Timmy Hill and Garrett Smithley did not hoist any virtual trophies at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, but they certainly finished Sunday’s inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational with a real smile and very real sense of accomplishment.
Normally, the two drivers compete for smaller teams in the NASCAR Cup Series and are just happy to make races or contend for a top-20 showing. But in Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race, Smithley and Hill were the drivers setting the pace in a virtual competition that allowed them to challenge the sport’s biggest names for a victory.
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Smithley, 27, who drives the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet in NASCAR Cup Series competition and is currently ranked 36th in the standings, won the pole position for the iRacing event and ran up front for most of the race, ultimately finishing fifth.
Hill, 27, who drives the No. 66 Motorsports Business Management Toyota in NASCAR Cup Series competition and is ranked 37th in the standings, finished third. Both came to the race with extensive iRacing experience and were considered the “favorites” – a designation new for them in any competition that also includes NASCAR Cup Series champions Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and more. But Hill and Smithley held their own.
While winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled to the front in the closing laps, steering iRacing set-ups that cost tens of thousands of dollars, both Smithley and Hill kept the sport’s biggest names honest for most of the 100-lap race while driving virtual cars from steering wheels attached to desks at their homes.
“Me and Timmy’s set-ups are very similar,” Smithley said Monday. “We have just the regular wheel, it’s about a $250 wheel and pedal and shifter set, and I just mount it right on my computer desk. And I have one monitor and that’s what I’ve got.”
That the two were still able to compete with a long A-list of NASCAR drivers who spent massive amounts of money on their set-up?
“It’s definitely gratifying,” Smithley said. “That’s what’s so great about sim racing is that it’s an equalizer. Everybody’s on the same playing field and it doesn’t matter if you have a full motion, 40-50-thousand-dollar sim rig or if you have a couple hundred dollars on a simpler sim rig. You can still go out there and compete with the best of the best.
“This kind of gave us the unique opportunity to showcase what we can do. By no means am I saying it’s the same thing as real life, but it kind of sets us all on a more even platform. Some guys have more experience, but to be able to do that – to win a pole, lead laps and do that – we’re all racers, we all want to do those things so, it was nice to be in that seat for a change.”
Hill was similarly upbeat and encouraged with the outing.
“Obviously in the real world, there’s different setbacks that we face on a smaller-team level, setbacks that we face that an average fan may not even know about or they may second-guess what we’re up against,” Hill said. “This race was neat because I didn’t have to worry about putting scuffed tires on like I do or worry being down 250 horsepower or my car being five years old. Everything I was driving was the same thing Denny Hamlin won with or Dale Earnhardt Jr finished second with.
“I had the same car, I just didn’t do a good enough job to beat ’em.”
Both Hill and Smithley said they are eagerly preparing for the second eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational race – this Sunday afternoon at a virtual version of Texas Motor Speedway, where the NASCAR national series would have been racing under normal circumstances. Instead, the sport has declared a “hold” on the season, deferring to the safety priorities of its competitors and fans as the nation and world continue to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic.
Judging by the reaction on social media, the first eNASCAR iRacing event went a long way toward re-engaging with fans. And it provided a sporting outlet for the competitors and an audience that included rabid fans and many new eyes who were checking out the competition in essentially the only true game in town featuring a sport’s top competitors.
Hamlin was certainly impressed with the work of Hill and Smithley and considers them prime competition again this week.
“I think that guys with experience are going to shine, especially early on in this type of racing,” Hamlin said. “I mean, you couldn’t believe how long, how many hours I spent trying to find four hundredths of a second for qualifying for the last week and so I think that people that have experience and know all the tricks and know all the things you do to get speed out of the car, they’re going to shine right now for sure.
“Certainly, I think it’s great for those guys who normally you would not see up front, I thought for sure they were one of the top-five favorites going in along with William (Byron) and myself and Dale Jr., because they were fast through the week. So I think the guys you expected to be up front, they were up front, and it’s who you had to beat for the win.
“It’s great that those guys were able to participate and not only participate but challenge for the win. Normally on a normal week, they’re thinking, ‘Well, how can I run 30th,’ right? So it’s just a different beast when everything is all up and out.”
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In addition to the competitive adrenaline rush in competing door-to-door with the sport’s highest-profile drivers, both Hill and Smithley concede their showing may be beneficial when the season resumes. They have certainly earned the respect of those they are racing against and those who are watching – longtime fans and new observers of NASCAR. It all is a positive when their small teams next look for a corporate sponsor.
Both drivers carried the sponsorship logo on their car last week that would have been with them in Miami. And both did upward of 10-15 media interviews in the positive aftermath – a completely new and welcome experience for the young drivers. There is a legitimate potential business uptick this eNASCAR iRacing provides.
“One big takeaway was, I ran my real-world sponsor on the car and they were supposed to go with us to Atlanta (Motor Speedway) and Homestead, and we’re not racing there right now,” Hill said. “It’s disappointing, but they got to see their race car on television, which they loved. And I love to give them more TV time than they might have gotten otherwise. It’s neat to provide that and have some good runs for them.”
Smithley and Garrett each remain enthusiastic about the coming weeks’ potential – both competitively and big picture.
“It was a good opportunity for all of us and I’m excited to see where it goes,” Smithley said. “I’m eager to see what those guys do to prep. I’ve probably done 1,000 laps from the time I found out the first race was going to happen to the green flag. I took it very seriously. …
“Without a doubt, no question those guys are going to try to outrun us, especially the guys up front. We’re all competitors. We all do this for a living. It doesn’t matter if we’re in go-karts, running an iRacing race, a Cup race or shopping carts in the mall, we all want to beat each other. It’s just in our DNA.”
Busch started third in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 with a chance at the title. The three drivers he really had to worry about were Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr., as they were also still alive in the NASCAR Playoffs. But that didn’t mean others weren’t racing for the checkered flag.
Along with early cautions and a red flag for rain interrupting action, Stewart had to overcome pit-road issues and damage to the grille of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Meanwhile, it was Edwards who appeared to be running away with the trophy, leading a total of 119 of 267 laps.
