CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a caution-free championship race at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, Steven Wilson dominated the 100-lapper to claim his second eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series title in three years inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
It was the fourth year the iRacing platform’s main event was hosted inside the prestigious venue in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, as Wilson battled Casey Kirwan, Vicente Salas and Zack Novak for the $100,000 grand prize.
Cup Series drivers Cole Custer and Zane Smith were among those in the crowd of hundreds adjacent to the “Glory Road” display, and giving the command to fire engines was none other than three-time premier series champion and current Round of 8 playoff driver Joey Logano.
From the moment the green flag dropped, there was little doubt Wilson would not have the title taken from him.
RELATED: Las Vegas schedule | More on NASCAR 25
“Most challenging part was hitting that (qualifying) lap,” Wilson said after the race. “I got the pole there by almost a whole tenth. Really hit a great lap. Lap of my life. I’ve been hearing about luck this, luck that, golden horseshoe, well, I kicked their (expletive) tonight.”
Tuesday evening’s event was more than just a showcase of the Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
Both iRacing and NASCAR collaborated to showcase the sim-racing platform and the upcoming NASCAR 25 console game for attendees to preview.
From activations to a live panel, the build is underway to create buzz for the highly anticipated Oct. 14 release of NASCAR’s newest video game, and the excitement is palpable for next week.
“It feels amazing,” iRacing production director Matt Lewis told NASCAR.com. “Partly because we’re finally almost over the mountain, right? I’m excited to get this to the fans. I think it’s going to perform really well.”
It’s the first foray for the iRacing platform into NASCAR console gaming, and with that comes the opportunity to collaborate with drivers who are taking a vested interest in the game.
“The collaboration that we have, the content that they’re helping us build the drive — like Carson Hocevar’s been doing stuff for us, Anthony Alfredo, William Byron, Ty Majeski, Rajah (Caruth),” Lewis said. “They’re contacting us and being like, ‘Hey, how can I help?’ Because they’ve played the game and they see the quality level and what we’re bringing back, and they’re excited about it. This is passion, and they’re doing it because they want to help and they want to get the word out. So that’s been awesome for us.”
One of the key emphases ahead of NASCAR 25’s release is that it’s designed for all skill levels of video-game enthusiasts.
While the game isn’t the iRacing simulation ported to console, Lewis stated that the physics and driving are a ‘monumental step’ in bringing a controller-based game to life.
“You can feel the right-rear (tire), you can feel the car rollover,” Lewis said. “There’s always been a struggle of how you get that kind of feel of the car, and this has it. If you turn off all the assists, and you make it more difficult AI, it approaches that sim category, right? Like, we don’t want it to be the simulator on the console. That’s not what we’re going for. But if you want to make it super challenging, you can. I think that’s what we’ve done really well, is to give that wide breadth of skills an opportunity to have a great time.”
It’s been four years since the last NASCAR console release, and with that comes expectations to deliver for fans who have waited a long time to play anew.
If you ask Lewis, next Tuesday can’t come soon enough.
“I think they’re going to be really happy with the end result of what we landed on, and that’s exciting,” Lewis said. “Because I always say this whole team that we’ve built to build this game, we’re fans first, so we understand the pain of not having a game for so long, and we’re excited to bring it to them.”
Read the full article here