eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Advance
Track: Virtual Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile)
Teams: No. 6 Castrol/Nutrien Ag eFord, No. 17 Fastenal eFord
Drivers: Ross Chastain (No. 6), Chris Buescher (No. 17)
Twitter: @RoushFenway, @Roush6Team, @17RoushTeam
Hashtag: #ProInvitationalSeries
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcast Network, FS1, FOX Sports App
ADVANCE NOTES
Event Details
· Week five of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series takes place from the virtual Talladega Superspeedway, where the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series were set to tackle the 2.66-mile superspeedway this weekend on the real-life NASCAR schedule.
· To date, the series has garnered just under 4.5 million viewers in three events, earning a top rating of 0.81 at virtual Texas, breaking its own record for the most viewed eSports event in U.S. TV history.
· Over the course of the series thus far, NASCAR, iRacing and FOX have made several changes based off feedback, the most recent being a trimmed-down field of 26 cars last week at virtual Richmond. Additionally, the series added a spin-off Saturday night event, where drivers from the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, and other regional series test their talents each week.
· This week, the full field is back for Sunday’s Pro Invitational Series event from Talladega, with traditional time-trial qualifying slated to set the lineup for Sunday’s 150-mile race.
Buescher at Talladega Superspeedway
· Buescher has nine career Cup Series starts at Talladega dating back to 2015 with a best finish of 11th (spring 2018). Most recently he finished 20th last fall.
· Buescher also has a pair of Xfinity starts at Talladega, where he finished second in the No. 60 for Jack Roush back in 2014, and sixth a year later.
· Through four weeks in the #ProInvitationalSeries, Buescher has finished 28th, 18th, 23rd and 21st, after leading 30 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway three weeks ago, before getting caught up in a late accident with a glitching car.
Chastain at Talladega Superspeedway
· Chastain has four Cup Series starts at Talladega, most recently earning a best finish of 12th in last fall’s race where Ryan Newman finished second in a photo-finish to Ryan Blaney.
· In Xfinity action, Chastain has a best-career finish of 16th, which came back in the spring of 2016.
· Chastain has shown signs of strength thus far in the #ProInvitationalSeries, putting his eMustang up front early at Homestead, before going on to finish 22nd (Texas), 16th (Bristol) and 13th (Richmond).
On the eCars
RFR team partner Castrol – paired with Nutrien Ag Solutions from Chastain’s Xfinity Series entry – will ride on the No. 6 eMustang. 10-year partner Fastenal will once again be on board Buescher’s virtual No. 17 machine.
NASCAR/iRacing History
NASCAR and iRacing have an unprecedented history in the esports space, currently in the 11th season of the longest-running officially sanctioned esports racing series, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. It features 40 of the best sim racers in the world competing for more than $300,000, one of the richest payouts in esports racing competition.
Roush Fenway’s 2020 lineup includes Nathan Lyon, driver of the No. 6 and a native of St. Louis Missouri, and Kollin Keister, driver of the No. 17, who hails from Frostburg, Maryland.
