04/03/2020
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Advance
Track: Virtual Bristol Motor Speedway (.5-mile)
Teams: No. 6 Coca-Cola/Nutrien Ag eFord, No. 17 SunnyD eFord
Drivers: Ross Chastain (No. 6), Chris Buescher (No. 17)
Twitter: @RoushFenway, @Roush6Team, @17RoushTeam
Hashtag: #ProInvitationalSeries
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Sunday, April 5 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcast Network, FS1, FOX Sports App
ADVANCE NOTES
Event Details
· With two weeks of the #ProInvitationalSeries in the books, NASCAR and iRacing are making changes to the format beginning this weekend at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR’s Cup stars, both past and present, will continue to participate in Sunday’s main event.
· However, the series now features a Saturday night event, which will include drivers from the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, and other regional series.
· The lineup for Sunday’s main event – the Food City Showdown (1 p.m. ET, FOX, FS1, FOX Sports App) – will be set after two heat races, and everyone in the heat races will transfer. None of Saturday’s drivers will advance to Sunday’s event.
· Last weekend’s eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series event from the virtual Texas Motor Speedway drew over 1.3 million viewers, breaking the record for eSports TV viewership set by the previous week’s race.
Buescher at Bristol Motor Speedway
· Buescher has nine Cup Series starts all-time at Bristol, with a best finish of fifth (2016). Most recently he finished 17th last summer.
· Buescher also has five starts in the Xfinity Series at ‘The Last Great Colosseum’ with a third-place run (2015) and a seventh-place finish in his first-ever start there in 2013.
Chastain at Bristol Motor Speedway
· Chastain has four Cup Series starts at Bristol dating back two years, with a best finish of 26th last August and in 2018.
· In Xfinity action, Chastain has a top finish of ninth (2018). He also has four Truck starts at the half-mile track with two third-place runs (2012, 2019).
On the eCars
Iconic brand and thirst-quenching favorite SunnyD will be riding along with Chris Buescher and the No. 17 eFord this Sunday at the virtual Bristol. On the No. 6, Roush Fenway partner Coca-Cola, along with Nurtrien Ag Solutions – a partner of Ross Chastain in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – will be aboard the car this weekend.
NASCAR/iRacing History
NASCAR and iRacing have an unprecedented history in the esports space, currently in the 11th season of the longest-running officially sanctioned esports racing series, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. It features 40 of the best sim racers in the world competing for more than $300,000, one of the richest payouts in esports racing competition.
Roush Fenway’s 2020 lineup includes Nathan Lyon, driver of the No. 6 and a native of St. Louis Missouri, and Kollin Keister, driver of the No. 17, who hails from Frostburg, Maryland.
