The IndyCar iRacing Challenge (stylized as INDYCAR iRacing Challenge) was a series of esports events held as a temporary replacement of the suspended 2020 IndyCar Series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series was run on the platform of iRacing. The virtual races were broadcast on various IndyCar social media channels. Additionally, all races, but the first one, were broadcast live on NBCSN.
The races featured full time and part time drivers currently on the Indycar grid. They also featured guest drivers from other racing series' like Formula One and NASCAR.
Teams and Drivers
TeamNo.Driver(s)Round(s)A. J. Foyt Enterprises4 Sébastien BourdaisAll14 Tony KanaanAll41 Dalton KellettAllAndretti Autosport26 Zach VeachAll27 Alexander RossiAll28 Kyle Kirkwood1-2 Ryan Hunter-Reay3-629 James HinchcliffeAll39 Scott Speed6Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian981-2 Marco Andretti3-4, 6 Chaz Mostert5Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport88 Colton HertaAllArrow McLaren SP04 Lando Norris5-65 Patricio O'WardAll6 Robert Wickens47 Oliver AskewAllCarlin 31 Conor Daly6 Felipe Nasr3-5591-2 Max Chilton3-6Chip Ganassi Racing8 Marcus EricssonAll9 Scott Dixon2-610 Felix RosenqvistAllDale Coyne Racing with Team Goh55 Álex PalouAllDale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan18 Santino FerrucciAllDale Coyne Racing with Byrd & Belardi33 James Davison3, 6Dreyer & Reinbold Racing24 Sage KaramAllEd Carpenter Racing20 Ed Carpenter6 Conor Daly1-521 Rinus VeeKay4-6 Ed Carpenter2-3504-5IndyCar Provisional3 Dale Earnhardt Jr.348 Jimmie Johnson1-251 Kyle Busch4Juncos Racing11 Kyle Kaiser1-525 Stefan Wilson6Meyer Shank Racing60 Jack Harvey2-6Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing15 Graham RahalAll30 Takuma Sato4-6Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Citrone/Buhl Autosport45 Spencer Pigot5Team Penske1 Josef NewgardenAll12 Will PowerAll22 Simon PagenaudAll2 Scott McLaughlin1-54063 Hélio Castroneves49116Top Gun Racing99 RC Enerson6
Schedule
Rd. Date Race name Track Location 1 March 28 American Red Cross Grand Prix Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York 2 April 4 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by AmFirst Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama 3 April 11 Chevrolet 275 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 4 April 18 Firestone 175 Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan 5 April 25 AutoNation IndyCar Challenge Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas 6 May 2 First Responder 175 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, IndianaSource:
Results Rd.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace Winner Driver Team 1 Watkins Glen Sage Karam Will Power Sage Karam Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 2 Barber Sage Karam Felix Rosenqvist Sage Karam Scott McLaughlin Team Penske 3 Michigan Marcus Ericsson Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sage Karam Simon Pagenaud Team Penske 4 Motegi Robert Wickens Sage Karam Will Power Simon Pagenaud Team Penske 5 COTA Lando Norris Lando Norris Lando Norris Lando Norris Arrow McLaren SP 6 Indianapolis Scott McLaughlin Stefan Wilson Will Power Scott McLaughlin Team PenskeSource:
Driver Standings
PosDriverWGIALAMISMOTCOTAINDYPts1 Scott McLaughlin41L22441L2132 Will Power3L24L3L*6L14L*1953 Simon Pagenaud651L1L1425L1824 Felix Rosenqvist26L2114391525 Santino Ferrucci810239531386 Sage Karam1L*23L*14L*7L3327L1207 Graham Rahal14145101713L1138 Conor Daly102313112921089 Marcus Ericsson182519L4L811L10710 Patricio O'Ward132425262L510411 Álex Palou20410L229L26L10012 Scott Dixon1630211L109913 Oliver Askew5153121L284L9814 Josef Newgarden792415L10229815 Zach Veach191911L8L2689616 Jack Harvey2866L16188817 Alexander Rossi17227L2815128618 Dalton Kellett1111161918318019 Sébastien Bourdais23132020246L7920 Colton Herta227281813327321 Ryan Hunter-Reay8L163177022 Robert Wickens8265L32DNQ6623 Lando Norris1L*216424 Scott Speed213156125 Ed Carpenter1891722286026 Felipe Nasr152917L3112DNQ5727 Kyle Kaiser1221122727DNQ5528 Tony Kanaan2426183023334029 Rinus Veekay237243930 Dale Earnhardt Jr.33531 Kyle Kirkwood9203232 Jimmie Johnson16123233 James HinchcliffeDNS1722DNS19302834 Takuma Sato1230302835 James Davison15192736 Max Chilton273221232637F Marco Andretti2925172338 Hélio Castroneves29161939 Kyle Busch13DNQ1740 Chaz Mostert2010 RC Enerson201042 Spencer Pigot25DNQ542 Stefan Wilson295PosDriverWGIALAMISMOTCOTAINDYPtsColorResultGoldWinnerSilver2nd-place finishBronze3rd-place finishGreenTop 5 finishLight BlueTop 10 finishDark BlueOther flagged positionPurpleDid not finishRedDid not qualify (DNQ)BrownWithdrew (Wth)BlackDisqualified (DSQ)WhiteDid Not Start (DNS)Race abandoned (C)BlankDid not participate In-line notationBoldPole position(1 point; except Indy)ItalicsRan fastest race lapLLed race lap(1 point)*Led most race laps(2 points)
Indianapolis race controversy The final race of the series, the First Responder 175, saw a driving standards controversy. With nine laps to go in the race, Simon Pagenaud had been leading, only for him to run into the wall. Pagenaud pitted following the crash and while on the pits, told over the radio "We take out Lando [Norris], let's do it", in reference to an earlier incident they had during the race. With two laps to go, Pagenaud, who was slowing down, promptly collided with Norris, who was leading at the time of the incident. Heading into the finish line, Santino Ferrucci took a hard left into then-leader Oliver Askew, who flipped; Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line, from the pole.
Both Pagenaud and Ferrucci received criticism for their poor conduct during the race. Norris alleged that Pagenaud did so in order to prevent a non-IndyCar Series regular from winning the race; McLaren CEO Zak Brown tweeted that what Pagenaud did was not something expected from a former Indy 500 champion. Pagenaud insisted that he only intended to impede Norris, while his spotter Ben Bretzman denied instructing Pagenaud to crash into Norris. Ferrucci, in denying that his collision was deliberate, claimed that his collision at the end of the last lap was an attempt at a NASCAR-style side drafting, although during the stream he quipped that his clash was "worth it" and he did it "for the fans". Although iRacing's sporting code explicitly prohibited deliberate behavior, iRacing did not penalize both drivers, as it was deemed as a private league organized by INDYCAR themselves, rather than iRacing; INDYCAR themselves did not issue penalties for both Pagenaud or Ferrucci. Motorsport journalist Marshall Pruett later confirmed that an unnamed party involved in the incidents had also received death threats.
References