The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series returns in 2021
!Photo Credit: iRacing
After debuting with a great season of virtual NASCAR races, the wait is finally over. Another season of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has been announced for March 24 2021.
NEWS: NASCAR, @iRacing announce return of eNASCAR iRacing #ProInvitationalSeries in 2021.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) January 26, 2021
Details: https://t.co/BIZLyH1efZ pic.twitter.com/jQ1L9S25gG
On January 26, a conjoined announcement from iRacing and NASCAR promised the fan-favourite series’s return, featuring some of the sport’s biggest NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
A new format
With several new tracks added to the real-life NASCAR schedule in 2021, the Pro Invitational Series will have an extensive makeover. One key feature of the series will be to preview upcoming races for the audience and give them NASCAR action during the middle of the week.
Regarding the announcement, Tim Clark, NASCAR’s senior vice president and chief digital officer, said: “The success of our eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series was underscored by an industry-wide effort to entertain fans during the early months of the global pandemic[….]. This year the Pro Invitational will return with a schedule of midweek races that will bridge the gap between our real-world races each weekend.”
The first five races will be aired on the American television channel FOX Sports 1 at primetime. NBC Sports will jump in and take over the second half of the ten-race season. The complete schedule of all ten races will be released later this year.
Beginning March 24, the first five races on FOX will be:
- Bristol/Dirt – Wednesday, March 24, 8-9:30 pm ET.
- Talledega – Wednesday, April 21, 7-8:30 pm ET.
- Darlington – Wednesday, May 5, 8-9:30 pm ET.
- Circuit of the Americas – Wednesday, May 19, 7-8:30 pm ET.
- Track-TBD – Wednesday, June 2, 8-9:30 pm
A path to glory
Once again, sim racing will have the opportunity to shine on the big stage. The last eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series brought in some great viewing numbers for every race, with six digit views on Youtube and over a million on TV. With a regular sim racing event being aired on national TV in the USA, eNASCAR will now be broadcasted more extensively than ever.
FOX Sports Executive Producer, EVP/Head of Operations and Production Brad Zager spoke about what the returning eNASCAR series meant: “FOX Sports embraced the eNASCAR iRacing Invitational Series in the spring as a way to keep race fans entertained, but we quickly realized it was a product and collaboration that we would continue to explore.” Zager also classified the series as “best-in-class” as “it delivers NASCAR to an even broader audience and, let’s face it, it’s a heckuva lot of fun.”
What are you most excited about in the upcoming eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series 2021? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg!