iRacing Pro Race of Champions

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iRacing Pro Race of Champions Gets Green Flag Wednesday

Real World Pros Meet in the Virtual World

The green flag waves on the inaugural iRacing.com Pro Race of Champions (iPRoC) this Wednesday, December 14. Make that two green flags, as top professional race drivers from around the world will compete in a pair of online races Wednesday evening, both of which will be broadcast on www.iRacing.com beginning at 8 pm EST.

The first event will see the Pros racing their digital Chevrolet Silverados for 25 laps under the lights on iRacing’s virtual version of Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the “night cap,” the Pros will tackle Watkins Glen International’s Cup Course for ten laps in their Mazda MX5s.

More than two dozen professional race drivers are expected to compete in Wednesday’s races including NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte, GRAND-AM Rolex Series champion Alex Gurney, ALMS GT champion Joey Hand, IndyCar drivers Justin Wilson and Sebastian Saavedra, perennial NHRA Funny Car winner Ron Capps, Australian V8 Supercar front runner Shane van Gisbergen and Formula One veterans Stefan Johansson and Scott Speed.

“Everyone at iRacing is tremendously excited by the prospects of this event,” says Tony Gardner, President of iRacing.com. “How cool is it to have big names from most of the top series racing each other . . . from the comfort of their living rooms around the world? It’s a testament to the incredible strides online racing has made in just the past couple of years. And the best is yet to come.”

“I’m really looking forward to Wednesday,” says Capps. “It’s going to be fun racing against guys from NASCAR, F1, IndyCar, ALMS and GRAND-AM . . . showing everyone I can race for more than a quarter mile, not to mention turn left AND right. And the fact that fans all over the world can watch it live makes it even more special. I can’t wait.”

Aside from bragging rights, there’s nearly $2,000 at stake, as iRacing will make contributions to the top three finishers’ favorite charities. The overall winner will be determined by the cumulative results from both races, with iRacing donating $1,500 to his favorite charity, $500 to the charity of the runner-up and $250 to the third placed driver’s charity of choice.

A list of expected participants for the iRacing.com Pro Race of Champions is below.

Qualifying for the iPRoC starts at 8 pm eastern time on Wednesday, December 14. Be sure and catch all the action on www.iracing.com.

Joey Logano – NASCAR

Alex Gurney – GRAND-AM

Bobby Labonte – NASCAR

Ron Capps – NHRA

Justin Wilson – INDYCAR

Shane van Gisbergen – Aussie V8 Supercars

Scott Speed – NASCAR / F1

Stefan Johansson – F1 & CART

Matt Plumb – GRAND-AM

Colin Braun – NASCAR

Joey Hand – ALMS

Timmy Hill – NASCAR

Tommy Kendall – IMSA / TV Broadcaster

Trevor Hopwood – GRAND-AM

Frank Kimmel II – ARCA

Martin Plowman – INDYCAR

Barry Waddell – GRAND-AM

Sebastian Saavedra – INDYCAR

Josh Wise – NASCAR

Eric Curran – GRAND-AM

Brandon Davis – NASCAR

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Scott Speed and Shane van Gisbergen won the battles, but Brandon Davis won the war in the inaugural iRacing.com Pro Race of Champions (iPRoC). The first online event featuring an all star cast of real world professional drivers from most of the world’s top race series, the iPRoC saw former F1 and NASCAR driver Speed take the victory in the opener, a 25 lap race for Chevrolet Silverados at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Australian V8 Supercar standout Van Gisbergen responded with an equally impressive run in the finale, leading all ten laps at Watkins Glen International in his Mazda MX5.

But it was NASCAR K&N Pro Series’ Davis, who finished .345s behind Speed at Charlotte and .167s behind van Gisbergen at the Glen who picked-up the overall win and a $1500 donation from iRacing to his favorite charity, the Special Operations Warriors Foundation.

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” said Davis. “I didn’t have quite enough for Scott in the Charlotte race, and I have to thank Shane for slowing down and giving me the opportunity to get back in his draft at Watkins Glen. With the lead he had there was no way anybody was going to catch him, and this way we were able to have some good fun for a great cause.”

Speed was poised to make a run for the overall win, as he qualified right behind van Gisbergen and Davis at Watkins Glen. But he crashed in Turn Two after being nerfed by Josh Wise and finished last. Similarly, van Gisbergen might have made his own run for the overall championship but his bid for a top five finish at Charlotte ended in a cloud of virtual engine smoke.

“I had an issue with my gear lever, and it flicked into second gear,” he explained. “That was unfortunate. But it was great fun racing with most of these guys, and I think we’re all grateful to everyone at iRacing for putting on the event.”

IZOD IndyCar Series' Martin Plowman finished second overall on the strength of a fourth place finish at Charlotte and sixth at Watkins Glen, while GRAND-AM’s Matt Plumb was third overall ahead of ARCA’s Frank Kimmell and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Cale Gale.

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