Elliott Rolls Main Pro Invitational Bristol Enascar 2020
Pro Invitational Series

Twitter reacts to wild Bristol showdown

April 5, 2020

Bristol, Bristol, Bristol. The track famous for its bumper-beating action left just as many drivers as frustrated in iRacing as it tends to do in the real world. The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series hit the world’s fastest half-mile Sunday — and it was one filled with dented virtual sheet metal.

It turns out virtual fighting might have come in handy. Mark Martin is a visionary.

After climbing aboard with Charcuterie Chad and virtual Greg Erwin, we first caught two 50-lap heat races.

It’s true; there was an ulterior motive behind adding heats to the race format. Alex Bowman cracked the code.

FOX in-race reporter Clint Bowyer kept things interesting (is that the right word?) during Heat 2.

Homestead winner and usual race streamer Denny Hamlin couldn’t broadcast his afternoon, but still gave us a preview of the action prior to the race.

In the main event, Clint Bowyer’s eventful afternoon continued, tangling with Bubba Wallace early — who went on to park for the day after a frustrating series of events.

The NASCAR on FOX broadcast duo of Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon thought an Emmy award in the background shot of Parker Kligerman’s onboard screen belonged to Kligerman, who after the race set the record straight.

Fireworks continued when tempers boiled over for both Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez, who collided a handful of times under caution, leading to the pair parked by race control for the day.

Says Suarez: it’s all fun and games!

Jimmie Johnson brought the caution out after contact with Kurt Busch, but Johnson said his spotter — not a real person, but rather iRacing’s virtual spotter — was to blame.

Sorry, pre-recorded voice of Joey Logano’s spotter TJ Majors. But, no, Johnson’s replacement won’t be the familiar sounds of Earl Barban and former crew chief Chad Knaus moving forward.

Johnson wasn’t the only one with a spotter to blame.

In familiar Bristol fashion, the race had its share of cautions. But that just means more time for social media, right?

Wow, Jimmie, was nothing your fault Sunday? (We kid … unless?)

A popular feature of FOX’s broadcast was the onboard, in-room shot of Ty Dillon behind the wheel — his room dotted with sponsor memorabilia, including signage that was definitely printed out in Microsoft Word in haste before the race.

We’re fans of the effort, Ty.

With 626 incident points scored among the field by iRacing’s calculation, Sunday’s event was a slugfest — and it was a blast to watch. The drivers had fun, too.

In the end, it was William Byron who dominated the race after setting the fastest qualifying lap, winning the pole by virtue of winning his heat race, then leading 116 of the 150 laps en route to his first eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series victory. It’s safe to say he earned this one.

Give that man his (virtual) sword!