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What You Need To Know Today: Defunct track given new life in iRacing

May 3, 2020
Summer Bedgood
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North Wilkesboro to host Pro Invitational iRacing Series finale

During the FOX broadcast of Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at Dover International Speedway, it was announced North Wilkesboro Speedway will host the series finale next weekend. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

  • The iRacing Pro Invitiational Series finale will take place on Saturday, May 9th at 3PM ET and will be broadcast on FOX
  • The real North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina has not hosted a Cup Series event since September of 1996 in a race won by four-time champion Jeff Gordon
  • The Cup Series raced there 93 times between 1949 and 1996, with Richard Petty earning the most victories (15)
  • The digital race was made possible due in large part to two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., as he assisted with clean up efforts at the defunct racetrack so that iRacing could come in and do a scan to use in their simulation races 
  • The digital rendition of the speedway has not yet been released to the public in iRacing and is only being used for the Pro Invitational Series
  • This will be the final race of the Pro Invitational Series as NASCAR will return to real-life competition at Darlington Raceway on Sunday May 17, following an over two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak 

More info: Story from NBC Sports’ Daniel McFadin … Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s role in getting North Wilkesboro added to iRacing … Bright Sun Films’ “Abandoned” episode on the track

 

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Anthony Alfredo wins Saturday Night Thunder iRacing event at Dover

21-year-old Anthony Alfredo earned the victory in the Saturday Night Thunder iRacing event at the digital Dover International Speedway over the weekend. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

  • The victory was Alfredo’s first in the series after making the final pass for the lead around Alex Labbe with six laps to go
  • Alfredo led 15 of the 125 laps en route to the victory
  • Alfredo races for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in real life, finishing in the top 10 in his first and only start in the series earlier this season
  • Labbe was able to hold on for a second-place finish
  • Raphael Lessard, Chase Cabre, and Landon Huffman rounded out the top five 

More info:  Race recap from kickinthetires.net/'s Seth Eggert … Recap from NASCAR.com … Story from NBC Sports’ Daniel McFadin

 

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Scott McLaughlin wins hectic INDYCAR iRacing Challenge finale

Scott McLaughlin earned the victory in Saturday’s INDYCAR iRacing Challenge finale at the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

  • McLaughlin benefited from not one, but two, last-lap crashes by the leaders, only leading the last few hundred yards en route to the victory 
  • This is McLaughlin’s second victory in the six-race INDYCAR iRacing Challenge
  • Conor Daly finished second, 0.2609 seconds behind winner McLaughlin
  • Santino Ferrucci was third, followed by Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward
  • Askew and Ferrucci were battling for the lead on the frontstretch coming to the checkered flag, but collided, allowing McLaughlin to move to the lead and win the race
  • Chevrolet earned the victory in all six of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge events
  • The real Indianapolis 500 was rescheduled from its traditional May calendar date to Sunday, August 23rd due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The NTT IndyCar Series is currently on hiatus due to the pandemic but is expected to be back on track at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6, 2020 

More info: Story from kickinthetires.net/'s Seth Eggert … Recap from IndyCar.com … IndyCar iRacing Challenge Page

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