The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (formerly PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series and NASCAR iRacing World Championship) is the premiere

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

league that is sanctioned by

ENASCAR eNASCAR was launched in 2018, by the parent company, NASCAR, to act as the Esports arm of the auto-racing body. The organization primarily uses the ''iRacing'' game via a PC platform for organizing its competitions, but has previously used other ...

. The league began in 2010 and is one of the longest running, officially sanctioned, esports racing series.

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

was named the entitlement sponsor for 2020 after they agreed to be a Premier Partner for NASCAR. The series is run through the

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...

simulation platform.

History

With the growing popularity of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

e-sports in the 2000s, and growing viewership of the broadcasts, NASCAR decided to venture into the sport. This mover pre-dated other popular series such as Forza Racing Championship,

Formula One Esports Series The FIA Formula One Esports Series is a professional esports programme promoted by Formula 1. The programme was created in 2017 to involve the official Formula 1 video game and its community of players, providing a new avenue for greater engag ...

and

IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada. History The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill F ...

. On February 9, 2010, the first ever NASCAR-sanctioned esports series began when

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

won the inaugural race at a simulated track of

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

. The series became one of the eSport World Championships that is recognized by iRacing and one three recognized eSport series sanctioned by NASCAR. In 2014, the series gained its first entitlement sponsor when PEAK Antifreeze gained the naming rights. At that time the money pool was increased to $100,000. PEAK would remain the primary sponsor until 2020, when Coca-Cola took over and the money pool was tripled to $300,000.

Champions

2022 Current teams and drivers

Tracks

Current

Former

Format

Regular season

The regular season consists of 16 rounds that begins in mid-February and ends in early October. A total of 40 racers compete for 8 spots in the playoffs. Points are gained for each race, earning one point per position (one point for 40th, two for 39th, etc.). Three bonus points are awarded for winning a race and one bonus point is awarded for leading a lap and leading the most laps. Only the best 12 out of 16 results count towards the driver's championship. The drivers with the most points qualify for the playoffs. Drivers receive $500 for a win, $300 for a second-place finish and $200 for a third-place finish for all races but the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

, which are increased.

Playoffs

Points are reset beginning week 17 for the playoff qualifying drivers who are all set at 2,000 points. After three races, the drivers in the top four of the standings qualify for the Championship race and their points are set to 3,000. The driver with the highest number of points at the end of the series is named the champion. In 2020, the Champion will be awarded $100,000, second will receive $20,000, $15,000 for third, and $10,000 for fourth.

References

External links

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