NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge Preview – Martinsville
Tonight at Martinsville, the NBC eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge champion will be crowned. The field consists of ten drivers who either won a heat race at one of the three short tracks visited earlier this week, or a driver who got a “Letarte provisional.”
The race tonight at Martinsville will be different from the other nights. It will just be one race that’s 90 laps long. Cautions might even count for the first time in the challenge, but don’t hold me to that.
Here’s my Martinsville Driver Rankings
1) William Byron – William Byron is a super elite eNASCAR performer who’ll likely be the driver to beat at Martinsville. In Sunday eNASCAR races, Byron is the only driver who’s led in all three races, and in all three he’s led the most laps. If Byron starts up front at Martinsville, like he typically does in eNASCAR I have no doubt he could thump the field. In the short track championship, Byron crushed the competition at Rockingham. In the first race he easily raced his way to victory lane, and in the second race after the field was inverted he still emerged victorious after a bump and run on the last lap. Knowing he’s not afraid to use his bumper makes me like him even more.
2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. advanced to the championship with a “Letarte provisional.” Can’t say I’m shocked. In eNASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a strong performer and on the talent scale I have him as a 1.5. In eNASCAR races minus Bristol where he had trouble multiple times, Earnhardt has a 4th place average finish. The rules in tonight’s race at Martinsville should play into Earnhardt Jr.’s hands more than last nights. It’s 90 laps and being good over long runs has been one of his apparent strengths.
3) Parker Kligerman – I’m happy to see Parker Kligerman advance to the championship at Martinsville. At Rockingham, Kligerman finished 2nd in both races, and yet he didn’t gain the “Letarte provisional” that night which went to the driver who finished 3rd in both races (Kyle Busch). In race #2, it took a bump and run from William Byron to beat him. In eNASCAR, I really like Kligerman. He takes it seriously and he puts in a lot of seat time. In eNASCAR, Kligerman has a 10.7 average finish which ranks as the 4th best among drivers racing tonight.
4) Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin is a super elite performer at “real” Martinsville, but at eMartinsville the jury is out. I have to admit I’m a little disappointed with his IRP performance, but as the savvy iRacing veteran he is he went into “Hail Mary Mode” at the end and started bouncing off the walls to run faster. Perhaps there’s a Martinsville trick he has up his sleeve. In eNASCAR races, Hamlin has finished in the top 4 in two of the three races and his average finish is 9.7.
5) Ryan Preece – Ryan Preece will be one of the overlooked drivers in tonight’s championship. He raced his way into the finale after winning race #1 at Myrtle Beach. In eNASCAR, Preece has quietly been getting the job done. He’s one of just three drivers who have finished in the top ten every race and his 5.3 average finish ranks as the 2nd best.
6) Landon Cassill – Landon Cassill absolutely thumped the competition at Myrtle Beach in race #2 and as a result he raced his way into the short track championship. When it comes to eNASCAR, you have to love Cassill’s approach. He’s 100% behind it and you can be confident he’s been putting in the seat time needed. In eNASCAR minus Bristol, Cassill has an 8th place average finish.
7) Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch got the “Letarte provisional” for a pair of 3rd place finishes at Rockingham. Kyle Busch has been putting in serious iRacing seat time and burning the midnight oil, but in this race I wouldn’t have too high of expectations. Martinsville is an extremely difficult virtual track to master because of braking, and with this race being run last week along with a couple of other races he participated in its hard to say how well prepared he was.
8) Chase Briscoe – Chase Briscoe is the lone non-Cup driver advancing to the championship. If you want a complete wild card who’s out of sync he’s your guy. At Homestead in his lone eNASCAR start he finished 4th. In the short track challenge, Briscoe finished 2nd in race #1 at IRP, in race #2 he finished back in the field.
9) Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson ran away with a win at IRP in race #1, but I can’t say I’m too optimistic about him at Martinsville. Larson seems to do well in eNASCAR races where the high-line comes into play, and he’s been logging a lot of laps at that style of venues (dirt racing), but has he been putting in the practice time to prepare for Martinsville? With eNASCAR in its infancy you won’t know until tonight.
10) Christopher Bell – I picked Christopher Bell to win at IRP and he did (race #2)! That probably was surprising to people when you consider in eNASCAR he’s never had a top ten and his average finish is 24th. I based that off of his dirt experience and running the high-line. Those attributes fit perfectly for IRP, at Martinsville he’ll need to do exactly the opposite and for that reason I’m not bullish on him.
