NASCAR: Sim racing’s success could provide unforeseen advantage
By Asher Fair
Sim racing is as popular as it has ever been, a silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic. But it could provide another unforeseen advantage to NASCAR and to other forms of motorsport.
The stoppage in action caused by the global coronavirus pandemic came as a shock to NASCAR, just as it did to the many other sports which were forced to postpone and/or cancel several upcoming events.
NASCAR postponements: TRACKER
Fortunately for NASCAR, they are in a unique position in which their athletes are still able to compete against one another virtually, doing pretty much the same thing they would have been doing on Sundays in front of packed crowds at real-life venues.
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This was made possible by sim racing. While other sports have video games that their athletes can play against one another, none can compete against one another at the level which race car drivers can compete against one another in a virtual setting.
Drivers can actually “drive” virtual cars in simulators, which is far more realistic that using joysticks and buttons on controllers in animation-based games such as Madden NFL 2020, MLB The Show 20 and NBA 2K20.
In response to the pandemic, NASCAR created the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series for its drivers. This began two Sundays ago at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, and this past Sunday’s race at virtual Texas Motor Speedway set a new record.
This race drew in 1.3 million total viewers across Fox and Fox Sports 1 to become the highest-rated televised esports event ever. That includes all esports, not just NASCAR.
The rise in popularity of sim racing is somewhat of a silver lining to the current situation that has caused all kinds of unprecedented fear and uncertainty throughout the world. But even this silver lining could have its own silver lining.
The hype around iRacing is real, and it would surprise nobody if the surge in popularity that sim racing has seen continues even when real racing returns.
But right now, there is one reason for this hype and one reason only: the fact that there is no real NASCAR on TV, or any other sports on TV for that matter.
This hype around sim racing has built and will continue to build every week as fans increasingly miss live racing.
So when NASCAR returns, fans will be as hungry as they’ve ever been, and all of a sudden that hype around sim racing will translate directly to the real world in the form of ratings NASCAR never could have expected.
It is true that the same could be said about the return from the offseason. But the offseason is planned, scheduled and inevitable, and above all, it has a set end date.
This unexpected stoppage was not planned, came out of nowhere, and nobody knows when it will end. In all likelihood, nobody will know when it will end until it does end and the green flag flies again.
And when it ends, NASCAR is destined to return in a big way.
NASCAR being the first sport to be return would be an added bonus as well, as there would be only NASCAR to watch for some period of time and the sport could see some of its highest viewed races ever. This pandemic has left fans deprived of sports, and at this point, the return of any major sport could potentially do wonders for viewership.
As of now, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 9 at Martinsville Speedway. This remains subject to change.