NASCAR officials announced Thursday that the planned 2021 debut of the Next Gen car has been delayed until 2022.
“Due to challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic, the debut of the Next Gen car will be delayed until 2022,” said John Probst, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Innovation. “The decision was made in collaboration with the OEMs and team owners. We will continue to develop the Next Gen car, and a revised testing timeline will be shared when more information is available.”
NASCAR Cup Series drivers had been testing the Next Gen model at a variety of tracks since October 2019, prepping for its initial planned debut at the 2021 Daytona 500.
The Next Gen car was on track for its fourth formal test in March, when William Byron took the wheel at 2-mile Auto Club Speedway. Previously, Austin Dillon (Richmond, .75 miles), Joey Logano (Phoenix, 1 mile) and Erik Jones (Miami, 1.5 miles) took their turns testing the car and providing crucial feedback to NASCAR officials.
Earlier this year, NASCAR announced the Next Gen prototype’s new features include 18-inch, single center-locking lug wheels designed by German wheel manufacturer BBS.
Other features include a new body design, a shorter rear spoiler, a raised splitter and larger brakes, giving the Next Gen model a closer correlation between a highway-going consumer vehicle and its NASCAR counterpart, a move that also means increased brand identity.
Drivers who have piloted the car come away with plenty of learnings – and positive reviews.
“It’s not about what drives the best, what’s the easiest to drive … we don’t want that,” Joey Logano said after testing the car at Richmond. “We want something that’s challenging that will show that the best driver and the best team will prevail. … So we’re trying things on different extremes.
“We’re still in the preliminary stages, but we definitely have some cool pieces to the car.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 2, 2020) – Just days after breaking its own record for staging the most-watched eSports event in television history, NASCAR today announced a slate of new fantasy and prop betting offerings on the eNASCAR iRacing.com Pro Invitational Series, created courtesy of NASCAR’s official gaming partner, Penn Interactive.
In February, NASCAR and Penn Interactive, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: NASDAQ) (“Penn National” or the “Company”), announced a new multi-year partnership that led to the creation of a brand new, free-to-play, mobile game named NASCAR Finish Line, which offered users the chance to win a $50,000 jackpot every race. Now, today, courtesy of Penn Interactive, the app is being relaunched to include eNASCAR contests – thus providing fans of the fast-growing eNASCAR iRacing.com Pro Invitational Series with even deeper ways to engage with the sport.
Alongside the launch of the game, Penn also announced that it would serve as the entitlement sponsor of the upcoming eNASCAR iRacing.com Pro Invitational Series event from virtual Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 3 . The event will be entitled by the eNASCAR Finish Line app. It also will feature special integration from Barstool Sports’ personalities – with more details slated to come at a later date.
“During this time of uncertainty, eNASCAR has provided sports fans around the world with an exciting form of sports entertainment that is helping restore some normalcy to the weekend,” said Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director of gaming. “Now, courtesy of our partners at Penn Interactive, fans can foster an even deeper connection with the new series and have even more incentive to tune into eNASCAR on FOX and FS1.”
The newly relaunched eNASCAR Finish Line mobile game is available now across iOS and Android phones and tablets and can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play store. Players can win a $5,000 jackpot by accurately predicting the top two finishers and the highest finishers across six different groupings of four drivers.
In addition to the gamification elements that fans will be able to enjoy alongside eNASCAR, more fans than ever before will be able to engage with the fast-growing eSport courtesy of NASCAR.com.
eNASCAR.com has been freshly updated to reflect the addition of the eNASCAR iRacing.com Pro Invitational Series – providing fans with a centralized hub for information surrounding the world’s most watched eSport series.
Fans can tune in this weekend to watch a full slate of eNASCAR iRacing.com Pro Invitational Series events from virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, with the main event, the “Food City Showdown,” being televised live at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports App, while a separate event from virtual BMS, Saturday Night Thunder, will be live-streamed on eNASCAR.com on Saturday night.
When you think of Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace, the thrilling 1997 Food City 500 finish is quite possibly the first thought that comes to mind.
Bristol Motor Speedway served as the site for a few intense battles between the two NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers, who had finished first and second there twice before. Gordon edged out Wallace in the 1995 spring race, while it was Wallace who took victory over Gordon at the night race in 1996. But it was this particular race in 1997 that doused all the fuel on the proverbial fire.
After starting on the pole, Wallace appeared to have victory easily in hand with a dialed-in No. 2 Penske Racing Ford, but a late-race charge by Gordon turned the tide. Wallace had led 155 laps before Gordon took the lead for the second time in the race on Lap 355 of the 500-lap event at the .533-mile concrete oval.
But Wallace didn’t let Gordon get very far, taking the lead back from Gordon on Lap 415 after the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led 60 circuits. Wallace would go on to pace the next 85 laps for a total of 240, but it was the final one that gave him trouble.
Once both drivers took the white flag, Gordon’s fate appeared to be sealed with about a four car-length deficit behind Wallace. That was until Wallace caught a gaggle of lapped cars in Turn 2, allowing Gordon to run right up to the back bumper of the “Blue Deuce” coming down the backstretch.
At that moment, it was now or never for Gordon. Both drivers sailed into Turn 3 where Gordon made his infamous move, laying the chrome horn on Wallace just enough to push the No. 2 up the race track in Turn 4.
Gordon flew under the checkered flag for his 22nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, while Wallace was able to salvage a second-place result by fending off Gordon’s teammate Terry Labonte.
Check out Jeff Gordon’s Bristol Motor Speedway victory after knocking Rusty Wallace out of the way coming to the checkered flag with this Classic Race Replay of the 1997 Food City 500.
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 2, 2020 – Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin headline a group of 18 drivers that will compete at virtual versions of iconic and short tracks across America next week on NBCSN, as NASCAR America presents the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge beginning Monday, April 6, at 7 p.m. ET.
From Monday-Wednesday, six different drivers will compete in two timed races in Cup Series cars at an iconic track at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The top two finishers from each night will advance to the championship race at the virtual Martinsville Speedway on Thursday night on NBCSN.
Monday – Rockingham Speedway Tuesday – Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Wednesday – Myrtle Beach Speedway Thursday – Martinsville Speedway (Championship Race)
The following drivers will compete in the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge:
Monday at Rockingham Speedway – Kyle Busch, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Parker Kligerman, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace Tuesday at Lucas Oil Raceway – Justin Allgaier, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson Wednesday at Myrtle Beach Speedway – Landon Cassill, Matt DiBenedetto, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Timmy Hill, Ryan Preece and Myatt Snider
“We’re proud to continue our successful collaboration with iRacing and NASCAR, which began last year, to produce the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge,” said Jeff Behnke, vice president, production, NASCAR on NBC and NBCSN. “Thanks to all the drivers from the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series for joining in what should be four consecutive nights of entertainment and fun for all the great race fans and viewers.”
“Of all of the events we’ve been putting together for real-world pros, the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge should be one of the most fun,” said Steve Myers, iRacing executive producer. “So many of the top drivers in NASCAR have honed their skills on both local short tracks and iRacing, and combining the two for a virtual week-long showdown should deliver plenty of excitement. We can’t wait to see who takes the checkered flag and bragging rights!”
This marks the latest collaboration between NBC Sports and iRacing, which began in 2019 when NBC Sports telecast the first-ever eNASCAR live event on television. NBC Sports and iRacing teamed up to present the 2019 eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Championship in a two-hour event live on NBCSN last October. Earlier this year, it was announced that six races of the 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Playoffs will air live on NBCSN later this fall.
NBC Sports NASCAR commentators Rick Allen and Steve Letarte will call the action, including interviews with drivers during the races. Jeff Burton and Marty Snider will host the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge via Zoom.
As part of free access to racing fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TrackPass on NBC Sports Goldis featuring nearly 50 long-form documentaries for your viewing pleasure. Throughout the week, we’ll preview one documentary each day that looks back on some of NASCAR’s biggest stars, venues and stories from the past.
Other available content includes full-event replays of all races since TrackPass launched in December 2019. Condensed replays of every American Flat Track, IMSA WeatherTech, K&N and Modified race from the 2019 season will also be made available shortly.
Free access to TrackPass runs through May 1. Fans can learn more about the streaming service here.
It was only one week into the popular and highly competitive eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, and Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott knew he wanted a high-tech, high-performance sim-racing rig.
Fortunately for Elliott – and many others – Hendrick fabricator Corey Williams is producing exactly that kind of next-level simulator during the current downtime in the racing world. Elliott’s rig was delivered last week just in time for the iRacing event at virtual Texas Motor Speedway, and with some solid time under his belt to get acclimated to the system now, Elliott should be in fine form for Sunday’s Food City Showdown at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FOX, FS1, FOXSports App).
“It’s kind of crazy to think this is where all the NASCAR guys have been sitting these past couple weeks,” Elliott said. “But it’s a tool that not a lot of people have and we’re lucky to have something like it to keep racing.”
It’s exactly the kind of positive feedback that should keep Williams, a former late-model racer turned Hendrick Motorsports fabricator, busy in the near future as iRacing galvanizes the auto-racing industry that would be otherwise parked during this COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Corey Williams (foreground) works as a fabricator for Hendrick Motorsports. (Logan Whitton/NKP/Courtesy of NASCAR Media)
Williams, 34, started the Williams Custom Fabricators business more than a decade ago from his native Maine to eventually North Carolina, using the outlet to keep busy, make money and stay challenged after a successful career racing go-karts, legends cars and super-late models. The expense of driving pushed Williams to apply his mechanical skills in order to stay in the sport. He was hired as a fabricator by the championship Hendrick Motorsports team in 2009 and currently works specifically on the team’s superspeedway cars, which have won the Daytona 500 pole position for five of the last six years.
“When my racing started slowing down, I still had to find an avenue to really get that competitiveness out of my system,” Williams said. “So I got into iRacing, and as soon as I got home with a wheel and pedals and kind of was at my desk racing, I started seeing some issues with things moving around and pedals sliding around. I just became quickly frustrated with that, so I’m like ‘There’s got to be a better way.’
“So I went to work, brought my wheel and pedals in there and I just started kind of working away. I built a little rig and brought it home and took some pictures of it, and threw it up on the iRacing hardware forum and just began getting a lot of messages asking if I sold it, or would build it for other people. And I was like, ‘Yeah.'”
One of the first major race names to seek out a Williams design was the late John Andretti, who purchased a sim for his son, Jarett, a decade ago.
“That was pretty cool to sell one to him,” Williams said. “I went over and set it up at his house, and I have a picture on my (Facebook) page of John in the simulator trying to get his son set up in it. That was probably the first real big name I’d say I made one for.”
Williams’ work was well received, and he stayed busy, enjoying the extra opportunities until making the decision to take a break from the sim construction when he started a family. He thinks a 2009 photo of his then-infant daughter, Macie, in a sim he designed was one of the last he made before starting a self-induced sabbatical.
But Macie, now 10, and her brother, Corey Jr., 9, are older, and Williams has even found ways to let them be a part of his recently reinvigorated business. Since last fall, Williams has been making new sim rigs. And now with the hold on on-track activity, the demand for them is booming – from high-profile clients to next-door neighbors.
“It’s kind of funny because the last one I built was when I first started at HMS and I remember I had to go and ask permission to build it, but it was for Roush Racing,” Williams said. “I built one for them and that was the last one I’d done. I didn’t know if iRacing would continue to grow like it was. I kind of thought it may be a quick little fad. Just recently, I realized it’s picking up speed so I was like, I need to get back in.”
Williams estimates it takes about a day to produce one of his high-quality customized sim rigs while working at home – with Macie and Corey Jr. occasionally helping out to make sure the assembly is spot-on.
“It’s pretty funny,” Williams said. “I have a two-car garage, and my vision when I came back to this in October was I would clean everything out and put it in storage, but instead, I just ordered tools. I had tools delivered in two weeks and by that time had designs in my head. As soon as the tools showed up, we plugged them in and started throwing sparks.
“I’m trying to keep my simulators the same, but I also want to create a place where people can come and a la carte say, ‘I want this set-up with this wheel and pedal. I want that keyboard tray, but I don’t want that shifter mount.’ So I’m just building them to what the customer requests. That’s what I’m trying to keep it at.”
As more racing series choose the iRacing option, Williams’ business looks to accelerate.
“It’s just crazy how this whole thing went,” he said. “I got back into it and was kind of just building at night and on the weekend. With everything shut down, I really have nothing left to do right now except try to focus on this and that’s what I’ve done.
“Between everyone having to be home and cooped up, it’s just exploded, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Country music singer Justin Moore will perform a virtual pre-race concert Sunday before the third eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race, the Food City Showdown presented by M&Ms. Moore will join NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon and NASCAR.com digital host Alex Weaver for the online event.
Moore, an award-winning singer/songwriter who has released five albums since his 2009 debut, will perform a couple of his songs and chat about the upcoming race at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. The race, which is set to air at 1 p.m. ET on FOX/FS1 (subject to change) and the FOX Sports App, will feature some of NASCAR’s biggest names.
The Arkansas native joins the list of virtual pre-race acts since the Pro Invitational Series was conceived and developed in advance of the Dixie Vodka 150 at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 22. Tim Dugger played a virtual pre-race show for that event, with Cole Swindell taking the reins last week.
Fans can catch the virtual pre-race concert Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NASCAR’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Name: Blane Current City: Sumter, South Carolina Member Since: 2017
Getting to KNOW Blane
Q: How did you first become interested in NASCAR? “I can remember going to my great-granddad’s house when I was young, and he would have the races on TV on Sunday afternoons. I loved Thomas the train, there were trains named Rusty and Gordon, and my dad convinced me that trains were racing while we would listen on the radio.”
Q: What is your favorite part about NASCAR? “I just loved the competitive aspect of it and pulling for my favorite drivers to do well. The entertainment of sitting back on a Sunday afternoon and just watching TV is great.”
Q: What is your favorite NASCAR memory? “I loved taking one of my best friends to his first race a few years ago at the Southern 500. We had pit passes, saw the drivers up close as well as the Governor, saw a fantastic race with lots of spins, and a Carl Edwards win and flip!”
Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories? Drivers: “Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney.” Tracks: “Martinsville.” OEM: “Toyota.” Sponsor: “M&Ms- they’ve been very loyal to the sport, they are delicious, and they sponsor Rowdy!”
Q: What are some of your hobbies? “I love to spend time in Clemson, go golfing, go to sporting events, and hang out with friends!”
FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK BLANE FOR HIS CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM IN 2020!
Look for Blane on the Official NASCAR Fan Council page on NASCAR.COM.
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is getting a new look for this weekend’s events at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, providing a different spin for a series that has been popular during its debut the past two weekends on FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports App.
What won’t be different is the participation of NASCAR Cup Series stars, both past and present. What will be different is the race format on Sunday and a new Saturday night show that uses ARCA Menards Series cars and includes drivers from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, ARCA, the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series and the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
The lineup for Sunday’s main event, the Food City Showdown presented by M&Ms (1 p.m. ET, FOX, FS1, FOX Sports App), will be set after two heat races. Everyone in the heat races will transfer to the main event.
Meanwhile, the additional Saturday event, Saturday Night Thunder, will be live-streamed on eNASCAR.com and will feature a format familiar to short-track fans with multiple heat races leading up to a main event. None of Saturday’s racers will transfer to Sunday’s event, but it’s a way to provide additional esports action during a time when NASCAR regulars are away from the track because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Islip, New York, native has returned to a family-run operation after spending the last few seasons with car owner Eric Sanderson. When Sanderson retired from the sport, so did Solomito‘s days of driving the prestigious No. 16 car.
“It‘s a humbling experience,” said Solomito. “I drove for a team that‘s well-funded and established. We won plenty of races together but now we start back at the bottom.
“We don‘t have a ton of money, but my family will work very hard for what we enjoy. That‘s running and running competitively.”
Whenever the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour resumes, fans will now find Solomito in car No. 66. While he aims to find another ride with another team somewhere down the road, he‘s focused right now on winning and having fun with his family.
“It‘s a very special number to my family and has a lot of history because my Dad donned the No. 66 for many years at Riverhead Raceway,” he said. “If I can get up front and into victory lane, it would mean a lot. I‘m just looking forward to having some fun with my family and the people I love.”
Solomito introduction to the sport came not in modifieds but in go-karts.
“We would travel and race against guys like Justin Bonsignore and other guys on the Tour,” the 37-year-old said. “We all grew up racing together.”
Away from the track, Solomito has focused on his graphic design business Natural Design Concepts, which opened last January.
“I was always into graphic design,” he said. A lot of racers have supported me and made it bigger than I could have ever imagined.”
The first-year business is named after Solomito‘s nickname, “The Natural.” The nickname is not a rip-off of the classic Robert Redford baseball movie, but a label he was given during a restroom conversation.
“There was this character who used to race cars back in the day at Riverhead Raceway,” Solomito recalled. “He was in the bathroom with the announcer of the track and struck up a conversation at the urinal.”
“He said you know that young Solomito? From now on you call him ‘The Natural.‘ The announcer went back in the booth and called me ‘The Natural‘ and I actually won that race. It stuck ever since.”
Since then, Solomito still has the nickname and a burgeoning graphic design business based of it.
