Another season of eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series action kicks off this Wednesday at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the action will look quite a bit different from last spring’s virtual race at The Last Great Colosseum. Just like its real-world counterpart later in the week, the virtual Bristol has undergone a dirt makeover, turning the high-banked half-mile into a festival of sideways driving sure to entertain race fans of all types. Coverage starts on FS1 at 6PM ET as part of NASCAR Race Hub, while the racing itself begins at 8PM ET.
Much like in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, the sport’s biggest stars will need to race their way through elimination rounds in order to crack the main event. After qualifying, the field will split into three groups, with seven drivers advancing from each of the 20-lap heats on offer. From there, it’s a 70-lap dash to the finish among the 21 drivers in the main event, with up to three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.
As was the case last year, NASCAR’s current front-runners will be joined by a hand-picked lineup of stars from the sport’s recent history. For Bristol, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer will line up alongside 2020 Pro Invitational race winners like William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman; past NASCAR Cup Series champions like Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr.; and 2021 race winners like Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson.
This year’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series events will also add a charitable element for the first time. The winner of each of the 10 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series events throughout 2021 will receive $5,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice.
The tentative entry list* for Wednesday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway is as follows:
No. |
Driver |
Entry |
| 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7 | Corey Lajoie | Spire Motorsports |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 19 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports |
| 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Front Row Motorsports |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 51 | Garrett Smithley | Petty Ware Racing |
| 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing |
| 53 | Joey Gase | Rick Ware Racing |
| 77 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports |
| 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Racing |
| 79 | Clint Bowyer | Clint Bowyer Racing |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing |
*subject to change
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series practice from Bristol Motor Speedway begins on Wednesday at 6PM ET, with the first green flag on heat racing set to drop just before 8PM ET and an estimated green flag on the 70-lap main event at 8:45PM ET. FS1 will carry live and exclusive coverage of the event. Following Bristol, the 10-race invitational series continues on April 21 at Talladega Superspeedway, while the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for the world’s fastest sim racers continues its season with a visit to Auto Club Speedway on March 30 at 9PM ET that will stream live on eNASCAR.com.
For more information on the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, visit www.eNASCAR.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
