Tag: iRacing

IndyCar and iRacing partner for new sim series

INDYCAR, iRacing and sim racing products manufacturer ButtKicker have announced the creation of the inaugural INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series, set to debut in September. With a total prize pool of $50,000, the top open-wheel sim racers in the …

INDYCAR, iRacing and sim racing products manufacturer ButtKicker have announced the creation of the inaugural INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series, set to debut in September.

With a total prize pool of $50,000, the top open-wheel sim racers in the world will compete starting Sept. 19 in a series that features many IndyCar Series venues. Each race will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET Thursdays via iRacing social channels and the IndyCar Series’ YouTube channel and website.

“The INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series is the latest exciting development in iRacing’s renewed relationship with IndyCar,” iRacing President Tony Gardner said. “For years, iRacers have clamored for a top IndyCar eSports series, and with the support of ButtKicker, we’re putting together an awesome inaugural campaign for 2024. We expect fierce competition as top sim racers go for $50,000 in one of our most exciting series yet!”

The creation of the first IndyCar-based eSports series for professional sim racers on iRacing comes after a new licensing agreement signed between the two companies earlier this year. The new series joins the iRacing Indy 500, one of iRacing’s most popular special events, as one of the most prominent partnerships between the two brands. It also becomes the latest professional iRacing eSports series to be managed in conjunction with one of the world’s premier racing series, joining efforts with NASCAR, Porsche, the World of Outlaws and more.

“IndyCar is pleased to join forces with iRacing and ButtKicker for an all-new pro eSports series later this year, IndyCar Senior Manager of Marketing Ben Hendricks said. “Kicking off just after the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series champion is crowned on track at Nashville, this new series will bring the excitement of IndyCar into the virtual world and give our fans a new set of racing heroes to cheer for this fall.”

Qualifying for the INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series will commence in July and August. More information on the qualifying series and both series schedules will be released in the coming months. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iRacing.com.

“We’re thrilled to partner with IndyCar and iRacing to launch the inaugural INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series,” said Andrew Luden, head of gaming, The Guitammer Company. “IndyCar is the pinnacle of open-wheel racing with drivers competing across high-speed ovals to technical street circuits all while driving at the limits of performance.

“ButtKicker products provide sim racers with true haptic feedback to push their limits, powered by iRacing’s world-class simulation platform. By partnering with IndyCar and iRacing, the skill, grit and excitement of sim racing at the highest level will reach more fans than ever and highlight how everyone from pros to new sim racers can ‘Drive Better with ButtKicker.’”

Verstappen manages two wins in one day thanks to iRacing N24

Max Verstappen is known to participate in sim racing events during downtime from his busy F1 schedule. Impressively, this weekend the three-time world champion won both the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and the Nürburgring 24-hour on iRacing. ! These …

Max Verstappen is known to participate in sim racing events during downtime from his busy F1 schedule. Impressively, this weekend the three-time world champion won both the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and the Nürburgring 24-hour on iRacing.

On Friday, Team Redline announced that Verstappen would be driving the No. 20 BMW GT3, and naturally his fans wondered how he would participate during the F1 race weekend.

The Dutchman had a special racing simulator made that would be small enough to fit in his motorhome close to the Imola circuit.

“We were supposed to ship it in a Formula 2 trailer with MP Motorsport, but the sim was just a tiny bit too big, so it didn’t fit, but they helped us out greatly,” said Atze Kerkhof, Director of Team Redline.

MP Motorsport came up with a solution and sent the sim rig with a flower vendor who was headed to Imola anyway.

“The sim got shipped in a bus or in a trailer with flowers to Imola… He had everything pre-connected, so basically it was almost plug-and-play,” Kerkof said.

Verstappen took pole position in Imola qualifying, which ended at 5:00 p.m. CEST. Meanwhile, his Redline teammate Diogo Pinto was starting the 24-hour race. By 8:45 p.m. Verstappen was driving his first two-and-a-half hour night stint at the Nürburgring.

Verstappen racing in his motorhome at Imola from Team Redline Twitch Stream

After some sleep and solid stints by Pinto, Chris Lulham, and Florian Lebigre, Verstappen returned for another two hours at “the Ring” before doing 63 laps around Imola in his Red Bull.

At the end of his second and final stint, he joined the Discord channel with Twitch stream commentator Luke Crane and Team Redline teammates.

“Right, mate, that was lovely,” said Verstappen. Crane congratulated him on a nice final stint and Verstappen replied, “Yeah, extended the gap a bit, very lovely… I have to go.”

Chris Lulham drove the final stint for the No. 20 and secured the win for Team Redline after 24 hours. Fifteen minutes later, Verstappen took the green flag at Imola.

The Dutchman dominated the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix; McLaren driver Lando Norris was a close second and Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari.

Williams Esports wins iRacing 12 Hours of Sebring

The first rain-affected iRacing Special Event took place this past weekend. Williams Esports Chillblast won in GTP and LMP2, while Drago Racing won the GTD class. The Sebring International Raceway was dry when the session opened for practice and …

The first rain-affected iRacing Special Event took place this past weekend. Williams Esports Chillblast won in GTP and LMP2, while Drago Racing won the GTD class.

The Sebring International Raceway was dry when the session opened for practice and qualifying, but rain began to fall in the closing minutes of qualifying.

Learn more about the recent rain update in iRacing.

GTP

From P3 on the grid, Josh Lad navigated the wet conditions to gain a position at the start in the No.6 Acura ARX-06 GTP Williams Esports Chillblast car.

Luke Bennet in the No.11 Team Redline Acura started on pole position. He headed the GTP field until the end of the second hour when he crashed at Sunset Bend as the track was drying out. The damage was extensive, and the team eventually retired, while the No.6 Chillblast was promoted into the race lead.

The other Team Redline car also crashed out in the same corner with Florian Lebigre behind the wheel of the No.21 Acura.

Atte Kauppinen jumped aboard the No.6 Chillblast car after a mighty four-hour stint by Lad. With seven hours to go, the rain came again and drivers switched onto the wet weather tires.

The NO.6 car had no dramas for the remainder of the race. They crossed the line 36 seconds ahead of the runner-up No.8 VRS Coanda Porsche 963, followed by the #1 Williams Esports BenQ Acura.

LMP2

The No.55 Williams Esports Chillblast car won in LMP2 with Carl Jansson and Kenneth Gulbrandsen sharing the Dallara P217.

Jansson started fifth and quickly moved up through the field. The Swedish driver had much more confidence and control in the wet conditions, which allowed him to make up four positions in the first hour.

The No.003 Grid-and-Go.com Esports car started the race on pole position, but Gabriel Streitmatter lacked pace, and it was clear that the No.199 Apex Racing Team car was closing the gap.

After 20 minutes, Michele Constantini in the No.199 and Jansson in the No.55 passed Streitmatter. It seemed that the battle would be between Williams and Apex for the lead before the first pit stop. Jansson took the lead after stint one and kept it until stint two.

Constantini stayed in touch with Jansson until he boxed and handed the car over to his teammate Stanley Deslandes as the track was drying out.

Both the No.55 of Jansson and the No.199 of Deslandes were on slick tires, and the track was still damp when Deslandes lost control in the same corner as the GTP cars of Team Redline. The LMP2 spun off violently into the wall and sustained quite a lot of damage. They pitted as a result and rejoined four laps down.

The No.55 Chillblast spent the rest of the race out in front, and even when the second round of rain fell, they pulled out a one lap lead on their rivals to win after 12 hours.

GTD

Williams Esports BenQ led the field from pole position, Parker White kept their advantage in the No.13 Audi for the first two and half hours of the race.

Then it was Louis Nahser’s turn in the car, and he drove well until the No.13 disconnected from the session with about eight hours to go. They rejoined in eighth.

With both Team Redline cars out in GTP, and no LMP2 cars running for them, it was up to the two GTD entries to get a result. The No.70 of Gustavo Ariel and Gianni Vecchio started in seventh, but quickly dropped back after an early mistake by Ariel in the wet.

The No.71 Team Redline Audi driven by Josh Thompson pushed through the tricky conditions of hour one to seventh before the first pit stops. Ariel managed to recover the No.70 from 16th to ninth after his early troubles.

The battle from about the halfway point until the checkered flag was between the No.2 Drago Racing Audi, the No.70 Team Redline Audi, and the No.10 Mahle Racing Team Lamborghini.

With 3 hours and 20 minutes to go, the No.2 of Manuel Troncoso was leading the No.10 of Rainer Talvar and the No.70 of Ariel. A lapped Audi tagged and spun the No.10 Mahle Lamborghini, which handed the second position to Ariel and Team Redline in the No.70.

Gianni Vecchio closed out the race for Redline in the No.70. He managed to stay in touch with the No.2 Drago Racing Audi, but Nicolas Mateo finished the job and won for Drago Racing. Vecchio came in second by five seconds, followed by Talvar in the No.10 who finished 30 seconds behind in third place.

Most of the action and overtakes took place during the first two hours of this 12-hour iRacing Special Event. The rain came at the start, then the track slowly dried, only for the wet conditions to return. The race finished under dry and nighttime conditions.

Williams Esports celebrated wins and podiums in GTP and LMP2, but they will wonder what could have been without the disconnection for the No.13 Audi in GTD.

 

Max Verstappen disqualified from iRacing Grand Prix for ramming opponent

F1 champion, Max Verstappen got in trouble during a virtual grand prix recently after ramming one of his opponents off the road.

Max Verstappen may be an F1 champion, but he knows how to keep his skills sharp, and often participates in racing game esports. These virtual races require a lot of the same skills the real thing does and allow esports stars to compete with real racing champions.

As often happens in gaming, things can get a bit heated, and Max Verstappen lost his cool during a recent iRacing event. As can be seen in the Twitch clip which now has over 200k views, the incident involved Verstappen and German racer Sven-Ole Haase.

As the pack is coming in for a turn – just over an hour into this three-hour race – Haase underbreaks and shunts in the back of Verstappen’s car, causing him to hit his teammate, Diogo Pinto as they both spin out. Verstappen gets back onto the track and immediately has his eyes set on revenge.

At the next opportunity, he entirely cuts a corner to catch up to Haase – who climbed to second place following the initial collision – and at the next corner, refuses to break and sents both himself and Haase spinning off the track.

The commentators branded it a “horrendous overreaction” and Verstappen was quickly disqualified from the race. Verstappen hasn’t commented on the incident, and it’s unlikely there will be any long-term consequences.

Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.

Virtual Sebring revs up for VCO Sebring 12

Now that the checkered flag has waved on the 71st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, you might think Sebring International Raceway will fade from the international motorsports spotlight and return to its workaday role until next spring. If so, you’re …

Now that the checkered flag has waved on the 71st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, you might think Sebring International Raceway will fade from the international motorsports spotlight and return to its workaday role until next spring.

If so, you’re only half right. Although the sounds echoing across Kristensen Corner, Gurney Bend, the Tower Turn and Ulmann Straight shifted to those of the testing variety during the week and Historic Sportscar Racing machines this weekend, the “virtual” Sebring boasts another major event on the international motorsports calendar this weekend also — namely, the iRacing VCO Sebring 12.

As was the case with the iRacing VCO Daytona 24 earlier this year, the iRacing VCO Sebring 12 features a lineup of GTP, LMP2 and GTD cars piloted by sim racers from around the world. Top teams such as BMW M Team BS+Competition, Apex Racing and RedLine Racing along with Lando Norris’ Team Quadrant and Roman Grosjean’s R8G team are expected to compete.

The BMW M Team BS+Competition effort in particular reflects the growing synergy between the real and virtual racing realms. Witness the fact that BMW factory driver Bruno Spengler led a 1-2-3 sweep for a BMW M Team BS+Competition that fielded entries for the likes of Nicky Catsburg, Philipp Eng, John Edwards, Connor De Phillippi and Robby Foley in iRacing’s IMSA Sebring Super Saturday back in 2020.

Then just last week in the real racing arena, Foley and Vin Barletta won the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 — the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Sebring — in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (G82) sporting a livery that gave a nod to the BMW M Team BS+Competition.

“There’s a lot of synergy between (the real and sim racing programs) for sure. It was great to have the BS+Competition livery kind of half and half on the car,” Foley said of the special “Zebring” paint scheme that included half the car decked in gray and white zebra stripes. “We do that in the sim world all the time, but we’ve had few opportunities to do that in real life, so it was cool to get them a win and represent sim racing in real-world racing as well.”

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That synergy goes very deep indeed when it comes to Foley. In a real sense, sim racing helped pave the way for his real racing career after he suffered a life-changing injury in high school.

“I started with iRacing in 2010,” says Foley. “I had a really bad leg injury playing football which kind of kickstarted my racing career in a way. Long story short, when I was not walking on crutches, I played iRacing.

“I had a Logitech G27 (steering wheel) and I learned a lot of my foundation for driving cars on iRacing. So, 13 years later it’s kind of cool to have iRacing on a GS car and to win at Sebring. To be able represent BS+Competition, Turner Motorsport, BMW and iRacing in the real world is kind of a surreal experience.”

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Not only did sim racing help Foley develop the basic racing technical skills, it opened the door to his professional relationships.

“My relationship with BS+Competition started my relationship with Turner Motorsport,” he says. “I kind of connected those dots, and both Florian Haasper (founder of BS+Competition) and Will Turner (owner of Turner Motorsport), they share a passion. It’s an easy synergy; the content creates itself and the interaction has been great. We’ve gained some fans in the real world and, conversely, we’ve been able to shed some light on the virtual world.

“We had about a half dozen of our BS+ teammates at Sebring, and it was kind of a dream scenario to win the Michelin Pilot race. They are all talented racers in their own right; they just haven’t had the means or the good fortune to race in reality, yet. They do a great job in sim racing, and it’s cool to chat about the differences from the sim to real racing, but also the things that are similar. So, it was a really cool experience in general.”

Although personal commitments will preclude Foley from actively participating in Saturday’s iRacing VOC Sebring 12, the fact that he could share some of the knowledge he gained last week at Sebring racing Turner Motorsport’s BMW in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (where he, Patrick Gallagher and Michael Dinan finished second in the GTD class during the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring) is a change from the norm. For while motorsports has become accustomed to stories of drivers preparing for real-world races on their sims, in this case, Foley’s real-world experience will help the sim racers prepare for the iRacing VOC Sebring 12.

“The most obvious is that in a 12-hour race, anything can happen!” Foley says. “We had a couple of technical issues but we just had to stay in the game. Saturday it was a bit of a crazy race. It kept us all on our toes, especially the strategists given how the race evolved.

“The format of the racing is a little different in iRacing, obviously. There’s a green flag and then a checkered flag 12 hours later without any yellows. But there are things like how to drive the track and some tips and tricks on what’s important for the car setup.

“It is different enough. … For example, in real racing the track temperature changes a lot. It changes in the sim as well, but certain things behave differently. The tire model as well is different to the Michelins we’re on in the real world, but it is close: You’re driving the same car, running the same gears, same corners, there’s enough that you can have a good conversation with someone who’s driving but they’re driving their computer.”

Looking back on Sebring, it was almost a perfect weekend for Foley: a 1-2 finish for Turner in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race and a runner-up GTD finish (behind the Paul Miller Racing BMW) in the Twelve Hours. What could be better? How about another win for BMW M Team BS+Competition in this Saturday’s iRacing VOC Sebring 12?

Catch all the action Saturday starting at 8 a.m. ET at twitch.tv/iracing or youtube.com/iracingofficial.

NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace condemns Kyle Larson for using a racist slur, says he has to be better

“It’s NOT just a word,” Bubba Wallace wrote about Kyle Larson using the N-word.

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. released a lengthy statement Thursday afternoon about Kyle Larson using a racial slur Sunday during an iRacing event that was being broadcast on Twitch and was heard by anyone on the livestream.

The 26-year-old driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet is the only African-American driver in the Cup Series, and he acknowledged he didn’t want to be involved in the controversy surrounding Larson saying the N-word.

But he wrote that there “is a part of my background and culture that feels attacked and hurt, and the other part feels confused and angry.” And he opened his statement by briefly explaining why the N-word is racist.

Wallace wrote:

It’s NOT just a word. There is a ton of negative meaning behind the word. Doesn’t matter if a person uses it in an offensive way or not. The word brings many terrible memories for people and families and brings them back to a time that WE as a community and human race have tried our hardest to get away from.

Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the NASCAR season, like the rest of the sports world, has been postponed, so the racing world moved online.

During a race Sunday, Larson appeared to have some technical issues communicating over his radio and said: “You can’t hear me? Hey, [expletive].”

In his statement, Wallace later specifically addressed Larson using the racist slur and explained the communication they’ve had since. He continued:

What Larson said was wrong, whether in private or public. There is no grey area. I saw the incident the night it happened and within 5 minutes Kyle texted me. He called me the next morning as well. Finally I called him back with a FaceTime to talk “face to face,” and we had a good conversation, his apology was sincere. His emotions and pride were shattered. We discussed why he chose to use that language and I shared my thoughts.. [sic] I told him, it was too easy for him to use the word and that he has to do better and get it out of his vocabulary. There is no place for that work in this world. I am not mad at him, and I believe that he, along with most people deserve second chances, and deserve space to improve. I do wish him and his family nothing but the best. And I am more than willing to work with him to address diversity and inclusion in our sport.

In the early fallout this week, Larson was suspended Monday by both NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing, which then fired him Tuesday after multiple major sponsors — like McDonald’s and Credit One Bank — pulled their support from the driver specifically. The team said, in part:

“As we said before, the comments that Kyle made were both offensive and unacceptable especially given the values of our organization. As we continued to evaluate the situation with all the relevant parties, it became obvious that this was the only appropriate course of action to take.”

NASCAR is also requiring that Larson — who is of Japanese descent and an alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program — participate in its sensitivity training.

Going into the 2020 season — which only made it through four races before being postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak — Larson was in the final year of his contract with Ganassi. One of the more talented young drivers, he was expected to the the most sought-after upcoming free agent who would likely have his choice of teams.

His future now is even more uncertain, and any return to NASCAR following his indefinite suspension and sensitivity training could largely depend on his ability to secure new sponsors.

Our two cents about all this: Wallace shouldn’t be one of the only drivers speaking out about Larson using a racial slur, and doing so shouldn’t be his responsibility by default as the only African-American driver in the Cup Series. It’s not fair to him, and he shouldn’t be dragged into Larson’s mess simply because NASCAR is a white male dominated sport with a diversity problem.

Where are other prominent figures in NASCAR? On his podcast this week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. condemned Larson for having the slur in his vocabulary, and Joey Logano touched on it when asked in an interview with NBC Sports. But for whatever reason, most high-profile names in the sport have remained silent, and that’s not acceptable either.

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NASCAR driver William Byron got his start in iRacing, which has ‘come full circle now’

For The Win spoke with rising NASCAR star William Byron about the competition and culture of the virtual racing world.

NASCAR driver William Byron knows the iRacing world better than most — if not all — of the drivers currently competing online while the COVID-19 pandemic has the real-life season on hold.

When some drivers’ racing roots go back to go-karts or two wheels or dirt, the 22-year-old driver of the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got his start in the virtual racing world, highlighting the rare but conceivable route of turning simulation racing into a career on an actual track. And because of that, Byron is regularly a favorite to win in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, an exhibition series started while the regular NASCAR season is postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

And after leading the most laps in the first two races of the Pro Invitational Series but finishing empty-handed, Byron led 116 of 150 laps and took the checkered flag in the third event, which was two weekends ago at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.

He’s also a favorite to win the next virtual event Sunday at Richmond Raceway (1 p.m. ET) — where NASCAR would have competed in real life this weekend — and said that with not much else to do, he’s been on iRacing at least an hour every day.

William Byron does a burnout on the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway in this computer-generated in-game image. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

After the motor sports world moved entirely online, iRacing is now in the spotlight with NASCAR’s exhibition races even being broadcast on FOX and FS1. So For The Win spoke with Byron this week about his return to virtual racing and the culture of online competition.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Does all this focus on iRacing right now take you back to some good ol’ days?

It does, yeah, definitely. It’s how I got started, so it’s crazy to see it come full circle now. It’s definitely different because it’s taken on a new meaning and a serious meaning.

Because technology advances so rapidly, is iRacing now comparable at all to what you did growing up? Has it changed much, or is it still fairly similar?

It has changed quite a bit. There’s a lot of things that they’ve added since my first time on the sim. They’ve changed the tire wear — like the heat of the tires and the way they build air pressure and wear out differently based on how you drive the car. The aerodynamic properties of the car have gotten a lot different and a lot more in-tune with what they really are. So those things have changed quite a bit, which I think has really changed the game for us.

How would you describe the online culture of iRacing? Aside from not interacting with people face-to-face, how is it different from real life?

I think honestly there’s some differences in the culture online because everyone can talk to each other, and that’s much different than, obviously, what we normally work with.

But there’s also a lot of similarities in the way that the racing is online because the code of conduct that iRacing has is very similar to the real-life code of conduct. So it’s honestly not all that different.

Is there more trash talking because you can talk to each other?

I would say so. There’s the ability to have that for sure, and that’s definitely unique. Everyone can talk on the chat at the same time, so there’s more discussion back and forth between people than in real life when you can’t talk to the other people out there.

Is it ongoing conversation, or are you concentrating the whole time?

During green flag [runs], there’s not really much talking. But during the cautions, people talk back and forth.

Can you compare the competition in real life to iRacing or is that not fair?

I think honestly there’s more quality competition just because everyone has access to the same resources, so I think it makes the races really close and competitive. Obviously, real racing is very competitive, and there’s a lot there. But I think there are a lot of people on iRacing that are super competitive and a lot of equal abilities.

How would you describe the intensity of your rig on a scale of Denny Hamlin to a folding chair and a laptop?

Mine’s a middle ground between a Timmy Hill setup and a Denny Hamlin setup I would say. Over the years, I’ve learned what I need and sim seats, who does my simulator setup, they do a good job of building some good, quality rigs that are also not too elaborate.

Is there a virtual track you like to race on that you haven’t gotten to in real life?

I would say Montreal in Canada. That’s a really cool track. It’s a road course. I think it’d really be they used to race XFINITY cars there, so that’s a track I’d love to race on that I’ve ran laps at virtually.

What’s your favorite car to drive in iRacing?

Honestly, my favorite thing recently has been the sprint cars because those things are really, really fun to drive. They’re difficult. The dirt racing’s been a lot of fun to work with and drive.

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Clint Bowyer, Bubba Wallace erupt after iRacing wreck at Bristol

NASCAR stars lost their temper during an iRacing race at Bristol.

It only took a few laps for tensions to boil over Sunday during the NASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. With 32 cars in the field at the legendary half-mile short track and several drivers racing with little experience on the simulator, it was inevitable that the race would be filled with massive accidents – and after being involved in two accidents in the first 10 laps, Bubba Wallace quit the race and ripped Clint Bowyer for taking him out.

Drivers were allotted two “resets” during the race, which allows them to go down pit road and instantly repair any damage to the car. Wallace was involved in a wreck immediately after the start of the race that affected a large part of the field, and then had his car destroyed once again after tangling with Bowyer.

Bowyer came up on Wallace exiting Turn 4 and caused contact, and Bowyer’s car bounced off the outside wall and down the track. Bowyer saved the car, though…. and then drove into Wallace during the next corner. Wallace was understandably furious.

(Warning: video contains profanity)

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According to Bowyer, though, he “got Bubba’d” and wasn’t at fault.

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How NASCAR drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano are staying in shape at home

We talked to a few NASCAR drivers to see what their social distancing life is like: “We’ve had to get a little creative.”

Jimmie Johnson is moonlighting as a third-grade and kindergarten teacher, Clint Bowyer is camping in the woods, Joey Logano is on baby watch and Matt DiBenedetto is still doing CrossFit.

And they’re all still racing, despite the NASCAR season currently postponed because of the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. With the season on hold, drivers have been competing in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, a weekly exhibition event at virtual versions of real tracks in the iRacing world that’s being broadcasted on FOX and FS1. The next one is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, where NASCAR would have been racing in real life this weekend.

Seven races have been postponed through May 3, but the Martinsville Speedway race May 9 is unlikely to happen with Virginia issuing a stay-at-home order, which includes a ban on gathers of more than 10 people, through June 10. So it’s unclear how many races in total will be impacted.

But without real races, drivers aren’t traveling to different tracks around the country each weekend. Like so many other people, they’re practicing social distancing, working (and working out) from home and teaching their children’s curriculum — along with finding ways to entertain them.

So we talked to these drivers about how they’re killing time and staying in shape so they’re prepared for whenever the NASCAR season returns, along with their thoughts about the future of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

NASCAR first postponed two upcoming races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Were you already at the Atlanta track when NASCAR made the announcement on Friday, March 13?

Joey Logano: I was in Atlanta at the time. I had already flown down there for it. When we were leaving the race track, we had this eerie feeling. We happened to be driving by a school that was letting out really early in the day — I think it was around lunchtime — and it was, “Wow, this is an interesting scenario.” And it’s been that way ever since.

Matt DiBenedetto: Luckily, we were on the plane about to take off and then we got word from NASCAR that things were changing — that they were changing by the minute. You never think in your lifetime that something would happen where NASCAR races would get postponed. It was a crazy day I won’t ever forget.

What was your reaction to the next five races being postponed?

Jimmie Johnson: I wish I was informed in the beginning like I am now. When I look back, it’s the evolution of awareness and learning about this disease and how quickly it spreads and understanding the idea of the curve. In the beginning, disappointment, but now, it’s like, “Wow, we’ve got such an issue,” and I don’t know what the future holds.

Clint Bowyer: We all knew it existed, we all knew it was coming, and then all of a sudden, the sporting world starts falling like flies. That’s when reality hit. And hell, all of us are in this together. Nobody’s ever seen this before. This is a weird, unprecedented time for sure.

Aside from iRacing, how have you been killing time while still social distancing?

Logano: Our little guy’s two, and mama’s pregnant, so we are just on baby watch and watching our little guy grow up. Watching him ride his scooter’s been a lot of fun. He’s getting really good at it, which has been pretty cool because I typically wouldn’t have as much time to spend with him to see him grow.

Bowyer: Haha with two kids — three and five — and a wife, we’ve done everything from camped to you name it. We’ve played outside. The tricky thing is if it’s nice outside, I’ve got a fence I need to repair and change some stuff out. Hell, if you have a farm, you’re never out of projects. But if the weather could break, we could be outside and be working.

Johnson: We’re enjoying the family time together. We started homeschooling last week, which has really complicated our environment because Chani is still trying to work and run her gallery virtually now, just as I’m trying to race cars virtually. At times we’re feeling busier than ever.

FTW: How are your skills as a third-grade and kindergarten teacher?

Johnson: My third grader — things are honestly easier because she understands how to use the computer and she knows the processes involved with writing, reading, and math. But with Lydia in kindergarten, she can’t operate the computer or iPad. She can’t read through the directions or instructions, so hers is way more intensive, and kindergarten takes way longer.

FTW: Denny Hamlin tweeted about Googling elementary school math. Are you needing a reminder about how to do some of these things too?

Johnson: For sure a reminder, but math specifically has changed. They’ve got this whole process where you add in hundreds and tens and then worry about the spare numbers at the end. It’s a whole different process for math than what we grew up doing. So we came to that reality in first or second grade. I definitely recall [thinking], “Hold up, I’ve been doing math my whole life this way, and now you’re doing it that way? How does this work?”

As a diehard Kansas Chiefs fan, have you rewatched the Super Bowl yet?

Bowyer: I lived it, baby. Ain’t no sense in rewatching it, I lived it.

What about working out? Have you had to get creative?

Johnson: Yeah I have, and I’m doing a good job of it. The endurance side, I haven’t been able to get away for longer runs or rides. But from a strength standpoint, I’ve been able to do that. I have a small home gym, and I’ve been getting in some short runs and riding the Peloton.

We live in a neighborhood with nice, quiet roads, and we’ve been outside plenty and kids have been riding bikes. We’ve been practicing social distancing, of course, but our little group of four has been getting out quite a bit.

DiBenedetto: We’ve had to get a little creative. Me and my wife Taylor, [we train with] our two best friends, and they’re coaches at our CrossFit place. I own some equipment that was at our CrossFit gym — some dumbbells, a yoke, which is one of those things you carry and can also be used as a squat rack. And they also had equipment, so we loaded up a trailer behind my truck and we went to our [CrossFit] place before everything was closing down and picked up our equipment and took it to [our friend’s] aunt’s house and set up a temporary gym in her empty garage.

And shoot with nothing else to do, heck, we’ve almost worked out more now than ever because sometimes things can get busy and one week you might only be able to go three or four days. And now, it’s five or six days pretty religiously.

Logano: I’ve been running a lot and taking my little guy on some runs. Working out in my garage plenty. Doing the “honey-do” list, seems like a workout at times depending on what you’re building — beds and cribs and everything she wants me to do. But I’ve got no excuses about not staying fit right now, not like I have a lack of time.

https://www.facebook.com/planetfitness/videos/687539318659106/

FTW: What was it like leading a workout online for people to watch and follow along?

Logano: I’ve never led a workout before. I’m usually having the trainer tell me what to do. So I thought this will be a little different. But we kept it fun and light-hearted. I was sweating at the end, so that was good. I assume others were too.

What’s something you’ve done every day or often that you’d never normally be doing in the middle of the NASCAR season?

DiBenedetto: I’m kind of a homebody in general, so I guess a quarantine isn’t too tough for me. But I’ve mostly been playing a whole lot more iRacing than I have been in the last couple years, and we need some sort of competitive nature in our lives as drivers.

Bowyer: I’ve built a small cabin back in the woods on our farm, and Cash and I have been going out there. I’m trying to help my wife and give her some relief because really, we have two kids, but she has three. And so I try to take Cash. We’ve been camping out at the cabin and having campfires and fishing. We’ve done it all.

Logano: I’m actually riding my bike while talking to you right now, so that’s kind of funny.

How much beer did you stock up on?

Bowyer: Oh, I’ve got plenty of beer. I won’t run out of that. Nobody has to worry about ol’ Clint running out of that category. There are certain necessities in life you’ve got to make sure you have. We’re going to run out of toilet paper before we run out of beer.

Are you binge-watching anything?

DiBenedetto: We mostly look forward to watching This Is Us. We’re way behind the times, but we’re watching Breaking Bad because all these years we’ve never started it. And then we will sit down and watch Two and a Half Men and Family Guy pretty often. Those are our go-tos.

Johnson: I have not because I’ve been in one of those damn sim rigs once the kids go to bed.

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Jimmie Johnson says he got a tutor to help him improve in NASCAR’s iRacing events

“The level of knowledge you need about computers is incredible,” Jimmie Johnson explained about his new iRacing experiences.

Jimmie Johnson got a taste for what a weekend double running NASCAR and IndyCar Series races would be like— albeit a virtual one.

And even though he struggled mightily in the first event of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series — an exhibition series started while the regular NASCAR season is postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak — he still said simulation racing in IndyCar is more challenging than NASCAR.

“I feel like there are two hurdles for me to get over in the IndyCar rig,” Johnson told For The Win about the IndyCar iRacing setup, which mimics details ranging from the car’s high speeds to the lack of power steering. “One, the nuances of the sim, and two, just the real experience to know what you’re looking for.”

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champ — who plans to retire from full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season — has repeatedly expressed his interest in IndyCar racing in the future.

So initially, he bought an iRacing rig focused on IndyCar and sports car racing with a more reclined seat to “prepare for ’21 and ’22 for the different bucket list races I want to compete in.” He previously had an IndyCar test at Barber Motorsports Park scheduled for April 6, so a couple times a week, he was getting in a few practice laps.

But things quickly changed. Both the IndyCar and NASCAR seasons were put on hold because of COVID-19, the 44-year-old driver’s test was canceled, and racing moved to the virtual world.

And Saturday, Johnson made his IndyCar iRacing debut at Watkins Glen International — a road course in New York state that NASCAR visits once a year — finishing 16th out of 25 drivers.

He said the difference between racing NASCAR’s stock car and IndyCar’s open-wheeled car on the road course was “mind blowing” — and partly why he ended up crashing in the chicane known as the bus stop during the IndyCar race.

“At Watkins Glen, [IndyCar is] probably 15 to 20 seconds faster a lap there in a real car from one to the other,” Johnson said comparing IndyCar’s speed to NASCAR’s. “So braking points, carrying speed through the bus stop, carrying speed through the corner — that all changes so much.”

It may have been Johnson’s first IndyCar iRacing event, but it wasn’t the first time he used his IndyCar setup to compete. He used it in the first NASCAR Pro Invitational Series event at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway two Sundays ago, putting him at what he called a “pretty big disadvantage.”

He finished 31st after starting dead last in 35th, while Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who have decades worth of experience in the virtual racing world, finished 1-2.

“I thought I knew what I was doing, and then I realized I had no clue, especially when you have to log in to the game to race and compete,” the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver said, thinking his minimal IndyCar iRacing experience might help him. “It’s just a different animal.”

So last week, he got a NASCAR-specific rig and a tutor to help him overcome some of the technological difficulties he was dealing with. Whether it’s the iRacing program itself or the apps that racers use in conjunction with it, Johnson said learning how much goes into virtual racing has “been really eye-opening.”

“The level of knowledge you need about computers is incredible,” Johnson said.

“Every day last week, I was up until midnight, one in the morning, going to school and having a tutor literally teach me how to run and operate things at the right level, so I can be competitive, let alone even drive the thing. Driving has its own challengings. So that part’s started off as fun, and then of course, my competitive spirit kicked in and now it’s frustrating.”

But the seven-time champ has improved.

In the most recent Pro Invitational Series race at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, he finished 19th after starting 25th. However, he acknowledged he still has plenty of work to do to figure out the differences between a real car and a simulated one, which is “very difficult when you can’t feel or sense the car to give it the input.”

While Johnson could compete in another virtual NASCAR and IndyCar double — the IndyCar iRacing Challenge features five more events held on Saturdays through May 2 — there’s a possibility he could have the opportunity for a real-life one too.

The IndyCar canceled and rescheduled several events, including the GMR Grand Prix on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, which was originally set for early May. That race is now July 4 — the same day as NASCAR’s XFINITY Series race on the road course and the day before the Cup Series race on Indy’s oval.

Johnson reiterated that he “would entertain” the idea of a NASCAR-IndyCar double that weekend but ruled out the famous Memorial Day Double, which is the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, calling it “just not realistic for me.”

“My interest [in IndyCar] is there,” Johnson said. “It has been for a long time. The ovals I don’t have an interest in doing in this stage of life. I just really don’t. So I’m open to a double if the right situation happened.”

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