Past champ Zack Novak races into eNASCAR's Championship 4

Zack Novak earned a berth in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series' Championship 4 by winning at a virtual Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday.

Entering the second postseason race in ninth place among the 10 playoff qualifiers, Novak pulled away on a restart with two laps remaining and wasn't threatened the rest of the way.

The victory was his first since Oct. 10, 2019 -- the same year Novak won the series championship. He hadn't reached the Championship 4 over the past five seasons.

"I'm gonna cry, man," Novak said post-race. "Just a lot of time and effort we put into this stuff and ... it's been a long time and we came so close, man. You doubt if you belong here, you doubt if you're good enough. Everything under the sun you think of that you're doing wrong.

"We got pretty lucky tonight. Don't get me wrong. But, dude, that feels so good."

Novak's No. 2 Toyota came in 0.230 seconds ahead of Tucker Minter's No. 97 Chevrolet.

Steven Wilson, who sealed the first Championship 4 berth two weeks ago with a win at a virtual Michigan International Speedway, retained the playoff points lead after coming in third place in the No. 77 Chevrolet.

The battle is for the last two available spots.

If a playoff driver prevails on Sept. 16 at a virtual Phoenix Raceway, he would seal one berth. If not, then two bids will be determined by the points standings. Currently those spots are held by Parker White (2066 points) and Casey Kirwan (2063), with Minter (2052) top among the chasing pack.

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series playoff standings

Rank. Name, Points

1. Steven Wilson, 2114*

2. Parker White, 2066

3. Casey Kirwan, 2063

4. Tucker Minter, 2052

5. Bobby Zalenski, 2050

6. Dylan Duval, 2050

7. Zack Novak, 2049*

8. Vicente Salas, 2047

9. Kollin Keister, 2033

10. Jordy Lopez, 2022

*-Qualified for Championship 4 with race win

Remaining eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule

Sept. 16 -- Phoenix Raceway

Oct. 7 -- Homestead-Miami Speedway