IndyCar iRacing at Indianapolis: Who failed to qualify?

Several big-name drivers failed to qualify for the IndyCar iRacing Challenge finale at virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including Kyle Busch.

The sixth and final race of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, which has served as the virtual substitute for the real-life 2020 IndyCar season with the season delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 2.

This finale, the First Responder 175 presented by GMR, is set to be contested at virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway around the track’s four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval. Unlike the Indianapolis 500, this race is set to be a 70-lap, 175-mile race, not a 200-lap, 500-mile event.

The 104th running of the Indy 500, which had been scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24, has been postponed to Sunday, August 23 as a result of the pandemic.

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Much like the real Indy 500, the field size for Saturday’s race at the Speedway, Indiana track was limited to 33 drivers. With well over 33 drivers on the entry list, several failed to qualify for the race during Wednesday’s qualifying session.

Those several drivers included quite a few big-name drivers.

Many drivers had automatically qualified for the race based on their results from the first five races of this virtual series. In fact, these automatic qualifiers took up 29 of the 33 spots.

That left four spots for 10 drivers to try to secure.

While James Davison, RC Enerson, Scott Speed and Stefan Wilson bumped their way into the field via their one-lap qualifying runs, six drivers were left on the outside looking in.

Among those drivers were three who had competed in each of the first five races, James Hinchcliffe, Kyle Kaiser and Felipe Nasr, and one who missed only one race, Robert Wickens.

The other two had competed in one race. Spencer Pigot was one, and yes, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was the other.

IndyCar has since revealed the official 33-car entry list for this event.

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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, May 2 for the live broadcast of the First Responder 175 from virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway.