As the world goes into self-isolation mode, many outlets around the world are still trying to push out content for their fans. First, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns announced that they would continue playing their regularly scheduled games virtually on NBA 2K20, and now, Nascar has decided to host virtual races for their athletes to take part in.
What this means is that professional Nascar racers will be facing off with one another, from the comfort of their own homes, through a virtual racing simulator called iRacing. On the iRacing official website, they state that the game is a competitive simulation that “organizes, hosts, and officiates online racing on virtual tracks all around the world.” Unlike other racing games, such as the Need For Speed franchise, iRacing’s simulation aims to be as realistic as possible.
Most of the participants included in the invitational are real Nascar racers. While many of Nascar’s drivers have been competing in real races their entire life, one who is involved in the online tournament is William McComas Byron Jr. Although Byron is a professional Nascar driver now, the 22-year-old North Caroliner first started his career through competing on iRacing. Byron jumped from the virtual simulator to real stock car racing, but now, this tournament acts as a return to form for him.
With the success of the first eNascar iRacing Pro Series Invitational on March 22, Fox has decided to broadcast the rest of the tournament. This means that the online races will air in the time slots that were originally meant for the live events. Accompanying the eRaces will be the regular Fox Nascar broadcast team. This includes Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy, and Larry McReynolds.
Despite not being on the Fox network, the first race of the invitational had 900,000 viewers. In a blog post, Nascar announced that the first race in the invitational was the “most-watched sports telecast on cable television, as well as ranks as the highest-rated esports TV program in history.” Not only was it the most-viewed esports TV program in the U.S., but the race ended in an exciting fashion. As the race was on its final lap, Denny Hamlin in the number 11 FedEx car was just able to stay in front of Nascar veteran, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Currently, there is no set schedule for the rest of the eNascar iRacing Pro Series Invitational. With the uncertainty of the coronavirus, Nascar has decided to implement a week-by-week schedule that will mirror the races that should have taken place on the given Sunday. The next race in the invitational will be the virtual recreation of Bristol Motor Speedway. This race can be viewed on Fox or TSN at 1 p.m Sunday.
