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KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Talladega Advance

by MikeApril 24, 2020

Details:

• Event: GEICO 70 (Round 5)

• Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
• Location: Virtual Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
• Distance: 70 laps (186.2 miles)

Where to Watch:

• FOX network

• Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

• FOX Sports Go app

• FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

DYK?:

• We Need a Bigger Podium: Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Richmond Raceway had 971,000 viewers tune in to the simulcast on FOX and FS1, making it the third-most watched esports event in U.S. television history. The March 29 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Texas Motor Speedway remains on the podium’s top step with 1.34 million viewers. The April 5 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Bristol Motor Speedway takes the second step with 1.179 million viewers. The first eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race March 22 at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway earned 903,000 viewers on FS1 alone. And while the Texas race dwarfed that number by 47 percent, the Homestead race was, for at least one week, the most watched esports event in U.S. television history, having bested the previous record of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.

• iRacing’s Real-World Context: Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from Richmond was the second-most watched sports event of the weekend. The most-watched sports event? Michael Jordan ‘The Last Dance’ documentary on ESPN.

• New Viewers Assimilate to Sim Racing: According to Nielsen, one million unique viewers who did not watch any of the four real-life NASCAR Cup Series races prior to the sports industry’s necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus did tune in to one of the four eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series races held thus far.

• Kind of a Big Deal: A total of 5.4 million unique viewers have watched at least one eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race via FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports app.

• Bet On It: The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has been cleared and approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board for wagering. Two types of bets are allowed for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: winner of the race and head-to-head winner between drivers. Provisions for licensing the event includes a posting of the official rules for the tournament organizer and that all bets must cease once a race has started. Additionally, each bookmaker is allowed to create its own odds.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry:

What are you expecting at virtual Talladega this weekend?

“I got a chance to run in the Replacements race on Tuesday night, so that was my first taste of Talladega in iRacing. It had a lot of the same factors that you deal with running the real thing. You just have to try and stay out of trouble and put yourself in a position to have a shot toward the end of the race. The biggest difference is, obviously, there’s a lot less consequences and no torn-up equipment like the real thing. Looking forward to running our green Lightning Interstate Batteries scheme this weekend. Also want to give a shout out to everyone in the Interstate Batteries family who are keeping vehicles moving with everything going on right now in the world.”

Is there anything you’ve picked up on that may help you when you get back to the track for the regular races?

“Anything is a tool. You can use a tool any way you want. It’s no different than running in the sim rig that Toyota and TRD and the other manufacturers have to simulate the real thing. This can be used in the same respect. You just have to know how to use it and how that tool can work for you. Trying to figure out and remember what I am used to doing on the real racetrack and then coming to the iRacing sim and vice versa. It’s all about reps and doing something repetitive to get better. Someone told me recently that one of the racers for the Pro League for NASCAR spent 2,000 laps of practice at a particular track and getting better lap by lap and figuring it out. That’s unheard of. Even when we go do a test in our real life racecar – let’s use Bristol as an example as a short track: I might have run 300 to 350 laps – that’s all you do in real life. So when you hear someone talk about 2,000, that’s just an astronomical number in real life.”

Busch Talladega Notes:

• This will be Busch’s fifth-ever iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

• This is not Interstate Batteries first foray into the world of eNASCAR, as the company was the founding partner of Gibbs Gaming, in addition to being a founding partner of Joe Gibbs Racing back in 1992. For 2020, Interstate Batteries is a weekly sponsor on the No. 18 Toyota driven by Graham Bolin in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

• In addition to Interstate’s extensive involvement in iRacing, Busch’s Rowdy Energy Drink is a sponsor on the No. 51 Toyota driven by Malik Ray in the weekly eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for JGR.

• William Hartman, Busch’s engineer on his regular No. 18 Toyota Camry Cup Series car, has been serving as crew chief for Busch each week. In addition to Hartman, Busch’s real-life spotter, Tony Hirschman, is spotting from his from his home in Pennsylvania.

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Talladega, Busch has one win, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 29 career starts.

Pro Invitational Background

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of past and present racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series.

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.

Texas Invitational Advance – Erik Jones Readies for Round Two

by MikeMarch 27, 2020

Details:

Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2)
Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)

Where to Watch:

FOX network
Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.
FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)
FOX Sports Go app
FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

DYK?:

Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway was the single most-watched esports event in U.S. history. The race drew 903,000 viewers on FS1, besting the previous high of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.
The race was the highest-rated broadcast on FS1 since mass postponements of sporting events began on March 15.
During the race, the #ProInvitationalSeries was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States.

Overview:

The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at Homestead. It is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.
Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.

Erik Jones, driver of the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry:

“I honestly did not know how I’d do in last week’s race at Homestead. It had been forever since I last went iRacing, so it was like I was a rookie all over again. But things came to me fairly quickly, although I’m still nowhere near where I want to be. Performance aside, I think we all came away from that race impressed with how the entire industry rallied around it, and fans seemed to like it too. Now we’re on big FOX this Sunday, so even more people will be watching. Obviously, that’s good, but it does kind of ramp up the pressure. You want to do well. Even though it’s a simulation, we’re all competitors and we want to win. And it’s appropriate that I’ve got CRAFTSMAN on my Toyota Camry this Sunday at Texas. I moved into a new house this week and between putting furniture together, hanging stuff up and even fixing a few things that broke, if I wasn’t carrying a box I was carrying a screwdriver or a wrench. iRacing practice time took a backseat to the move, so I hope my limited practice time doesn’t show up in the race.”

Jones started 25^th and finished 10^th in last week’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at Homestead.
Jones dusted off his iRacing skills for Homestead, as the race marked his return to iRacing after a lengthy layoff. In a tweet before the race, Jones said, “The last time I went iRacing, there was a solar eclipse. So, yeah, two rare events. Don’t miss this one!” For those wondering, the last solar eclipse in the U.S. happened on Aug. 21, 2017. Jones was 24 races into his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Texas, Jones has three top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven career starts.
Jones’ best Texas finish is fourth, earned three straight times (April 2018, November 2018 and March 2019.)
In Jones’ last five starts at Texas, he has finished in the top-10 each time.
Jones is a three-time Xfinity Series winner at Texas. He won in his first Xfinity Series start at Texas on April 10, 2015. Jones then swept Texas’ 2017 slate of Xfinity Series races.
Jones has six career Xfinity Series starts at Texas and has never finished lower than fourth. And he’s qualified on the front row in every start except one, when he qualified third for the November 2015 race.
Jones is also a Truck Series winner at Texas. His third and most recent Truck Series start at Texas came in November 2015 and it ended in victory lane. It was Jones’ seventh career Truck Series win. Jones has only made two Truck Series starts since – one in 2016 and one in 2018. He scored top-10s in both.

KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Homestead Advance

by MikeMarch 26, 2020

Details:

• Event: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
• Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
• Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)

Where to Watch:

• FOX network

• Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

• FOX Sports Go app

• FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

Overview:

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Texas Motor Speedway serves as the second race of the series. The Pro Invitational Series is designed to emulate emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule from week to week.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists for the drivers to have a bit of fun until the resumption of their respective series schedules.

• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series will consist of 35 drivers.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Camry in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series:

How was your first iRacing experience last week?

“It was quite interesting last week. Ty Gibbs offered me up his rig because I did not have one and I was over at his place last weekend running on his rig. I made some phone calls this week to see who had one since I’m hoping after maybe six weeks we can get back to the racetrack and do what we do each week and I won’t really need to have one. So I’m going on the borrowed train right now for my rig.”

Who has been helping you out and what are you using for a rig?

“I got the sim guys over to my house to set one up. Last week, I had to drive 45 minutes over to Ty’s to practice and then 45 minutes back. So now, after we put Brexton (Busch, son) to bed, I can go down there and start working on getting better. Texas seems like it’s going to be a heck of a lot more simple than Homestead was as far as the driving aspect. You just have to hit your marks in turns one and two and get back to the gas and turns three and four, which are going to be wide open. Happy to have Interstate Batteries on board with us this week. They have been a part of iRacing since the beginning with Joe Gibbs Racing, so they’ve been a big supporter of JGR’s regular eNASCAR team. Everyone’s doing it – it’s the hot thing to do – and it was certainly fun to do last weekend to help everyone forget about everything that is happening in the real world. Everyone seems to enjoy it. A lot of guys are getting a little more serious about it and everyone is spending more time, so I figured if I’m going to stop running 30th, I’m going to need to get some more laps (laughing).”

Busch Homestead Invitational Notes:

• This will be Busch’s second ever iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

• This is not Interstate Batteries’ first foray into the world of eNASCAR, as the company was the first partner to join Joe Gibbs Racing’s eSports effort last year in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. For 2020, Interstate Batteries is a weekly sponsor on the No. 18 Toyota driven by Graham Bolin in the regular iRacing Series. Not only was Interstate Batteries the founding sponsor of JGR back in 1992, it was the first to join JGR’s iRacing and NASCAR Heat teams beginning in its inaugural season in 2019.

• Last weekend, ARCA Menards Series driver Ty Gibbs helped Busch get up to speed in his iRacing rig as Busch had never tried iRacing until practice the day prior to the first iRacing Pro Invitational race last Sunday at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. This week, Busch has had a rig brought to his house and has been busy practicing for Sunday at virtual Texas. William Hartman, Busch’s engineer on his regular No. 18 Toyota Camry Cup Series car, also helped Busch last weekend and will serve as crew chief for this weekend. In addition to Hartman, Busch’s real-life spotter Tony Hirschman is setting up to spot Busch on Sunday from his home in Pennsylvania.

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing on the 1.5-mile Texas oval, Busch has three wins, 12 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s in 28 starts.

Clint Bowyer and Chase Briscoe Continue Sim Racing Assimilation

by MikeMarch 26, 2020

Details:

• Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2)

• Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series

• Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29

• Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

• Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)

Where to Watch:

• FOX network

• Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

• FOX Sports Go app

• FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

DYK?:

• Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway was the single most-watched esports event in U.S. history. The race drew 903,000 viewers on FS1, besting the previous high of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.

• The race was the highest-rated broadcast on FS1 since mass postponements of sporting events began on March 15.

• During the race, the #ProInvitationalSeries was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States.

Overview:

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at Homestead and it is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.

• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang:

“We’ve had a partnership with iRacing on our dirt late model team for several years and we’ve run an iRacing team since last year. I’ve always jumped on it from time to time even though a lot of people don’t know that. My favorite thing to do on iRacing is not my day job. I came from dirt racing, so I love to get on there and burn laps on a dirt late model, a sprint car or midget. Heck, I’ve even done off-road truck racing. Those are my favorite things to do. A lot of my fans and peers get on and run Cup races and tracks we race on every week. For me, iRacing gives me a chance to drive something I’ve always wanted to drive, but never had the chance. That’s why I love iRacing, and I love the fact that this Pro Invitational Series has made more people aware of iRacing. Now, that means more eyeballs on us this Sunday, so I need to step up my game and put my Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang up front.”

• Bowyer started 11th and finished 16th in last week’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at Homestead.

• Bowyer considers himself a hobby iRacer. Last Sunday’s race at Homestead was his first official iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

• Bowyer’s eponymous iRacing team competes in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series with drivers Brandon Kettelle and Brian Schoenberg, and Bowyer’s dirt late model team has been sponsored by iRacing for several years.

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Texas, Bowyer has four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 28 career starts.

• Bowyer’s best Texas finish is second, earned twice (April 2011 and March 2019).

• Anheuser-Busch, the country’s largest sponsor of live sports and entertainment, is redirecting it sports and entertainment investments to its non-profit partners to respond to the coronavirus public health crisis. As part of a $5 million donation to the American Red Cross, Anheuser-Busch, alongside its sports partners, will identify available arenas and stadiums to be used for temporary blood drive centers. As part of the donation, Anheuser-Busch is donating media air time to the Red Cross in support of its public service announcements. To learn more about how to attend a blood drive, visit RedCross.org. Additionally, Anheuser-Busch is using its supply and logistics network to produce and distribute bottles of hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer will be utilized at Red Cross blood donation centers and to support emergency shelters for future relief efforts.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Ford Mustang:

“It obviously hasn’t been the greatest time for anybody right now, so it’s cool to have a way to keep your mind off of it. There isn’t really anything on TV and there are no other sporting events going on, so to be the only sport that can still continue, it’s been really cool to see everybody embrace it. When the idea first came out to run iRacing on FOX, I think people were curious to see how it was going to go and concerned that it wouldn’t be like ‘real life’, but it’s as close as we can get to it. It fills that void for the racing we don’t have right now, and it’s an awesome way to keep us occupied, keep the fans involved, and the sponsors as well. And maybe we’re opening the sport up to people that normally wouldn’t pay attention. It’s been really cool to see how many fans have gotten behind it.

“It’s been quite a bit different going from the Xfinity car to the Cup car, even though it’s iRacing. It’s realistic enough that even in simulation the cars don’t drive similarly at all. In the Cup Series car, there’s a lot more on throttle time and a lot less brake, so Texas will be a lot of the same. We’ll be on the gas a lot and drafting down the straightaway. They’re different, but it still takes the same characteristics to go fast and win, and I got that part figured out last weekend at Homestead. Texas is kind of an unknown to me. iRacing just updated the track a few weeks ago with the repaved surface and changes to the banking, so I don’t even have any laps around there. It’ll be a learning curve for sure, and it isn’t the best feeling to know I have to race my way into the main event. We saw last weekend that anything can happen to keep some of the better guys from being in the race. That being said, I feel good about our chances to run up front again with the Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Mustang.”

• Briscoe started sixth and finished fourth in last week’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at Homestead.

• Briscoe is a regular iRacer, but mainly in the Xfinity Series. Prior to Homestead, The Replacements 100 March 17 at the virtual Atlanta Motor Speedway was Briscoe’s most recent iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

• In actual racing, Briscoe has never competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is currently in his second full season of Xfinity Series racing.

• Briscoe has three Xfinity Series starts at Texas with a best finish of fourth, earned last March.

• Briscoe also has two Truck Series starts at Texas with a best finish of second, earned in June 2017. And when the Truck Series returned to Texas that November, Briscoe finished fourth.

About Stewart-Haas eSports:

NASCAR is the ultimate test of driver acumen and mechanical know-how, where teams scrutinize every detail in a never-ending quest for speed. Stewart-Haas Racing has thrived in this environment, winning races and championships to firmly establish its presence in NASCAR. Stewart-Haas eSports emulates these efforts in the virtual world, where sim technology provides a visceral experience that amplifies the grit and determination of NASCAR drivers in the real world. Stewart-Haas eSports is a natural extension of Stewart-Haas Racing, where competition and simulation are one. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com and follow on Twitter @SHR_eSports.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 70 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Homestead Advance

by MikeMarch 21, 2020

Details:

• Event: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• Time/Date: 1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 22
• Location: Virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
• Distance: 100 laps (150 miles)

Where to Watch:

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

■ Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FOX Sports Go app

Overview:

• While the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicks off on Sunday at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, it will be a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series will consist of 35 drivers.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Camry in the eNASCAR IRacing Pro Invitational Series:

You got into the iRacing simulator for the first time this afternoon (Saturday). What did you learn and who is helping you out?

“I’ve never done iRacing before and I don’t even have a setup. Fortunately, Ty Gibbs has a setup that I was able to practice on this afternoon for the first time. The biggest thing I learned is that lap-one, cold tires is “ice,” then it feels good for about 10 laps, and then the car gets really tight. Since you can’t change the setup, it’s really going to be tricky to figure out the balance of me fixing that. Thankfully, Ty Gibbs, ‘Boris’ (Bryan Cook, JGR Chief Digital Officer) and my Cup car engineer William Hartman, are big into iRacing and they were also helping me learn this afternoon – trying to get all the basics down of practicing pitting, restarts and everything I need to know. You aren’t going to learn it all in a few hours. These guys that are really good at iRacing do it on a regular basis, they’ve done a ton of work to get as good as they are. It’s cool to get our virtual M&M’S Camry out there and have some fun while trying to learn a new trade.”

• This will be Busch’s first official iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

• Busch’s Rowdy Energy Drink is a sponsor on the No. 51 Toyota driven by Malik Ray in the weekly eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for Joe Gibbs Racing with Interstate Batteries as a sponsor on the No. 18 Toyota driven by Graham Bolin.

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Homestead, Busch has two victories, including last year’s season-finale when he clinched his second title in NASCAR’s top series.