INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Esports racing, helped by record-setting viewership, is hitting the big time.
Fox Sports said Tuesday it will broadcast the rest of the
eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series, following Sunday virtual race that was watched by 903,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media
Research.
While those numbers are far below the millions of viewers who watch NASCAR official races — the last one at Phoenix Raceway
reached 4.6 million — it still hit a number of firsts that Fox Sports found notable enough to commit to broadcasting the virtual racing
series for the remainder of the season, beginning March 29.
The races will be simulcast on the FOX broadcast network, Fox Sports iRacing and
Races will be available in Canada through FOX Sports Racing.
Virtual racing, which lets competitors race using a system that includes a
computer, steering wheel and pedals, has been around for years
But it garnered more attention as the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has prompted sports organizers to cancel or
postpone live events, including the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, NBA, NHL and MLB seasons as well as Formula 1 and NASCAR
@JimmieJohnson checks in live with @JeffGordonWeb during the #ProInvitationalSeries and says he needs to "learn different cars" for his 2021
(And Jeff helps him notice a bit of damage
) pic.twitter.com/5gFgl1f0e3
mdash; FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 22, 2020
NASCAR ran its
first virtual race in the series on Sunday in lieu of its planned race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was canceled due to COVID-19
Not only was it the most watched esports event in United States television history, it wasSunday most-watched sports telecast on cable
television that day.
50 seconds of #ProInvitationalSeries virtual engines
CRANK IT UP! pic.twitter.com/wyG1JhFkPQ
mdash; FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 22, 2020
This rapid-fire collaboration between FOX Sports,
NASCAR and iRacing obviously has resonated with race fans, gamers and television viewers across the country in a very positive way,& Brad
Zager, FOX Sports executive producer said in a statement
&We have learned so much in a relatively short period of time, and we are excited to expand coverage of this brand-new NASCAR esports series
to an even wider audience.
Granted, there aren''t any live sports to watch in this COVID-19 era
Still, it bodes well for the future of esports, perhaps even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
The response on social media to last Sunday
race has been incredible,& said four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who is announcer for Fox NASCAR
&We were able to broadcast a virtual race that was exciting and entertaining
It brought a little bit of ‘normalcy& back to the weekend, and I can''t wait to call the action Sunday at Texas.
You can see what the
virtual racing looks like here in this clip from Fox Sports.
NASCAR isn''t the only racing series to turn to esports
Formula 1announced last week that it would host an esports series, the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series, with a number of current F1
drivers alongside a number of other stars.
The virtual Formula 1 races will use Codemaster officialFormula 1 2019 PC game and fans can
follow along on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, as well as on F1.com
The races will be about half as long as regular races, with 28 laps
The first race took place March 22
The first-ever virtual round of theNürburgring Endurance Series kicked off on March 21.
