Kyle Busch among NASCAR stars set to compete in weekly online racing series during off weeks due to Coronavirus
New Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
Currently, seven NASCAR races are postponed due to the Cononavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. That’s created a unique content opportunity as fans sit at home with absolutely nothing to do.
NASCAR races are postponed through May 3, 2020. NASCAR fans sit in a period of waiting with nearly every form of sporting events. So, what are the avid sports fans to do?
Drivers are safe within a the digital world which is spawned from their office. They sit at home along with the racing fans and thus an odd opportunity has been presented.
NASCAR, in partnership with iRacing, have formed a new official online racing series. The online races will run weekly through the Coronavirus postponements of their real-world counterparts.
Confirmed NASCAR driver in iRacing Series: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
Kyle Busch is the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He joins the growing All-Star list that’s set to compete on Sunday.
“Until we have cars back on track, the entire NASCAR community has aligned to provide our passionate fans with a unique, fun and competitive experience on race day,” said Ben Kennedy, vice president, racing development, NASCAR.
Rhodes added, “Our long-time partners at iRacing offer an incredible product and we are excited to see how many of our best drivers will stack up in the virtual domain of competitive racing.”
Last week, Dale Earnhardt Jr and other NASCAR drivers joined a list of iRacing regulars, NASCAR spotters and other familiar names in a one-off online event. Now, NASCAR has stepped in to make it more official with a weekly series.
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
A concrete schedule of events in the new NASCAR iRacing Series has not been released. However, each of the races will be run on Sunday’s going forward.
The action will begin this weekend at the digital Homestead-Miami Speedway. Originally, NASCAR was scheduled to run their race at Homestead this weekend before postponements were announced last week.
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is expected to give fans entertainment value as they sit quarantined in their living rooms across the country.
Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the first race in the digital world. The race will run Sunday, March 22 at 1:30 p.m. ET on . Broadcast information has yet to be announced.
iRacing is the world leader in the online racing simulation and gaming market. The company was founded in 2004 by Dave Kaemmer and John Henry. Kaemmer also co-founded Papyrus Design Group, developers of award-winning racing simulations including ‘Grand Prix Legends’ and ‘NASCAR 2003’ for previous generations.
Broadcast information for the new iRacing NASCAR Series will be released at a later date.
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