It has been revealed that NASCAR teams are working together on venturing into esports. Though still in development, it has been reported that “the teams involved have committed to an initial tournament that will include a six-figure payout.”
According to unknown sources, this venture is based on NASCAR’s chartered teams, who are creating a pro iRacing league made of up top competitors. Gamers will be drafted by the organisations involved and will face off against one another for prize pools; tournaments will be streamed online, much like the majority of other esports titles. Each driver that is drafted by a team in the Race Team Alliance (RTA) – it’s worth noting that there are 30 – will represent a franchise, and their cars will likely use the same colour schemes that the teams use on actual race cars.
This effort is in development by the RTA, NASCAR and iRacing, but isn’t likely to be ready to launch by the Daytona 500, which kicks off the season on February 18. The goal for the launch is said to be in early in 2018. Confirming the venture, RTA Chairman Rob Kauffman said that: “Yes, the RTA is working on this initiative.”
iRacing is a subscription-based racing simulator that offers more technical control than other racing games, especially those that run on arcade-style mechanics.
Esports Insider says: This isn’t the first big esports venture by those in the racing industry, and simracing has been around for a long time, but this is yet another exciting push in the right direction with more major names and established brands such as NASCAR involved.