Race Preview: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Food City Showdown
April 5th, 2020 by Chris Leone
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It’s Bristol, baby!
Today’s Food City Showdown (1PM ET, FOX/FS1/FOX Sports app) should produce one of the most thrilling shows in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, if only because Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the most challenging tracks on the real-world NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The unforgiving high banks of the Tennessee half mile already challenged drivers in Saturday Night Thunder, where Logan Seavey bested dozens of top drivers from NASCAR’s lower divisions, and you can expect more of the same today.
The influx of pro drivers that have joined the eNASCAR ranks necessitated some format changes this week, the biggest of which was the shift to having non-Cup drivers run their own event yesterday. But for the 32 racers set to compete in the big show later today, they’ll also need to survive a pair of 50-lap heat races before taking the green flag for the main event.
If you’re basing your picks for today off of the real world, chances are you’re going to reach for a Busch; Kurt and Kyle have each won two of the last six races here in the real world, with Kyle taking a pair of spring victories and Kurt going back to back in the summer night race. Others who have made a habit of visiting the winner’s circle in the real world include past Cup champions Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano.
But the most recent real-world Bristol winner is also the first Pro Invitational Series winner, as Denny Hamlin got around Matt DiBenedetto with 12 laps to go last August to score the victory in the most recent Bristol night race. Invitational drivers like Texas winner Timmy Hill, Garrett Smithley, Parker Kligerman, Landon Cassill, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have also been consistently up front in Pro Invitational Series events, and William Byron will look to avenge two straight weeks of disappointing finishes after running up front in each race thus far.
Food City Showdown Entry List
The full entry list for today’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from Bristol Motor Speedway is as follows:
No. |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Manufacturer |
1 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy | Chevrolet |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Discount Tire | Ford |
3 | Austin Dillon | Dow | Chevrolet |
6 | Ross Chastain | Coca-Cola/Nutrien | Ford |
8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | FilterTime | Chevrolet |
9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts | Chevrolet |
11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx | Toyota |
12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Richmond | Ford |
13 | Ty Dillon | Geico | Chevrolet |
14 | Clint Bowyer | Smithfield | Ford |
17 | Chris Buescher | Sunny D | Ford |
18 | Kyle Busch | M&M’s | Toyota |
19 | Bobby Labonte | Auto Owners Insurance | Toyota |
20 | Erik Jones | Stanley | Toyota |
21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Reese/DrawTite | Ford |
22 | Joey Logano | AutoTrader | Ford |
24 | William Byron | Axalta | Chevrolet |
31 | Tyler Reddick | Alsco | Chevrolet |
34 | Michael McDowell | Celsius | Ford |
37 | Ryan Preece | Cottonelle | Chevrolet |
38 | John Hunter Nemechek | Yanmar | Ford |
42 | Kyle Larson | McDonald’s McDelivery | Chevrolet |
43 | Bubba Wallace | Blue Emu | Chevrolet |
47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger | Chevrolet |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Ally | Chevrolet |
51 | Garrett Smithley | GunBroker.com | Chevrolet |
66 | Timmy Hill | RoofClaim.com | Toyota |
77 | Parker Kligerman | Valvoline/Food Country USA | Toyota |
88 | Alex Bowman | NOCO | Chevrolet |
89 | Landon Cassill | Blue Emu | Chevrolet |
95 | Christopher Bell | Procore | Toyota |
96 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | Toyota |
Event entry lists are subject to change.
The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Food City Showdown from Motor Speedway will air at 1PM ET/10AM PT on FOX, FS1, and the FOX Sports app. Check your local listings for more information. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.