Before NASCAR Cup Series stars honor racing history for Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, they’ll look toward the future in Wednesday night’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race by competing virtually in the NASCAR Next Gen car (8 p.m. ET, FS1).
Drivers and fans will get a first look at NASCAR’s new car, which will debut in competition in 2022, in the third event of this year’s 10-race schedule that features a full field of NASCAR Cup Series stars facing off in iRacing exhibition races live and aired by FOX Sports and NBC Sports.
The race follows the formal unveiling of each manufacturer’s Next Gen car model in a much-anticipated event at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, streamed live on NASCAR.com.
Just four days later, the NASCAR Cup Series visits the historic Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1) on Throwback Weekend, a nod to NASCAR’s history in the form of commemorative paint schemes — and even a special Goodyear tire design.
For the second Pro Invitational Series race in a row, Camping World Truck Series driver and U.S. Naval officer Jesse Iwuji will compete against the field of Cup Series stars after winning a fan vote against a mix of up-and-coming stars and popular names across multiple NASCAR national series.
The Next Gen car has been designed in collaboration with NASCAR, its OEMs — Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota — and teams in order to boost competition. The car has been developed and tested extensively, but Wednesday night’s iRacing Pro Invitational Series race will mark the first time a full field of drivers have competed in the fully stylized cars.
The live broadcast of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from Darlington Raceway, featuring Next Gen cars, airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Pre-race programming begins during NASCAR Race Hub, also on FS1, at 6 p.m. ET.
The entry list for the race is as follows (subject to change):
| No. | Team | Driver |
| 00 | StarCom Racing | Quin Houff |
| 2 | Team Penske | Brad Keselowski |
| 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Austin Dillon |
| 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Kevin Harvick |
| 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Kyle Larson |
| 6 | Roush Fenway Racing | Ryan Newman |
| 7 | Spire Motorsports | Corey LaJoie |
| 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Tyler Reddick |
| 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chase Elliott |
| 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Aric Almirola |
| 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Denny Hamlin |
| 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chase Briscoe |
| 15 | Rick Ware Racing | James Davison |
| 17 | Roush Fenway Racing | Chris Beuscher |
| 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Kyle Busch |
| 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Martin Truex, Jr. |
| 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Christopher Bell |
| 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 22 | Team Penske | Joey Logano |
| 23 | 23XI Racing | Bubba Wallace |
| 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | William Byron |
| 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Michael McDowell |
| 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Anthony Alfredo |
| 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Cole Custer |
| 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Ross Chastain |
| 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports | Erik Jones |
| 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Alex Bowman |
| 51 | Petty Ware Racing | Garrett Smithley |
| 52 | Rick Ware Racing | Josh Bilicki |
| 53 | Rick Ware Racing | Joey Gase |
| 77 | Spire Motorsports | Justin Haley |
| 78 | Live Fast Racing | BJ McLeod |
| 99 | Spire Motorsports | Daniel Suarez |
| 66 | MBM Motorsports | Timmy Hill |
| 88 | Promotor’s Provisional | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 25 | Promotor’s Provisional | Bobby Labonte |
| 87 | Fan Vote | Jesse Iwuji |