CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There may not be any real-life NASCAR racing happening on Sunday, but thanks to a collaborative industry effort, fans will have a way to see some of their favorite drivers in action.
Podium eSports and iRacing, in collaboration with several NASCAR drivers and team personnel, will stage an event at the virtual Atlanta Motor Speedway dubbed “The Replacements 100” on Sunday afternoon.
The 100-lap, 150-mile event, featuring virtual versions of NASCAR Cup Series cars, will be broadcast live on the Podium eSports Twitch channel – www.twitch.tv/podiumesports – and will feature a myriad of national-series names familiar to NASCAR fans.
Among the drivers planned to participate include current NASCAR Cup Series stars William Byron, Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace, retired Cup star and current NASCAR on NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., Xfinity Series regulars Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley and Harrison Burton and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver Ben Rhodes.
Representing the crew side of the industry in the event include spotters T.J. Majors (Joey Logano), Josh Williams (Ryan Blaney), Coleman Pressley (Brad Keselowski) and Kevin Hamlin (Alex Bowman); as well as seven-time champion crew chief Chad Knaus.
Outside the NASCAR realm, recent CARS Tour winner Taylor Gray, musician Tim Dugger and retired NFL lineman Kyle Long – now an eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series team owner – are also scheduled to compete Sunday afternoon.
The expected driver lineup is tentative and could be subject to change prior to the green flag on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s Podium eSports broadcast will feature a 30-minute pre-race show, starting at 3 p.m. ET, prior to the scheduled 3:30 p.m. ET green flag.
The stars will be out on track tomorrow afternoon as we take you to @amsupdates for The Replacements 100 on @iRacing . Coverage starts at 3pm ET, with Green Flag at 3:30pm ET. You can watch the whole race LIVE at https://t.co/fSQZL9KiaG#Replacements100 pic.twitter.com/iWdj3o09j3
— Podium Sports (@PodiumeSports) March 14, 2020