Bragging rights will be on the line tonight when all 14 Team Penske drivers compete against each other in a series of virtual races to help raise funds and awareness for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Verizon-sponsored “Pay It Forward Live” iRacing event kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, with all 14 drivers across five different motorsports platforms taking part.
The drivers are:
* NASCAR competitors Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Cindric
* IndyCar drivers Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden
* IMSA competitors Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ricky Taylor and Dane Cameron
* Supercar drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
The event, in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, will stream on Twitter @Verizon, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook page, and Fios Channel 501. The event will be available on Verizon’s platforms for one week following the live stream.
The 14 Team Penske drivers will participate in multiple races as they share and support their favorite local businesses, engage with fans, and create small-business-themed in-game experiences - all while encouraging viewers to visit Verizon.com/PayItForwardLive to do what they can to support local businesses by shopping online, buying a gift card or ordering a meal.
For every use of the hashtag #PayItForwardLIVE, Verizon will donate $10, up to $2.5 million, to support small businesses. Last week Verizon announced an additional $2.5 million commitment to support small businesses, bringing the total commitment to up to $7.5 million.
“iRacing has been one of the best ways to stay connected to my teammates and all of our fans during the quarantine,” Power said in a media release. “Being able to rally the group to partner with Verizon and the Verizon’s Pay it Forward LIVE initiative to help support small businesses is something I know we’re all happy we can do.”
Today's the day! 🏁
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) May 12, 2020
All 14 Team Penske drivers are competing against each other in some fun @iRacing events in support of small businesses TONIGHT!#PayItForwardLIVE is at 8:00 p.m. ET on @Verizon social channels! pic.twitter.com/4uEJQ1TXmn