By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
History will be made as the inaugural season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League wraps up at NASCAR Plaza October 23.
The first season kicked off with teams drafting gamers for the league. 28 gamers compete for 14 teams, the 13 that represent the Race Team Alliance and JR Motorsports. 14 gamers take part in a race on PlayStation 4 and 14 on Xbox One.
Development for the Pro League dates back to August 2018. In conjunction with NASCAR, the RTA, 704 Games, the company that produces the NASCAR Heat franchise, and others in the industry made a concerted effort to create the first NASCAR eSports league for console users.
Colin Smith, President of 704 Games explained the impetus to create the NASCAR Heat Pro League.
“We felt that if the right product was put out there, and the right people within the industry saw the value of promoting that product and building up a league around that product, then all ships would rise in that high tide.
“You have a better game, more people playing the game and you haven’t broader to community. That community wants to race online, wants to compete. NASCAR and the teams want to help build that community and grow that community because it’s a great demographic.
“It’s an important marketing tool for the sport as time goes on. Just a lot of little pieces coming together to paint a much bigger, broader picture around gaming and around eSports for the league.”
With the Pro League still in its’ infancy, the championship format is team based rather than driver or gamer based. The four teams that will fight to become the first eNASCAR Heat Champion at Team Penske Esports, JR Motorsports, Stewart Haas Gaming, and Leavine Family Gaming.
With only 14 teams and 14-car grids currently, there are plans for the league to grow. New additions to the league could include current NASCAR teams in Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series, or be specialty eSports teams, similar to NASCAR Heat’s sim racing counterpart, iRacing.
Smith explained that while there is interest in expanding the driver and team pools, that expansion may not take place until season three.
“We are definitely interested in expanding the driver pool and creating a bigger opportunity for more people to participate in the league from a driver for and gamer perspective.
“We are very interested in also having active conversations as expanding the number of teams for 2020, whether those will be endemic or whether those will be outside of the industry. Most likely we’ll expand the driver pool and team pool in season two and if not in season two, then most certainly in season three.”
The 24-race season (12 PS4, 12 Xbox) started in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the gamers competing in-person with consoles on track grounds. The League’s championship race will take place at the virtual ISM Raceway.
The speed at which the league came together meant that there were few partnerships, notably Coca-Cola and PlaySeat, for the first season. Coca-Cola sponsored the four-race playoffs. However, as the league grows and earns its’ place, partnerships and sponsors could follow suit.
Smith admitted that the short timeframe was both a hinderance and a blessing.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of time to go out and have these conversations about what it is that we were building and kind of the future roadmap and what our objectives were going to be.
“It was also really difficult because everybody, especially from a brand and partner perspective, they certainly know what eSports is. A lot of them are involved in different types of eSports, activations or partnerships.
“The good news is when we’ve had a lot of great conversations throughout the season. I think we’re very well set up to bring on new partners, not only from a league perspective, but I think teams will be in a much better spot to go out and actively have those conversations.”
All 24 races streamed live on enascar.com, as well as 704 Games’ Facebook and Twitch channels. As the races are streamed, 704 Games, NASCAR, the RTA, and the gamers themselves are well on their way to establishing their own audience.
The races take place mid-week on Wednesday nights giving the Pro League a sense of independence from the real-life race weekends.