Porsche’s virtual race series starts tomorrow with pro drivers at the wheel

It's not just multi-manufacturer racing leagues like NASCAR going digital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Porsche is livestreaming its Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition starting on April 4th at 10AM Eastern, when drivers take to a digital version o...

NASCAR’s virtual race was the most-watched esports TV show to date

NASCAR and Fox Sports might have started airing virtual races out of pandemic-induced necessity, but it appears their efforts paid off. Fox has revealed that the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race on March 22nd drew 903,000 viewe...

NASCAR is replacing canceled races with esports featuring pro drivers

Sports leagues and broadcasters are scrambling to fill the void now that many live competitions are cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for NASCAR and Fox Sports that means venturing into relatively uncharted territory. They've announced an i...

McLaren’s expanded eSports program includes mobile racing games

McLaren is enamored with eSports -- so much so that it's expanding the scope of its program. The 2018 edition of the Shadow Project promises to be more "open and inclusive" than you might expect, letting you compete for virtual motorsports glory not...

NASCAR developing two different e-sports championships

NASCAR, like a number of other corporations keen on attracting a younger audience, thinks e-sports could be a successful tactic. Two different bodies within the stock car racing association are separately developing e-sports championships that aim to...

This iRacing Simulator Rig is Epic

I’ve spent plenty of time driving real cars on real tracks, and I can understand why you might want a serious virtual racing rig in your home. Racing real cars is very expensive and subject to the whims of the weather. Virtual racing can go down any time as long as you have power. A dude named Shane Parish is into the iRacing simulator in a big way and has built a virtual racing rig that makes me want to get behind the wheel right now.

iracing_simulator_1zoom in

The rig is on a platform with checkered flag carpet tiles and has a faux roll cage made out of PVC. That cage provides mounting positions for surround speakers and LED panels which show flag colors. There’s a real Sparco racing seat, a tilt-up racing wheel, three realistic pedals, and a manual shifter.

He has a quartet of Samsung monitors, and a virtual dashboard with Dell 19-inch screens inside for telemetry, along with an analog tachometer and speedometer. He even fitted his racing simulator with a cup holder for his beer. That is one thing you certainly can’t do with a real racecar.

There are enough features in this thing to choke a horse, so watch the video and see what this is all about. Impressive is an understatement.