Stewart-Haas eSports: Bristol Invitational Race Report

Details:

• Race:  Food City Showdown (Round 3)

• Series:  eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series

• Date:  Sunday, April 5

• Location:  Virtual Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

• Winner:  William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports

Format:

• After a one-hour practice, drivers participated in single-car qualifying.

• Qualifying set the respective fields for the two heat races.

• Drivers who qualified in an odd position (first, third, fifth, etc.) were placed in Heat No. 1.

• Drivers who qualified in an even position (second, fourth, sixth, etc.) were placed in Heat No. 2.

• Each heat race was 50 laps, and each included 16 drivers.

• Heat races set the field for the 150-lap feature.

    • Heat No. 1 winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports

    • Heat No. 2 winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Front Row Motorsports

Stewart-Haas eSports Results:

• 50-Lap Heat Race

    • Clint Bowyer (Started 15th, Finished 16th / Accident, completed 37 of 50 laps)

• 150-Lap Feature

    • Clint Bowyer (Started 32nd, Finished 11th / Running, completed 150 of 150 laps)

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

“I’m worn out. I’m sweaty. I’m frustrated. I’m mad. But, man, it was still a lot of fun. Bristol is a very challenging racetrack, as it is in real life. I can’t wait to get back on a bigger track and, more importantly, back in real life. Bristol is such a fun track, such a fun weekend. I had people texting me all week saying what they would be doing at that particular moment. Cool track… not so cool virtually.”

Notes:

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of past and present racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series.

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.

Next Up:

• Stewart-Haas eSports returns to action on Tuesday, April 14 in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race at the virtual Richmond Raceway with drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval.

• The race starts at 9 p.m. EDT with live coverage via:

    • eNASCAR.com/live

    • Facebook.com/NASCAR

    • YouTube.com/NASCAR

    • Twitch.tv/iRacing

• Bolton enters Richmond fresh off a 10th-place finish in the series’ last race March 31 at Bristol. It was Bolton’s first top-10 of the season and it bettered his previous best season result of 17th earned March 17 at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Duval’s best finish so far this year is 15th at Homestead.

TSC PR