WINNERS
Denny Hamlin — He passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap to win the inaugural eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series in a rig he estimated cost $40,000 (it includes motion sensors) and drove barefoot (“I like feeling the pedals. With shoes, I just can’t do it.” he said).
Timmy Hill and Garrett Smithley — Two drivers who often are overlooked on race weekends because they are with underfunded Cup teams. Both are excellent iRacers and showed their ability in Sunday’s race. Hill finished third. Smithley won the pole and finished fifth. Said Smithley: “Wow, that was fun, that was a lot of fun.”
Fans — Sunday’s virtual race gave fans something to enjoy for a while on a Sunday afternoon.
Alex Bowman and his dog Finn — Bowman finished sixth but was the most entertaining driver with his series of tweets during the event about his race and his dog Finn. A sampling:
Update: I have to pee. Finn may take over during the next caution. I’m sure that’ll come soon pic.twitter.com/TQadkvIce2
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) March 22, 2020
Still have to pee. Dog is barking at something outside and refused to drive caution laps
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) March 22, 2020
Pit crew let me down there. Ranted all over the radio at them. Unacceptable pic.twitter.com/rXO3RVzFEo
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) March 22, 2020
Man Finn really took us out of having a great race
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) March 22, 2020
LOSERS
Active Cup Champions — Many do not have as much experience on iRacing and it showed. Joey Logano had the best finish among the five current Cup champions in the race. He placed 15th. Brad Keselowski was 25th, Kyle Busch was 29th, Jimmie Johnson was 31st and Kurt Busch was 35th. Expect those results to improve.
Waiting — Having to wait until the next eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series race.