As sporting events around the world have been cancelled, simulated sports have emerged as a great source of entertainment. NASCAR’s iRacing Pro Invitational series is one such event that uses simulation software to replicate its real-life counterpart. What makes it more interesting is you can actually bet on it. This article explains how to bet on the NASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational.
What is the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series?
Before getting into the online version of the event, it’s best to give a brief primer on the original event that the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series is replacing. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series started on February 9 with the Busch Clash at Daytona and was seven races into the season before future races were postponed until May 3 at the earliest.With no immediate resumption of the scheduled season possible, NASCAR and iRacing (the PC-based motorsport racing simulation developer) announced the launch of their Pro Series Invitational Series. This event features some of the biggest names from the sport across its Cup, Xfinity and Trucks series.
The NASCAR iRacing Pro Series event officially started on March 22 and will follow the current Cup Series schedule until more is known about when the season can go back to the track. Denny Hamlin, winner of this year’s Daytona 500, won the first event of the iRacing Pro Series (the Dixie Vodka 125). Timmy Hill then won the second event, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 - what would have been the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
The partnership between NASCAR and iRacing is nothing new. The two already work together on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (the longest-running officially sanctioned esports racing event – now in its 11th season).This event features professional teams – some of which are owned by NASCAR drives – and offers up a $300,000 prizepool for the 40 competitors taking part.
A proven background and experience in the esports space means the audience can expect high-production value with the Pro Series Invitational. It may be something new to those used to watching the real life action on the track, but it will still be fill of entertainment and excitement.
Who are the drivers?
The grid is made up of professional drivers from NASCAR Truck Series driver Ty Majeski to Bobby Labonte, a NASCAR Hall of famer.As we have seen many times over the years on real race tracks, Dale Earnhardt Jr will be a racer to watch. Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain and more current NASCAR drivers make up a roster of talented drivers.
What NASCAR iRacing Pro Series odds are available?
Not all bookmakers that offer NASCAR odds will offer markets for the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series. This is because despite the similarities between the two, they are quite different from a betting perspective and thus, trading such markets brings with it its own unique challenges.Given that Pinnacle has such a vast range of esports markets, it should come as no surprise that the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series odds are already available at Pinnacle. Markets will be up before each race and feature matchups between the individual drivers.
While you can bet on the outright winner of each race, the matchup markets provide more options to bettors and mean your selected driver doesn’t have to win the race, they just have to beat the other drive they are listed against in the odds.
How to bet on the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series
While the simulated version of NASCAR might seem worlds away from the physical act of driving the car, it really isn’t. It’s also important to remember that this experience won’t be new to the drivers. This exact platform and software is often used by drivers to practice and prepare for events, so we can expect a true reflection of what we see on the track, on the screens.The fact that the drivers are used to using the iRacing platform and that it’s an extremely realistic representation of the track version means that bettors may look to past data from NASCAR events to help inform their decisions. While that may be a viable option, especially with such a small sample of iRacing Pro Series events data to work with at present, it is unlikely to prove effective as there are simply too many unknowns about the crossover between the two events.
In short, it’s going to be very difficult to find a value bet in the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series odds. However, the fact that this is a completely new event for a bookmaker to trade, analysing the odds in detail may lead bettors to find inefficiencies. Those willing to put in the time may be rewarded, especially if they put in the time to find the best available odds. While the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series betting markets may offer up some profitably betting opportunities, one thing it certainly provides is entertainment value. Whether you’re taking it seriously or betting for a bit of fun, you can view all the latest NASCAR iRacing Pro Series odds at Pinnacle.