Amid the coronavirus pandemic, various sports have found innovative ways to continue, with motorsports taking their races online.
In a virtual event held at the Bristol Motor Speedway track, William Byron emerged as the winner of Nascar’s iRacing competition last Sunday. This virtual race was originally scheduled to take place before the lockdown measures were put in place.
Many drivers took on new roles as YouTubers, live-streaming their involvement in the race for their fans. The virtual event even saw some drama unfold, such as when Bubba Wallace controversially exited the race after a clash with Cling Bowyer. This sparked a debate about how seriously iRacing should be considered as a substitute for real motorsports.
Wallace later took to Twitter to respond to fans’ reactions, saying, “I’m dying at my mentions right now. I ruined so many people’s day by quitting… a video game… Bahaha. A video game. Damn quarantine life is rough.”
Notable incidents during the virtual race included seven-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson crashing early on due to receiving incorrect information about his position relative to another car. Erik Jones encountered internet connection problems that prevented him from qualifying, and a scuffle on the track led to Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson being sidelined.
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