Although we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the NASCAR season, there’s never a break in the action on everybody’s favorite racing simulation software, iRacing. When you can race the high banks of Bristol from the comfort of your living room, why would you ever stop?
Plus, an iRacing subscription and a racing wheel clamped to your desk makes you qualified to critique what the pros are doing in real life, if Twitter’s taught us anything. You might be racing against stars like William Byron or Kyle Larson, after all.
With @KyleLarsonRacin on @iRacing. Hope he doesn’t wax me 😬 pic.twitter.com/sxvRVnAnpm
– William Byron (@WilliamByron) April 3, 2017
Here’s what’s happening this week where the worlds of virtual race cars and real race cars intersect.
– Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez stopped by Richmond Raceway’s iRacing simulator cockpit — which appears to be modeled after Logan Clampitt’s No. 46 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series car.
Last stop of the day. @RichmondPrez and @Daniel_SuarezG take a ride in the #RichmondRaceway simulator. Who do you think is going to win? pic.twitter.com/MEkU9DIjqf
– Richmond Raceway (@RichmondRaceway) April 11, 2018
– Part-driver-part-NBC-personality Parker Kligerman took home a victory at Bristol — not in a real race car this week, but, rather, in an iRacing league. Do you think he sprayed champagne in his living room?
Sooo @KyleBusch may have won “REAL” cup but I finally won a @Sim500_Racing Cup race at Bristol in @iRacing ! I know… I know… Everyone will want an interview/ appearances. I will do my best to fit it all in. pic.twitter.com/E7vSbRq7TW
– Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) April 17, 2018
NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series Update
While Kyle Busch won his second straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this week, Ryan Luza, too, won his second consecutive race. The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series hit the virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Tuesday, and the Texas native made an impressive run to the front in the closing laps to claim another victory (as our Las Vegas Power Rankings predicted, by the way).
Ryan Luza keeps rolling as he wins Round 4 of the NASCAR @iRacing Series at @LVMotorSpeedway 👉 : https://t.co/oHwdeR0zHy pic.twitter.com/4GxTG1ghtq
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 11, 2018
RELATED: Full iRacing race report
The three-time series champion Ray Alfalla currently leads the points after scoring top-10 finishes in each of the season’s first four races.
iRacing Paint Schemes of the Week
The creativity of custom paint scheme artists on iRacing is almost as impressive as the drivers who’ve perfected their skills using the simulation.
Brantley Roden re-created Kyle Busch’s Skittles Toyota Camry that raced to victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. It might not make you as fast as Kyle Busch, but you can race the rainbow on iRacing.
Tanner Tallarico put a unique spin on Kevin Harvick’s No. 98 Xfinity Series Ford — if it were a super late model. Kevin Harvick sometimes drops down to the local level to compete against different racers, so this fictional iRacing re-creation seems half-believable.
In the “what on earth?” category, Brennan McGee re-created an old-school NASCAR on NBC car for iRacing. Yes, if you’re an iRacing member, you can race around on the mid-2000s show car from the hit video game NASCAR Thunder 2004.
Flashbacks to NBC’s Wally’s World, anyone?
Don’t Try This at Home
While iRacing is a serious simulation, sometimes it’s nice to have a little fun, too. Watch a virtual version of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car try to jump a row of other cars … uhh, for science.
Best part of tonight and this is going to be a pinned tweet pic.twitter.com/jJHbJTT1Po
– Jgallstar1-TwitchTV (@Jgallstar1_tv) April 6, 2018
Don’t try that with an actual race car. Or do, but it might get a little expensive. Thankfully, we’ve got iRacing for experiments like this.