BRISTOL, Tenn. – The stars of the NASCAR Cup Series field will have a new challenge awaiting them during Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series stop at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.
While the field – made up of past and present Cup stars – will remain the same, what will change will be the format used to set the starting lineup.
Instead of two-lap qualifying, a pair of heat races will be used to finalize the grid for the Food City Showdown. Everyone in the two heats will transfer into the main event.
In addition, a new Saturday Night Thunder event – which will stream live on eNASCAR.com – will be added to the weekend card, utilizing ARCA Menards Series cars as opposed to the current NASCAR Cup Series cars.
Featuring multiple heat races leading into the Saturday feature, the format will be one familiar to fans of local short-track racing at the grassroots level.
The Saturday Night Thunder program will be open to current competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
Of note, no drivers will transfer from Saturday’s program directly into Sunday’s event.