PALMETTO, Fla. – The TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires will bring the challenges of virtual oval racing to competitors today in a double-header race at Iowa Speedway beginning at 6:45 pm EST. Dubbed The Fastest Short Track on the Planet, the 7/8-mile oval will host the third round of the five-event series.
Oval stops on the calendar were quite popular with both drivers and online spectators in the first of two Road to Indy iRacing eSeries last year. Several of the frontrunners from those events including Braden Eves, Max Kaeser, Josh Green and Danial Frost will be looking to continue or improve on their form in tonight’s outing.
Currently iRacing standouts Max Esterson and Eves top the championship standings. Esterson, an F1600 competitor with Team Pelfrey in 2020, is the only two-time race winner to date. He holds an 18-point advantage over Eves, who returns to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with Exclusive Autosport this year. Josh Green, a sophomore driver in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship with Turn 3 Motorsport, rounds out the top three.
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Representing the World Karting Association (WKA) this week will be Jarret Schwarz of Davenport, Iowa. Schwarz earned his invitation into the event by winning the third round of the WKA Maxx Racing eSports Series.
In addition to wins last week at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park by Esterson and Eves, who claimed the SimMetric Drivers Performance Labs Pole Award, other notables included the Sabelt Hard Charger Award by 2020 Lucas Oil Formula Car Series champion Ely Navarro and the Andersen RacePark Move of the Race by USF2000 driver Simon Sikes.
“The opening races of our eSeries have been exciting, with a little more chaos than I’d expected, but we enjoyed some truly spirited and entertaining battles at both Road America and Belle Isle,” said Rob Howden, Road to Indy Series Development Director who handles eSeries commentary duties alongside Scottish announcer Peter MacKay. “I love the diversity of the talent we’ve assembled this year, and our Road to Indy ‘Prospects’ have certainly acquitted themselves well.
“We’ve seen these talented prospects battling wheel-to-wheel with Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 drivers in all four races so far, and now it’s time to flip the script again and head to the oval. This is part of the overall training for our Road to Indy drivers – running natural terrain road courses, temporary street circuits and banked ovals – and we’re offering that diversity in the eSeries as well. Iowa Speedway is going to be a challenge for sure, and I’m intrigued to see which drivers are up front this Wednesday.”
Coverage from a virtual Iowa Speedway can be found on the Cooper Tire Facebook page, the Road to Indy TV website and App, ApexRacingTV’s YouTube and Facebook and the series’ respective websites. In addition, live coverage will be carried by REV TV Canada.