NASCAR off for Easter weekend, IndyCar in action Saturday

NASCAR’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has the weekend off for Easter, but the IndyCar iRacing Challenge is set to be in action on Saturday.

Virtual racing has become the norm for the stars of NASCAR and IndyCar with both seasons at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic. NASCAR hasn’t seen any live action since Sunday, March 8 at Phoenix Raceway while IndyCar hasn’t seen any live action at all this season.

Both the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and the IndyCar iRacing Challenge were introduced in response to this unexpected stoppage. Three races have been contested so far in the former while two have been contested in the latter.

There is slated to be an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race for each race that is postponed on the Cup Series schedule, and that virtual race is set to be held at the venue where the real-life race would’ve been held.

More from IndyCar

The series had not yet been created when the race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway was put on hold, but it has since visited virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, virtual Texas Motor Speedway and virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.

The format of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge is a bit different. That series opened up two Saturdays ago at virtual Watkins Glen International, which was voted as the opening venue by fans on IndyCar’s social media accounts in bracket-style polling.

Barber Motorsports Park was scheduled to host a race this past Sunday, but that was postponed. As a result, the series made a trip to virtual Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday. But not all postponed races will result in virtual races being run at the same venues.

Both NASCAR and IndyCar were scheduled to be off for Easter weekend. With the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series schedule being set up the way it is, there will not be a race this weekend. But on the IndyCar side, there is now slated to be action.

This Saturday afternoon, April 11, IndyCar is set to visit the “Driver’s Choice” virtual track of Michigan International Speedway. Michigan International Speedway hasn’t hosted an actual IndyCar race since August of 2007.

Next. Top 10 most unbreakable records in F1, NASCAR and IndyCar. dark

Remaining on the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series schedule are races at virtual Richmond Raceway, virtual Talladega Superspeedway and virtual Dover International Speedway on Sunday, April 19; Sunday, April 26; and Sunday May 3, respectively.

Remaining on the IndyCar iRacing Challenge schedule are races at a “Random Draw” virtual track on Saturday, April 18; virtual Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, April 25 (in place of real-life race weekend); and a non-IndyCar “Dream” virtual track on Saturday, May 2.

Both schedules could be extended if real-life postponements continue.

Home/NASCAR