Both Brooks and Buttafuoco pitted together on the final stop, and kept the battle going strong after exiting.

The turning point came with just around 10 laps to go, when Jose Ruiz (Leavine Family Gaming) caught the leaders on fresher tires, looking to get a lap back.

Ruiz was able to get the position on Buttafuoco, and kept the Top 2 separated for the remainder of the event. Brooks went on to take the win, his second on the 2020 season.

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Cody Giles (Wood Brothers Gaming) led the PLAYSTATION field to the green, and led the entire first stint of the race.

Arnold, Joey Stone (RCR eSports) and Brandyn Gritton (Stewart-Haas eSports) seemed to have the fastest cars in the field, and during the second stint, traded the lead multiple times amongst one another.

On the final stop, the race turned upside down for half of the Top 4. Both Stone and Gritton received speeding penalties on the final stop, and took themselves out of contention.

Meanwhile, up front, Josh Parker (Gibbs Gaming) and Jason Mitchell (GoFas Gaming) pitted a few laps prior, and battled for the top spot. Parker started to fade, and fell into the clutches of Arnold and Giles, as both set their sights on getting around Mitchell as quick as possible.

Arnold got around first, and Giles was right behind. Then, Giles got the advantage, and looked like he had a good shot at winning from the pole position.

Arnold didn’t quit, and a few laps later, moved Giles out of the way, and moved himself up into the top spot, with Mitchell and Josh Harbin (Leavine Family Gaming) following through into fill the remainder of the podium. Arnold took the victory, while Giles finished fourth.

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The fourth and final race of the first segment will take place next Wednesday at the virtual New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Brooks holds the advantage on the XBOX side of the Driver’s Standings, while Arnold sits tied with Maxwell Castro (Ganassi Gaming) in the PLAYSTATION Driver’s Standings.

As far as the team points are concerned, Germain Gaming has taken control over both Ganassi Gaming and the JTG Daugherty Throttlers after a pair of Top 2 finishes from the Arnold-Buttafuoco pairing.

The race at New Hampshire will have the series return to the Cup Series vehicles for the second time on the season. The races will be 55 laps each, and can be found on eNASCAR.com/live at 8:00 pm ET.

SOURCES:
eNASCAR
NASCAR Heat

XBOX One Dover International Speedway Race 3 Results:

1. 37 – Justin Brooks – JTG Daughery Throttlers
2. 13 – Daniel Buttafuoco – Germain Gaming
3. 6 – Nicholas Walker – Roush Fenway Gaming
4. 42 – Luis Zaiter – Chip Ganassi Gaming
5. 88 – Tyler Dohar – JR Motorsports
6. 21 – Slade Gravitt – Wood Brothers Gaming
7. 32 – Riley Ogle – GoFas Gaming
8. 3 – Mitch Diamond – RCR eSports
9. 51 – Matthew Heale – Gibbs Gaming
10. 4 – Matthew Selby – Stewart-Haas eSports
11. 95 – Jose Ruiz – Leavine Family Gaming
12. 43 – Diego Alvarado – Petty eSports
13. 5 – Sam Morris – Hendrick Motorsports GC
14. 22 – Brian Tedeschi – Team Penske eSports

PLAYSTATION 4 Dover International Speedway Race 3 Results:

1. 13 – Kyle Arnold – Germain Gaming
2. 32 – Jason Mitchell – GoFas Gaming
3. 95 – Josh Harbin – Leavine Faminly Gaming
4. 16 – Cody Giles – Wood Brothers Gaming
5. 2 – Corey Rothgeb – Team Penske eSports
6. 18 – Josh Parker – Gibbs Gaming
7. 1 – Maxwell Castro – Chip Ganassi Gaming
8. 25 – Nick Jobes – Hendrick Motorsports GC
9. 7 – Joe Gornick – JR Motorsports
10. 44 – Mike Braas – Petty eSports
11. 14 – Brandyn Gritton – Stewart-Haas eSports
12. 8 – Joey Stone – RCR eSports
13. 47 – TJ McGowan – JTG Daugherty Throttlers
14. 17 – Brandon Hanna – Roush Fenway Gaming

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER RACE 3:

1. Germain Gaming – 171 points
2. JTG Daugherty Throttlers – 150 points
3. Chip Ganassi Gaming – 140 points
4. Wood Brothers Gaming – 122 points
5. GoFas Gaming – 114 points
6. Hendrick Motorsports GC – 108 points
7. Roush Fenway Gaming – 102 points
8. RCR eSports – 102 points
9. Stewart-Haas eSports – 99 points
10. Petty eSports – 98 points
11. Team Penske eSports – 94 points
12. Gibbs Gaming – 90 points
13. Leavine Family Gaming – 88 points
14. JR Motorsports – 82 points