iRacing Brings Ultra-Realistic Motorsport Simulation Featuring New Hampshire Motor Speedway to Fenway Park for
Pre-Game Demos
BEDFORD, Mass., June 8 /PRNewswire/ — Members of Red Sox Nation attending the Red Sox game versus the New York Yankees this Tuesday, June 9, will have an opportunity to sample one of New England’s newest sports traditions, NASCAR racing. Bedford-based iRacing.com, the premier developer of motorsport simulation software, celebrates the addition of nearby New Hampshire Motor Speedway to its inventory of more than 30 major North American racetracks and its recent partnership with NASCAR to host online virtual racing series, by setting up four simulators at the ballpark and inviting fans to take the wheel of a digital NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevy Impala SS on a millimeter-accurate virtual version of the one-mile high-speed oval.
“Red Sox fans are united in their love of team competition and individual performance,” said
Scott McKee, iRacing’s vice president of marketing. “And while the Red Sox are a national phenomenon, most of the fans who come out to Fenway are fiercely proud of their New England identity, and so are we. We’re a global company, but New Hampshire Motor Speedway is our home track, so we thought we’d do something fun in anticipation of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup race coming up on June 28.”
McKee explained that iRacing’s staff, including co-founder and Red Sox principal owner
John Henry, wanted to let Red Sox fans see what it’s like to actually drive a 750-horsepower racing stock car around the track. “It’s always an exciting evening when the Red Sox play the Yankees, but for those fans who have the chance to get behind the wheel, the excitement will start a little earlier.”
iRacing’s red-white-and-blue trailer will be located on Van Ness Street by Fenway’s Gate B entrance and will offer free demonstration drives to ticketed fans inside the park starting at 5:10 p.m., when the gates open.
Scores of professional and amateur racing drivers, including NASCAR’s
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,
A.J. Allmendinger,
Brad Keselowski,
Marcos Ambrose,
Bobby Labonte,
David Green and
Colin Braun, plus sports car and IndyCar drivers
Alex Gurney,
Chris Dyson and
Justin Wilson, use iRacing’s internet simulation service to prepare for their real-world events. But the majority of the more than 14,000 “simracers” who have joined iRacing since the company opened its doors to the public last August, simply enjoy competing with other drivers from all over the world in online stock car, sports car and open-wheel racing series hosted by iRacing.
“iRacing is the most modern racing simulation ever created,” Earnhardt said recently. “Every inch of every track is modeled perfectly. I’ve used iRacing to learn new courses such as Virginia International Raceway, or to keep the rust off at tracks such as Infineon Raceway. For the hardcore sim racer, this is your dream simulation. For the actual real-world racer, this is your ‘at-home’ test vehicle. Acclimate yourself with a new course or learn something new on an old favorite. Even a rookie in the sim racing world can get up to speed fast within the iRacing system.”
iRacing.com was founded in September of 2004 by
Dave Kaemmer and
John Henry. Kaemmer was co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, developers of award-winning racing simulations including NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season and Grand Prix Legends. Henry is principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group — the co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing — as well as an avid simracer. The iRacing team combines more than 100 years of real-world racing experience with more than 50 years of successful racing simulation development. The company has developed numerous corporate relationships in the motorsport industry, including agreements to develop track simulations with International Speedway Corporation, Speedway Motorsports, and Panoz Motor Sports Group and vehicles with General Motors, Riley Technologies, Radical Sportscars, and 600 Racing. iRacing is the official simulation partner of the Sports Car Club of America, Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, Star Mazda Championship, Skip Barber Racing School and Australia’s V8 Super School. Most recently iRacing and NASCAR have announced a partnership to develop NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series. The iRacing service is open to racers and fans of all skill levels from top-level pros to complete beginners. To join in the fun, go to www.iRacing.com.
SOURCE iRacing.com
