Daniel Suarez was the first driver to be disqualified in the eNASCAR iRacing SeriesGETTY IMAGES
NASCAR for the second straight week staged an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event and "gave its fans a little taste of what things could have been like by running the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 from the virtual Texas Motor Speedway," according to Anthony Andro of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Yesterday's race had "some of the regular whistles and bells fans have become accustomed to." There was a "pre-race concert, this one done by country star Cole Swindell and shown on NASCAR’s social media feeds." There was a "star singing the national anthem, with Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir handling the duties from California," while the grand marshal for the race was Fox' Troy Aikman. There was a "dramatic finish with iRacing veteran Timmy Hill edging Ryan Preece to win the race in overtime." The race was also "good for the TMS brand." The track held contests during the race on social media, and TMS President Eddie Gossage "engaged with people from his Twitter account, even offering up an out-of-tune jingle pitch for the race sponsor" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/30). The AP's Jenna Fryer noted Fox Sports again used its team of Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon to call the race, which "aired both on Fox in some markets and nationwide on its cable channel." Clint Bowyer was the in-race reporter again (AP, 3/29).
A NEW WAY IN: In Charlotte, Alex Andrejev notes iRacing has "provided a new stage for NASCAR’s underdogs to shine on, but the virtual connectivity has also allowed a first-hand look into the world of top Cup Series drivers." Some of the drivers "live stream their in-race point-of-view on channels through Twitch and Periscope, which provides an unprecedented level of access for fans" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/30). In Orlando, Edgar Thompson noted NASCAR is "hoping core stock-car racing fans soon will be swept up into iRacing." Bowyer and his fellow drivers "could help NASCAR connect with younger fans, who might revel in iRacing but soon might consider a trip to the track." Bowyer said, "It’s an incredible opportunity for all of us to try to bridge the gap right here while we all wait to get back on the race track. I couldn’t be happier" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/29). Fox Sports’ Joy during the race said, “The realism here is just unbelievable, the depths that they’ve gone to not just to model what these tracks look like and what these cars look like, but every possible facet of what it’s like to race other than the G-forces” (FS1, 3/29).
COMING TOGETHER: Fox Sports Exec Producer, Exec VP and Head of Production & Operations Brad Zager said the first eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series drawing in 903,000 viewers was "awesome." He added, "I’ll be honest, we didn’t have any expectations. We were doing this hoping that NASCAR fans would appreciate it and sports viewers would show up, and we just felt really good afterwards about the number." Zager was approached about the idea of broadcasting virtual racing from Fox Sports CEO & Exec Producer Eric Shanks. Zager said, “He’s like, ‘I’ve got an idea to do iRacing.' I think everybody’s head was going so many different directions at the time that we started to think about it and I said, ‘Yeah'" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/29).
JOINING THE TREND: In Indianapolis, Nathan Brown noted IndyCar on Saturday hosted its "first of six iRacing Challenge events" on a virtual Watkins Glen road course track. Driver Sage Karam won the race and "ran away from the field early -- so much that the race broadcast streamed on indycar.com and its YouTube and Facebook Live platforms rarely showed his car." The podium finishers "all agreed the overall result amounted to a positive." Both IndyCar and iRacing's YouTube streams "consistently combined for 45,000 fans throughout the race, with more on other platforms." New tweaks "will follow in the coming weeks -- new tracks and selection processes and a flurry of other IndyCar and guest drivers alike" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/29).
