Beginning in 2010, NASCAR fans around the world will be able to log onto the Internet and compete against one another, as well as a number of NASCAR drivers, in an official NASCAR series featuring digital duplicates of real-world NASCAR cars and tracks.
"The online world is an ever-growing marketplace filled with NASCAR fans," said Blake Davidson, managing director of licensing products for NASCAR. "To provide those fans with the most realistic NASCAR racing environment, iRacing was the right partner for us."
Davidson said Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger are the drivers who will be competing in iRacing.
"Their involvement, along with NASCAR Competition, in the development will make the experience even more authentic," he noted.
More than 12,000 people have signed up for iRacing's service since it was opened to the public in August 2008. The company uses laser scanning and other technology to accurately simulate the tracks and NASCAR's race cars.
"Our members are passionate about racing," said John Henry, the owner of the Boston Red Sox and iRacing's co-founder and chairman as well as head of the company that co-owns NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing. "They love to drive, and they love to compete. And they do it in the context of their overall love for racing in both the physical and virtual worlds."
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TV TENURE: Sunday's broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 will mark the 45th consecutive year that the race has been aired on ABC.
In sports TV, that's second only to the 53 years that CBS has broadcast the Masters.
ESPN on ABC's telecast Sunday begins at noon.
Martin Reid will do the lap-by-lap announcing, with former Indy winner Eddie Cheever and longtime driver Scott Goodyear in the booth as analysts.
The pit lane crew will include Jack Arute, who has worked on the Indy 500 telecast every year since 1984, Jamie Little, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welsh.
