The IndyCar iRacing Challenge (stylized as INDYCAR iRacing Challenge) was a series of esports events held as a temporary replacement of the suspended 2020 IndyCar Series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series was run on the platform of iRacing.[1] The virtual races were broadcast on various IndyCar social media channels. Additionally, all races, but the first one, were broadcast live on NBCSN.[2][3]
| 2020 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | IndyCar |
| Dates | 28 March 2020–2 May 2020 |
| Administrator | IndyCar |
| Host(s) | iRacing |
| Final positions | |
| Champion |  Scott McLaughlin |
The races featured full time and part time drivers currently on the Indycar grid. They also featured guest drivers from other racing series' like Formula One and NASCAR.[4][5]
Teams and Drivers edit
Schedule edit
| Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 28 | American Red Cross Grand Prix | R Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
| 2 | April 4 | Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by AmFirst | R Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Alabama |
| 3 | April 11 | Chevrolet 275 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| 4 | April 18 | Firestone 175 | O Twin Ring Motegi | Motegi, Japan |
| 5 | April 25 | AutoNation IndyCar Challenge | R Circuit of the Americas | Austin, Texas |
| 6 | May 2 | First Responder 175 | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana |
| Source:[6] | ||||
Results edit
Driver Standings edit
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Indianapolis race controversy edit
The final race of the series, the First Responder 175, saw a driving standards controversy. With nine laps to go in the race, Simon Pagenaud had been leading, only for him to run into the wall. Pagenaud pitted following the crash and while on the pits, told over the radio "We take out Lando [Norris], let's do it", in reference to an earlier incident they had during the race. With two laps to go, Pagenaud, who was slowing down, promptly collided with Norris, who was leading at the time of the incident. Heading into the finish line, Santino Ferrucci took a hard left into then-leader Oliver Askew, who flipped; Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line, from the pole.[13]
Both Pagenaud and Ferrucci received criticism for their poor conduct during the race. Norris alleged that Pagenaud did so in order to prevent a non-IndyCar Series regular from winning the race;[14] McLaren CEO Zak Brown tweeted that what Pagenaud did was not something expected from a former Indy 500 champion. Pagenaud insisted that he only intended to impede Norris, while his spotter Ben Bretzman denied instructing Pagenaud to crash into Norris.[15] Ferrucci, in denying that his collision was deliberate, claimed that his collision at the end of the last lap was an attempt at a NASCAR-style side drafting, although during the stream he quipped that his clash was "worth it" and he did it "for the fans".[16] Although iRacing's sporting code explicitly prohibited deliberate behavior, iRacing did not penalize both drivers, as it was deemed as a private league organized by INDYCAR themselves, rather than iRacing;[13] INDYCAR themselves did not issue penalties for both Pagenaud or Ferrucci. Motorsport journalist Marshall Pruett later confirmed that an unnamed party involved in the incidents had also received death threats.[17]
References edit
- ^ "IndyCar iRacing Challenge announced". Racer. 20 March 2020.
- ^ "IndyCar lands NBC Sports to broadcast second iRacing Challenge event on Saturday at Barber". Indystar. 1 April 2020.
- ^ "2020 - INDYCAR IRACING CHALLENGE". Indycar. 2 May 2020.
- ^ "McLaren's Norris to race in IndyCar iRacing at COTA". Racer. 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Race the No. 3 in IndyCar iRacing Challenge". Racer. 8 April 2020.
- ^ "2020 - INDYCAR IRACING CHALLENGE". Indycar. 2 May 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - American Red Cross Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International" (PDF). Indycar. 28 March 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst" (PDF). Indycar. 4 April 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - Chevrolet 275 at Michigan International Speedway" (PDF). Indycar. 11 April 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - Firestone 175 at Twin Ring Motegi" (PDF). Indycar. 18 April 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - AutoNation INDYCAR Challenge at Circuit of The Americas" (PDF). Indycar. 25 April 2020.
- ^ "OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - INDYCAR iRacing Challenge - First Responder 175 presented by GMR" (PDF). Indycar. 2 May 2020.
- ^ a b Weaver, Matt (2020-05-02). "Last-Lap Chaos Ends with Scott McLaughlin Winning IndyCar iRacing Finale". Autoweek. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ "Simon Pagenaud under fire for wiping out Lando Norris at Indy". Eurosport. 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Weaver, Matt (2020-05-03). "McLaren's Lando Norris, Zak Brown Condemn Simon Pagenaud for Poor iRacing Sportsmanship". Autoweek. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Kalaf, Samer (2022-05-12). "The Anger Over a Virtual IndyCar Crash Exposed the Fragile Facade of Competition". Slate.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall [@marshallpruett] (May 5, 2020). "I've been told at least one of the drivers involved in Saturday's iRacing drama at IMS have received threats against their lives via social media direct message. Come on, man" (Tweet) – via Twitter.