NASCAR: 5 positive storylines nobody could have predicted
By Asher Fair
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR and iRacing introduced the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, a series on the virtual racing platform iRacing that has allowed NASCAR’s stars to still be able to compete against one another during this unexpected stoppage of real-life action.
For each race that has been postponed, a virtual race is scheduled to take place at the same venue. The only one that was missed was the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as this race was the first to be postponed and the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series had not yet been created.
Sure, many other sports leagues have postponed or suspended action as well, including the NBA, NHL and MLB, and they have video games that their athletes can play: NBA 2K20, NHL 2K20 and MLB The Show 20, respectively. The NFL, which has not yet had play directly impacted by the pandemic, also has Madden NFL 20.
But NASCAR is at a huge advantage here over every other sport in the world (excluding other racing series such as IndyCar and Formula 1, which have taken similar measures).
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo can’t literally control his own player in NBA 2K20 like he can control himself in a real NBA game. On the flip side, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch can control his own car in the real world and in iRacing as well.
Fox NASCAR announcer and former driver Jeff Gordon made note of it during Fox Sports 1’s live eNASCAR broadcast from virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway two Sundays ago, and he is 100% right: these other video games don’t even remotely involve players doing what the pros actually do in real life, and they are so animation-based.
Even when the pros play them, they are played using joysticks on controllers, and players play as the entire team. Meanwhile, NASCAR drivers are still able to drive, which is what they’d be doing on Sundays if things weren’t “shut down”.
Several drivers in particular have benefited from the introduction of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, including one who hasn’t even competed in it.