Good news, everyone! Week Two of the iRacing Pro Invitational Series was just as much fun as Week One.
This week’s action featured jokes, laughs and, of course, a big wreck or two.
“I didn’t mean to wreck you.”- @gbiffle and @ClintBowyer FaceTime after their iRacing incident Sunday pic.twitter.com/nwq3auzFzz
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
If you’re curious about which wreck killed Clint Bowyer’s race, we’ve got you covered. At least Greg Biffle was apologetic, but, unfortunately, apologies don’t mean much on the track.
Biffle and Bowyer trigger a BIG crash late at virtual Texas.#ProInvitationalSeries | @iRacing pic.twitter.com/uuIMnH8Cu4
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
But when we weren’t wrecking, Timmy Hill was winning.
Although, not by much— it was another close one right down to the line. However, Hill just edged out NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece for the victory.
A photo finish. 🏁@TimmyHillRacer | #ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/y0x1uig1VL
— eNASCAR (@NASCAR) March 29, 2020
Say congratulations to NASCAR Cup series driver Timmy Hill. The longtime iRacing driver was relishing that sweet moment – starting with those donuts.
RETWEET TO CONGRATULATE @TimmyHillRacer ON HIS #PROINVITATIONALSERIES WIN AT VIRTUAL TEXAS!!! pic.twitter.com/AbbF19DB4t
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
The race might be virtual, but the win couldn’t feel more real for Hill and his team. In front of a huge audience and after 10 seasons of racing, he finally clinched a win, and you can bet he was thrilled.
Winner, winner! @TimmyHillRacer talks with @JeffGordonWeb and @mikejoy500 from virtual Victory Lane.#ProInvitationalSeries | @iRacing pic.twitter.com/MRRAtUL99u
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
For some drivers who are newer to iRacing, improvement from last week was also a win. It’s the little things.
NASCAR Cup Series driver and our “in-race” analyst Bowyer, while not coming in quite at No. 1, finished strong. From using both of his restarts and finishing in a wreck last week to coming in at No. 11, he definitely showed up today.
Just wait for his performance in Week Three…
“Survival. It was all about survival, guys.”- @ClintBowyer
See you next week for @iRacing at @BMSupdates!#ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/pwZ6Bb4DXC
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
While our winner of last week’s first iRacing Pro Invitational race at Miami Homestead, Denny Hamlin, felt quite the opposite.
The experienced iRacer knew his preparation wasn’t anywhere close to what he needed for a top performance today or near how he prepared for Week One.
I’ve put in 10% of the time on Texas that I did at Homestead. Competition getting faster. This could get ugly.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 27, 2020
Maybe ahead of Week Three, he’ll spend a few more hours running practice laps and mock races in his decked out rig.
We mean, why wouldn’t he want to? It has all the bells and whistles, complete with a full motion setup. He works with a driver-coach spotter for an extra set of eyes during the race, and the pedals are as real as in a normal cockpit.
Denny Hamlin shows off his @iRacing rig.@JoeGibbsRacing | @lindsayczarniak pic.twitter.com/HAzbRwJyLF
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
But not everyone was as fancy, and we’re not just talking about rigs. NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto decided it was skivvies Sunday in his rig.
No pants? No problem for DiBenedetto, who finished today’s race at No. 15.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by NASCAR on FOX (@nascaronfox) on Mar 29, 2020 at 9:44am PDT
Crew teams, fans, family, friends as well as furry friends, tuned in to watch.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman blamed his struggles from last week on his “good boy” taking the wheel, but this week the whole team came prepared.
Roscoe better not mess this up https://t.co/DpxNpPgs3R
— Alex Bowman (@AlexBowman88) March 29, 2020
2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suárez stole a page from Bowman’s book. His dog Emma got a little too excited in their first ever iRacing event and jumped on the wheel.
Unfortunately, she was not as skilled of a driver as her dad, and Suárez ended up disqualified.
That was fun! Emma apologizes by the way 😅 #eNASCAR #ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/fcXrmZ61iJ
— Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) March 29, 2020
Meanwhile, 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Chase Elliot’s dog was not about to get involved.
After Elliot’s tough qualifying round, he was hoping for a little more help from his best friend. But I guess the saying is true, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
I think Fletch 🐕 gave up on us. We need some tires and we can get back in it. #di9 pic.twitter.com/TebM7X0mV6
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) March 29, 2020
Elliot needed some tires, but we learned from Clint Bowyer that virtual pitting isn’t as easy as it looks.
You can also ask Bowman, because he seemed to have his fair share of struggles with that as well. They both just could not find the box.
“C’MON, MAN!”- @ClintBowyer
Virtual pitting is hard 😂#ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/U94OzkCzQ7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
But we were there to to help.
Watch out, Jeff Gordon, our NASCAR analyst Larry McReynolds might be coming for your job. Get yourselves a team that can analyze and spot like ours can.
Sorry, @JeffGordonWeb. @ClintBowyer makes a live crew-chief swap and puts @LarryMac28 on the box. 😂#ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/zOgQgzFaQk
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
At least virtual pitting was Bowman and Bowyer’s worst problem today.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney and “Rowdy” Kyle Busch had bigger fish to fry, including a huge crash early. We saw spinning, flipping and many cars came to a halt.
Those involved in the wreck sure were thankful for that reset button.
These @iRacing crashes are WILD. 😳 pic.twitter.com/LSmvymZkLF
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
We mentioned the spinning, but how about you test it out yourself? NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Anthony Alfredo was part of the crash, and we got an inside look from his cockpit as the action unfolded.
Strap those seatbelts on tight folks.
Anyone else dizzy?? @anthonyalfredo is definitely gonna need that reset button.#ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/4NATF9Rzqs
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
That was a doozy! And it just got even more wild from there.
In the final laps, with eight to go, we had the big one with Bowyer and Biffle. That bad boy brought out a yellow, which happened again with three laps to go and sent us into overtime.
CAUTION WITH 3 LAPS TO GO. THINGS. ARE. ABOUT. TO. GET. WILD. pic.twitter.com/mWcTaCkn4b
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 29, 2020
Yikes! Things really got crazier, with wrecks on wrecks to bring us home.
Seven-time champion in the NASCAR Cup Series Jimmie Johnson’s spotter Earl Barban was honestly all of our reactions in the final laps.
.@BigEarl48’s reaction to @JimmieJohnson’s spin in the final laps …😞 pic.twitter.com/OjSpdbP2K5
— Ally Racing (@allyracing) March 29, 2020
But crazy, suspenseful finishes like that make racing so much more fun!
We weren’t the only ones enjoying ourselves – drivers had a ball in Week Two.
Hope that was a good show! Seemed like it from my POV. Was fun running up front all day #ProInvitationalseries
Hate what happened w/ @JHNemechek but looks like we got netcode stuck together
Thanks @NASCAR @iRacing for making this happen!@Valvoline | @BurtKligEsports pic.twitter.com/umoMILbmSt
— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) March 29, 2020
Man qualified 8th in the @BassProShops @TeamChevy. I vote for no quick repair. I saved it and they didn’t throw cautions. Still could have missed the last wreck. Thankful for @iRacing its fun.
— Austin Dillon (@austindillon3) March 29, 2020
Led most laps, got moved outa the way. We’ll get him back next time! Thanks @AxaltaRacing @Hendrick24Team
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) March 29, 2020
They can’t wait for Week Three and neither can we.
It sure looks like you fans can’t either…
Shoutout to the 1700+ viewers today on the twitch channel! Y’all made it fun!
This Thursday we will be live again with Rd 2 of the 43 crew challenge on Nintendo switch!
Enjoy the day🤘🏾
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) March 29, 2020