CONCORD, N.C. -- Nick Jobes took the first win of the 2020 eNASCAR Heat Pro League Series at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway Wednesday night as he battled with 13 other competitors on PlayStation 4.
It was a huge way to open the season up for Jobes, who is in his second year with Hendrick Motorsports Gaming Club. The victory also was Jobes' first overall win in the series and the first for the organization.
"I got to thank Hendrick GC for keeping faith in me, keeping me for Season 2," Jobes said after the the 50-lap race.
Jobes' teammate Sam Morris crossed the finish line on the Xbox One in 12th, but Jobes made sure to praise Morris for his hard work.
"He and I have been putting in so time into this game and to be able to strategize with him -- he's half of this win tonight," Jobes said.
Morris' race was first on the docket. He started in seventh and jumped up to sixth within the first lap. A caution came out after an accident occurred on the third lap, which pushed Morris back to 13th. He was able to jump up a spot to 12th as the field started to calm down five laps into the 50-lap event.
By lap 10, Morris had worked his way up to seventh and was battling for sixth. Two laps later, he established himself in the top five in fourth. Morris broke into the top three 13 laps in and remained in third place until he pitted on lap 23.
He was in 13th coming off pit road and stayed in that position one lap down since the majority of cars had not pitted yet.
A caution came out with three laps to go, but Morris was at the back of the pack. When the green flag dropped for the final time Morris crossed the finish line in 12th.
Jobes rolled off the grid in 11th place and fell to 13th two laps into the race. He hung in that position until lap 12, when he moved up a spot to 12th.
Seventeen laps in, Jobes slid up to ninth. With cars starting to pit he pushed his way up to sixth.
He took the lead halfway through the race with more vehicles heading to pit road but decided to pit himself on lap 27.
He battled up to seventh with 17 laps left and then surged to first on lap 43. He maintained the lead for the rest of the race, earning his first win of the season.
The series heads to Auto Club Speedway next Wednesday, April 29 and fans can catch the action at 8 p.m. ET on NASCARHeat.com, eNASCAR.com, through NASCAR Heat's Facebook Live page or through 704NASCAR Heat's Twitch page.