NASCAR: 5 drivers benefiting most from iRacing Pro Invitational Series
By Asher Fair
Which five drivers have benefited the most from NASCAR’s new eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series in response to the coronavirus pandemic?
The coronavirus pandemic brought the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to a screeching halt after only the first four race weekends. Initial plans were to run the following two races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway without fans in attendance, but those races both ended up being postponed.
The next several races were postponed as well, and NASCAR isn’t scheduled to return to action until Saturday, May 9 at Martinsville Speedway. But even this return date is now in doubt given the state of Virginia’s recent stay-at-home order, which runs through Wednesday, June 10.
In response to the rest of the 36-race season being put on hold, NASCAR and iRacing introduced the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The sport’s drivers are able to compete against one another in this virtual racing series while there is no real racing going on.
For every race that has been postponed, a virtual race at the same venue has been planned for this series. The only exception was Atlanta Motor Speedway, as this was the first track removed from its original spot on the calendar and this new series had not yet been introduced.
So far, races have contested at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway and virtual Texas Motor Speedway, and there are four races currently left on the schedule.
They are scheduled to take place at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 5; virtual Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 19; virtual Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 26; and virtual Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 3.
Which drivers have benefited the most from the introduction of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series? Here are the top five.