There have been no two-time victors in the NASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational yet as Sunday’s winner at Bristol Motor Speedway was William Byron, who now shares the series podium with Denny Hamlin (Homestead-Miami winner) and Timmy Hill (Texas Motor Speedway winner). With a week off of the iRacing schedule to enjoy Easter Sunday, drivers, fans, and bettors now look to the April 19th running of the next race which takes place at the virtual Richmond Raceway. Will we see yet another name take the checkered flag, or will someone pull off a second win to climb atop the season’s leaderboard? Let’s find out.
Timmy Hill’s worst finish in this iRacing series is third place, which puts him at the top of the unofficial leaderboard. If applying NASCAR’s traditional scoring system for the NASCAR Cup Series (come back soon!) Hill would have 108-points, with Ryan Preece trailing behind at 96-points. Also nipping at Hill’s wheels is the next favorite and winner of the very first Pro Invitational race, Denny Hamlin.
Denny Hamlin was the winner of the first virtual race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which he followed up with a 24th (not so good) at Texas, but redeemed himself with a fourth place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. This makes him a favorite along with Timmy Hill. As we mentioned in our previous iRacing previews, Hamlin has the most sophisticated motion-sensored at-home set-up with a price tag around the $40,000 mark. Hamlin takes these events very seriously no matter how much be may joke around during the FOX Sports 1 broadcast, so bettors will want to take this driver’s odds at another win seriously too. Bet Toyota to bet Hamlin, along with Hill. These two drivers look like a sure thing early in the iRacing season.
Garret Smithley – Chevrolet Camaro for Rick Ware Racing (-175)
Garret Smithley is due for a win, and soon. He sits third in the unofficial (can we just call it official?) leaderboard with 94-points, and holds a 5th, 2nd, and 9th to compile an average finish of 5.7. Smithley has also been incentivized by a new sponsor, GunBroker.com, who is financially backing Smithley over the next five Pro Invitational races (one already in the bag). This sponsorship may carry over into July when the real NASCAR Cup Series is expected to resume. You’d better believe that Smithley is fired up over his new GunBroker sponsorship, and now has the ammo needed to claim his first checkered flag.
SLEEPERS
William Byron – Chevrolet Camero for Hendrick Motorsports (-175)
William Byron may have won the more recent Bristol Motor Speedway race, but he’s not quite a favorite, sharing the 10th spot on the leaderboard with Clint Bowyer. Still, the Camaro driver did dominate at Bristol and has performed well enough through the iRacing season to garner sleeper status. If he finished fifth or better at Richmond Raceway he’ll be a legitimate contender for the Pro Invitational throne when it likely concludes this summer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr – Chevrolet for JR Motorsports (-175)
Junior has moved from “favorite” status over the last three events, but like Byron he’s a legitimate sleeper to win. After recently making the shortlist of five newcomers nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and finding out that he has a baby on the way, he has a lot to be excited about which will calm his nerves heading into the April 19th race. Look for him to add a win of another kind as the iRacing Pro Invitational Series heads for Richmond Raceway.
Joey Logano has two NASCAR Cup Series wins and sits just under (by one-point) Kevin Harvik who has zero wins but two top 5 finishes. Many experts predict Logano to win the NASCAR Cup Series when it finally resumes, but his peers (the field) will never let him hear the end of it if he doesn’t add an iRacing win to his resume this season. Yes, it’s actually become pretty darn important, which is awesome. On the iRacing circuit, Logano sits 21st with just 42-points. You’d better believe that he’s fueled up to get a 1st place finish before this whole thing concludes to give way to the real deal.
Writer’s Prediction
Still no repeat winner in the iRacing Pro Invitational, as Garret Smithley does his new sponsor proud with a win at Richmond Raceway.
