By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Hendrick Motorsports earned its third straight eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series victory Sunday when driver Alex Bowman nipped Corey LaJoie and Ryan Preece in a three-wide finish in the GEICO 70 at virtual Talladega Superspeedway.

Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Chevy Goods Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Geico 70 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2020 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The final frantic laps in a re-start with three laps remaining was every bit the dramatic close-quarter conclusion that race fans expect at the 2.66-mile superspeedway – virtual or real-life. Bowman’s margin of victory was a scant .037-seconds over runner-up LaJoie and .038-seconds over third-place finisher Ryan Preece. Garrett Smithley and Landon Cassill rounded out the top five.

William Byron, Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and a two-race winner in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, finished sixth. Brennan Poole, brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez finished inside the top-10.

“I guess just right place, right time, kind of the normal speedway racing deal,” Bowman said afterward, noting “I’ve really got to thank Preece for pushing me because that’s what made the difference at that point.”

His Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Greg Ives congratulated Bowman noting Sunday’s virtual victory was technically Bowman’s second trophy on the 2020 season because Bowman won at California’s Auto Club Speedway in March – before the schedule was put on a safety hold as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ryan Preece, driver of the #37 Kroger Chevrolet, leads during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Geico 70 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2020 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“Two wins on the season – one virtual and one real,” Ives said on Twitter. “As far as momentum, we’ll take it any way we can.”

There were 14 leaders and 27 lead changes in Sunday’s 74-lap overtime race featuring a full field of 39 cars that included NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon’s virtual debut. The six-time Talladega NASCAR Cup Series winner was running among the top five early in the event, impressively making his way up through the field after a 29th-place starting spot.

But an accident among the frontrunners, involving then leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ty Dillon caused the first of Talladega’s well-known multi-car accidents or the “Big Ones” – as they are affectionately dubbed. The damage done to Gordon’s famed No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet required a “reset” going forward, giving Gordon a new car but put him in the back of the field. He was caught up again in a late race multi-car accident, ultimately finishing 38th but remained all smiles on the FOX Sports broadcast where he traditionally handles the color commentary duties.

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Pepsi/Axalta Chevrolet, flips in the air during a crash in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Geico 70 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2020 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“It’s incredibly realistic,” Gordon said of his debut, adding “I loved being a part of it, it was great being back in there in the action and competition on the track. I had a blast.”

As the statistics indicate this was absolutely anyone’s race – a deviation from the last few weeks where one driver – Byron – really dominated.

Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and NASCAR Cup Series rookie John Hunter Nemechek led the most laps on the day – 11 each. Keselowski, who earned his very first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega back in 2009 and has five wins there, finished 19th after being collected in a late race Talladega pileup. Nemechek finished 25th in his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, whose six Talladega wins ties Gordon for most in Sunday’s iRacing field, ran among the front pack at various times – even leading two laps – but he also collected in one of the multi-car melees and finished 30th.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards Ford, flips over Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Hellmann’s Fight Hunger Chevrolet, during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Geico 70 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2020 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Pit strategy certainly worked in Bowman’s favor – the fortunate timing of the cautions something he acknowledged after the race. He, LaJoie, Preece, Smithley, Cassill, Dillon and Byron provided all the dramatic feels fans are accustomed to in a wild, take-what-you-can-get finish – complete with wild wrecks back in the field.

Bowman conceded that he isn’t as experienced at iRacing as so many of the others he competes against in this series and admitted the whole overall strategy change – no team orders – was also a new dynamic.

“That part of it’s definitely different,” Bowman said. “I feel like if we keep doing this long enough, we’ll have teammates and manufacture orders in it, but it was definitely different to just focus on your deal and do your deal all day.

“It was kind of a weird race for us just with how we didn’t get fuel under that first caution and then had to pit earlier under green and was kind of going to put us in a really bad spot, and the cautions kind of saved us.”

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 Reser’s Toyota, crashes during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Geico 70 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2020 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

It all worked out.

“Just glad to be able to get a win,” Bowman said. “You know, it’s good for everybody with Chevy Goods on the car and it’s good to have some momentum. You know, obviously the season was going really well for us in real life, and then as we got into this virtual deal, had some ups and downs, but to get a win is really cool.”

The next eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race is set for Sunday, May 3 at virtual Dover International Speedway.

eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series

Date: April 26, 2020

Race Results: GEICO 70 at Talladega Superspeedway

Total Race Length: 74 laps

1. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 74.

2. (32) Core LaJoie, Ford, 74.

3. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 74.

4. (51) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 74.

5. (89) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 74.

6. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 74.

7. (15) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 74.

8. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 74.

9. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 74.

10. (96) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 74.

11. (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 74.

12. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 74.

13. (95) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 74.

14. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet ,74.

15. (52) JJ Yeley, Ford, 74.

16. (77) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 74.

17. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 74.

18. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 74.

19. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 74.

20. (53) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 74.

21. (49) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 74.

22. (31) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 74.

23. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 74.

24. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 74.

25. (38) John Hunter Nemechek, Ford, 74.

26. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 74.

27. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 74.

28. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 74.

29. (6) Ross Chastain, Ford, 74.

30. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 74.

31. (19) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 74.

32. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 74.

33. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 74.

34. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 74.

35. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 73.

36. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 67.

37. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 67.

38. (024) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 65.

39. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 51.