NASCAR virtual Richmond preview: Bubba is locked in, Dale Jr. is not

A week that began in chaos for the NASCAR world due to a driver uttering a racial slur during an iRacing event will end with virtual racing this Sunday. The fourth eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series race will take place at virtual Richmond Raceway at 1 p.m. on FOX.

The three quarter-mile oval is the second short track drivers will run during the virtual exhibition series that has replaced NASCAR Cup Series races as the season remains postponed due to COVID-19.

After a caution-heavy race at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago (and a week off due to Easter), more virtual wrecks can be expected this week. NASCAR and iRacing have tried to mitigate crashes by limiting the field. Originally, the lineup was set at 26 entrants, according to FOX Sports, but after backlash from multiple drivers about lineup restrictions for full-time Cup Series racers, NASCAR expanded the field to 30 drivers on Friday.

“(The Pro Invitational) event is only limited to 26 drivers,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted on Wednesday. “Those spots should represent full time Cup drivers. Hope to get back in the #ProInvitationalSeries after Richmond.”

There are now 26 drivers locked in for Sunday’s 150-lap race, and four remaining spots. Two of those four spots will be provisional selections chosen by FOX, which have not yet been announced, and the other two open spots will be filled by the top finishers of a 25-lap qualifier that will run before the race.

Entrants for the qualifying race include Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Quin Houff, Brennan Poole, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Cole Custer, Chad Finchum, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., J.J. Yeley, Joey Gase, Landon Cassill and Daniel Suárez. Nine of those drivers — Houff, Poole, LaJoie, McDowell, Custer, Stenhouse Jr., Yeley, Gase and Suárez — are Cup drivers with a full-time charter.

Some of those drivers remain frustrated by their exclusion from the premier event, which has reached an audience of over a million viewers on FOX for the last two races, according to Nielsen. That viewership would allow those drivers to deliver some promotional value to their sponsors without real racing happening. LaJoie said he’d like a sure spot in Sunday’s event for another reason.

“The Saturday Night (Thunder) show is all the guys in the lower division who don’t have wives, don’t have families and don’t have anything to do but to sit on the rig for six or seven hours and practice,” said LaJoie, who recently became a father. “I’d much rather be in the Cup race where those guys are older and they don’t spend all day long on the rig.”

So far, Denny Hamlin, Timmy Hill and William Bryon have each won a virtual race in the Pro Invitational series, in that order. Those three drivers are locked in for this Sunday’s race. Bubba Wallace is another notable name returning to the sim rig this week after he quit mid-race at virtual Bristol, a move that cost him a sponsor.

Richmond’s oval might bring more crashes, but as long as the drama is contained to the track, NASCAR will see an improvement this week.

THIS WEEK’S eNASCAR RACE AT VIRTUAL RICHMOND RACEWAY: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Race: Toyota Owners 150

Distance: 150 laps (112.5 miles)

Where: Virtual Richmond Raceway

When: Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

TV: FOX, FS1, FOX Sports Go app

Worth mentioning: Country music band Rascal Flatts will perform the national anthem remotely. Entertainer Kelsey Grammer will serve as the grand marshal, and NASCAR and NFL Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs will deliver the innovation.

Invited Drivers:

Qualifying Race Entries:

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