Draft day — bring on the nerves.
The eNASCAR Heat Pro League finalized its 2020 driver roster Wednesday, filling 17 vacancies and determining which 28 NASCAR Heat 4 gamers will race for a higher-than-ever $200,000 prize pool.
Like last year’s inaugural season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, 14 real-world NASCAR teams selected two drivers apiece from a field of 48 pre-season finalists. These finalists rose to the top to establish themselves as the fastest, most marketable racers — the very same traits race teams would consider when determining who sits behind the wheel of their real-life cars.
A factor new to the 2020 season will be the variance of race vehicles used. While last year’s Heat Pro League used only NASCAR Cup Series-style cars, the 2020 tour will cycle between Cup cars, NASCAR Xfinity Series-style cars, and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series trucks. It means drivers will need a well-rounded racing portfolio in order to remain competitive, and surely it’s a major decision-making factor for teams.
To determine 2020 driver lineups, the 14 teams were required to drop at least one previous-season driver and select a newbie from the pool of finalists. Three teams — Chip Ganassi Gaming, GoFas Gaming, and Gibbs Gaming — chose to reboot the universe and select two brand-new drivers from the 2020 draft to fill both their Xbox and PlayStation 4 rides.
Draft order was determined by reverse points-finishing position, meaning defending champs Stewart-Haas eSports picked last; Chip Ganassi Gaming got first dibs.
Here’s who each team signed to compete in the second season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League.
Chip Ganassi Gaming
First draft pick: Luis Zaiter (Xbox: CGM x Rose)
15th draft pick: Maxwell Castro (PS4: Maxwell Castro)
Chip Ganassi Gaming opted to pick two new drivers; neither driver from 2019 will return to the team in 2020.
Petty eSports
Second draft pick: Mike Braas (PS4: MikeRPM44)
Returning driver: Diego Alvarado (Xbox: diego dd 18)
Hendrick Motorsports GC
Third draft pick: Sam Morris (Xbox: mordog5)
Returning driver: Nick Jobes (PS4: NJobes25)
RCR eSports
Fourth draft pick: Mitch Diamond (Xbox: Diamond 20x)
Returning driver: Joey Stone (PS4: Sloppy_Joe_YT)
Germain Gaming
Fifth draft pick: Daniel Buttafuoco (Xbox: LuckyDog385)
Returning driver: Kyle Arnold (PS4: KyleArnold13)
JTG Daugherty Throttlers
Sixth draft pick: Mathew Billingsley (PS4: scoutbonk18-)
Returning driver: Justin Brooks (Xbox: mrTrackbar33)
Wood Brothers Gaming
Seventh draft pick: Cody Giles (PS4: xX_Fluffy_Xx2)
Returning driver: Slade Gravitt (Xbox: Sladeg84)
GoFas Gaming
Eighth draft pick: Riley Ogle (Xbox: Lil snacc)
16th draft pick: Jason Mitchell (PS4: ItsJason-a-3333)
GoFas Gaming opted to pick two new drivers; neither driver from 2019 will return to the team in 2020.
Gibbs Gaming
Ninth draft pick: Josh Parker (PS4: Josh Parker)
17th draft pick: Matthew Heale (Xbox: GoFasMatt32)
Gibbs Gaming opted to pick two new drivers; neither driver from 2019 will return to the team in 2020.
Roush Fenway Gaming
10th draft pick: Brandon Hanna (PS4: cheezuh)
Returning driver: Nick Walker (Xbox: wowTHATSgarbage)
JR Motorsports
11th draft pick: Joe Gornick (PS4: BEASTofASGAARD)
Returning driver: Tyler Dohar (Xbox: JRM Dohar8)
Team Penske eSports
12th draft pick: Corey Rothgeb (PS4: Diesel_Rothgeb-)
Returning driver: Brian Tedeschi (Xbox: ShellVPower22)
Leavine Family Gaming
13th draft pick: Jose Ruiz (Xbox: JOSE 720)
Returning driver: Josh Harbin (PS4: ThAbEaR_95)
Stewart-Haas eSports
14th draft pick: Matthew Selby (Xbox: BullDawg46X_)
Returning driver: Brandyn Gritton (PS4: SmokeFan14_B20)
The second season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League kicks off Wednesday, April 22 at 8 p.m. ET. Catch all the updates and race broadcasts at eNASCAR.com.