NASCAR inks deal with iRacing.com to develop online racing series
Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. has helped iRacing.com develop its stock cars. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
NASCAR has licensed iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations to develop a NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series.
The series will begin in 2010, and iRacing.com, whose co-owner is Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry, will develop the participation criteria to determine who will be eligible to compete.
“The online world is an ever-growing marketplace filled with NASCAR fans. To provide those fans with the most realistic NASCAR racing environment, iRacing was the right partner for us,” said Blake Davidson, NASCAR managing director of licensed products. “Bill France Jr. had the original vision for this series more than 10 years ago. He foresaw a day when NASCAR fans could experience NASCAR’s side-by-side racing from the comfort of their own homes; that day has come.”
Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. often talks about racing fans at iRacing.com and has helped in the development of its racing software.
“The main thing is being able to get online pretty much anytime and have fun racing with other people who enjoy it as much as I do,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve helped iRacing develop their stock cars, but this isn’t something I’d do for money; it’s about having fun.”
The contract is a five-year deal between the two groups. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our members are passionate about racing,” said Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group is a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. “They love to drive, and they love to compete. And they do it in the context of their overall love for racing in both the physical and virtual worlds.”
Participants need a personal computer, a broadband internet connection and a PC-compatible steering wheel and pedal set.
In addition to its deal with NASCAR, iRacing.com will be the racing simulator provider for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. That contract is worth a maximum of $400,000 for the company.
“That grew out of the talks we were having with NASCAR, but it’s really kind of a separate thing, a natural place to go,” said iRacing.com Chief Executive Officer David Kaemmer. “That was a very big deal for us. Obviously there will be a lot of foot traffic through there. Getting in front of people, and with our software, it’s super important to show it to people.
“Most people think of it as a computer game. But when you get to drive it and feel it, it’s like driving a car.”
