After a largely successful Texas Motor Speedway simulated race, the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series is back at Bristol Motor Speedway at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 5. The previous event drew in 1.3 million viewers.
NASCAR iRacing Pro Series Bristol Kicks off on April 5
No one has thought as much, but the NASCAR iRacing has turned out a success with the Sunday’s Pro Series Invitational drawing a record 1.3 million viewers. The event was cast on both Fox and FS1, breaking the all-time TV viewership of an esports event.
Of course, if you do compare these numbers with the 100 million who tuned in to watch the League of Legends Worlds in 2019 those numbers don’t necessarily impress. Nevertheless, the total number of viewers tuning in to watch promises a good start for the esports series, at least until NASCAR is forced to keep racing online.
The next race will be held on April 5 at the Bristol Motor Speedway or at the very least it’s virtual alter ego. Here is the current list of drivers and their odds to succeed.
NASCAR iRacing Odds: Bristol Motor Speedway
| Player | Odds |
| Timmy Hill | +400 |
| Will Byron | +400 |
| Garrett Smithley | +600 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | +800 |
| Ryan Preece | +800 |
| Alex Bowman | +900 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1200 |
| Parker Kligerman | +1400 |
| John Hunter Nemechek | +1600 |
| Landon Cassill | +1600 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | +2000 |
| Michael McDowell | +2000 |
| Erik Jones | +2200 |
| Bubba Wallace Jr. | +2500 |
| Clint Bowyer | +2500 |
| Chase Elliott | +2800 |
| Kyle Larson | +2800 |
| Bobby Labonte | +3300 |
| Kurt Busch | +3300 |
| Kyle Busch | +4000 |
| Ross Chastain | +4000 |
| Ty Dillon | +4000 |
| Austin Cindric | +5000 |
| Chris Buescher | +5000 |
| Christopher Bell | +5000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +5000 |
| Austin Dillon | +6600 |
| Jimmie Johnson | +6600 |
This is a show race, meaning that popular NASCAR wisdom simply won’t apply to this type of event, as the relegated Kurt and Kyle Busch’s odds show. Therefore, making a bet that actually sticks is a bit of a stretch.
Last week, Timmy Hill and Will Byron battled it out in pole position, with Hill finally edging Byron out. Naturally, sportsbooks have piled on recognizing a new reigning champion in the NASCAR iSeries, with Hill now having another opportunity to consolidate his standing and affirm himself as the best driver in the simulator.
Where to Watch the NACAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
NASCAR may have switched to a simulation race, but the excitement and interest in the event are real. One of the main reasons why is that NASCAR takes a whole lot of mastering even as a simulated competition and driving in a racing simulator puts as much strain on a player as an actual race.
With this said, Fox Sports 1 hasn’t missed out on the opportunity to broadcast the upcoming event from the Bristol Motor Speedway virtual replica on Sunday starting at 1:00 PM ET. The viewership numbers are of course encouraging enough, making for an interesting comparison between generations.
Last week’s race was the second-highest TV rating for a sports program, perhaps not too surprising amid the novel coronavirus outbreak which has suspended all sporting events across the United States and the world.
Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports and Corey Williams are working on a next-level sim-racing rig to edge the competition with the help of better hardware.
Full Schedule for the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series
| Date | iRacing event | iRacing winner |
| March 22 | Dixie Vodka 125 | Denny Hamlin |
| March 29 | O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 | Timmy Hill |
| April 5 | eNASCAR Coca-Cola | TBA |
| April 19 | TBA | TBA |
| April 26 | TBA | TBA |
| May 3 | TBA | TBA |
The digital races have brought back from retirement established names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte who are quite willing to put those still active drivers to shame.
In the case of Earnhardt Jr., this may just be the case as he is again given a good shot at clinching victory in the upcoming race.