Here’s how to watch another weekend of iRacing featuring NASCAR’s top drivers

At this point in the NASCAR season, drivers would be seven races deep and set to take the track at Texas Motor Speedway if not for the coronavirus-related postponements that have stalled (almost all) racing. Instead, drivers are heading into their second race of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series competing on simulator rigs and a virtual Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday.

NASCAR is continuing its regular schedule on iRacing following last weekend’s premier of the virtual exhibition series, which finished in exciting fashion with Denny Hamlin making a last-lap pass of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take the checkered flag. This Sunday’s iRace will feature a similar star-studded lineup, with 31 already drivers locked in and four open spots remaining for drivers from the Xfinity and Truck series (they will run qualifying laps on Sunday shortly before the race).

FOX Sports will broadcast this weekend’s race to a wider audience by airing the event on FOX, FS1 and more FOX affiliates across the U.S. and Canada. Last weekend’s iRace reached just under a million viewers on FS1, according to Nielsen. FOX Sports Executive Producer Brad Zager said his production team felt “really good” about the viewership considering the impromptu nature of the broadcast and the fact that only 10 crew members (excluding talent) were on-site at their Charlotte-based studio.

“We felt like it was entertaining,” Zager said. “We were really happy with the broadcast for doing it in such a short amount of time and putting it on the air.”

While Zager said that he expects the iRaces to continue to serve as a lighthearted “escape” for fans while other live sports remain dark amid COVID-19, there is also an expectation among the NASCAR community that the quality of racing will improve as drivers learn the simulator rigs.

“We were having trouble getting [Jimmie Johnson] on the [sim rig] just to compete, let alone race” Clint Bowyer said. “Trust me, from what I’ve seen already of his practice time and his effort this week, I think he will be way better.”

Most of the drivers who competed last weekend will return to their rigs this weekend, but there will be some new faces on the virtual speedway as well, including No. 12 Cup driver Ryan Blaney and No. 96 Cup driver Daniel Suárez.

As drivers work to improve their iRacing skills, FOX Sports is working to upgrade the camera and audio access for its broadcast this week. There is currently less real-time access to driver headsets in iRacing than in a real race, but Zager said his team’s goal is to have more in-race audio and video interactions with drivers this Sunday.

“I know Denny Hamlin’s on board, Chase Elliott,” FOX NASCAR broadcaster and former Cup driver Jeff Gordon said. “A bunch of guys out there are open to us showing more of their webcams and talking to them during this event, so I think that’s super cool and it’s going to make it even more fun.”

Although the exhibition iRaces include some semi-retired NASCAR drivers like Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte, Gordon said his focus will remain on the broadcast side for now. Still, Gordon said his iRacing debut is likely on the horizon.

“I would imagine at some point I probably will do that,” Gordon said.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 will run on the virtual Texas Motor Speedway this Sunsday at 1 p.m. on FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports App. The entry list (excluding drivers attempting to qualify) is below.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription