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WR1 Sims loaded with iRacing coming to Lucas Oil Speedway Midway this season

WHEATLAND, Missouri (Feb. 11, 2020) - The fan experience at Lucas Oil Speedway will rise to an even higher level this season with the addition of three WR1 Sim Chassis custom built for the speedway and preloaded with iRacing.

At least two of the simulators will be on the Midway each race night with fans able to try them out for $10 per ride. Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton said a celebrity racer, such as a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series driver or Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series regular, will be first up each night and set a time to beat.

"Fans who set the fastest lap each race night will receive a Lucas Oil Speedway gift card (ranging in value based on events and participation) and other prizes as well," Lorton said. "I feel this is going to be one way to get the interaction of our younger generation back and hopefully get some actually wanting to be a racer in the future."

All fans that play will get a gift certificate for a 3-month subscription to iRacing as well, valued at a regular price of $33 and currently on sale 40 percent off at $19.80.

A variety of tracks on iRacing will be in a rotation at Lucas Oil Speedway this year. Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval and the Lucas Oil Speedway Off Road Track are scheduled to be available on iRacing by early 2021. The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series returns to the Off Road Track for the 4th annual Off Road Shootout Aug. 21-23.

WR1 Sim Chassis, owned by Chad Wheeler and based in Oklahoma, is one of the premier providers of custom-built racing frame rigs for the booming iRacing and esports industry. A number of NASCAR stars are huge proponents of Wheeler's WR1 simulators and participate in online races.

Wheeler, who's been building the simulators since 2017, said NASCAR drivers such as Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been clients and offered feedback on how to make the simulators more realistic. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt drivers such as Hudson O'Neal "also have been very involved and has helped a lot," Wheeler said.

"We want it to feel like a real race car as much as we can. It's a simulation of a race car, but with those guys' feedback we keep getting them more dialed in," Wheeler said. "We always are trying to making our product better."

Wheeler added that iRacing "brings new blood into our sport. You can race some of your heroes you see on Sunday and interact with them. IRacing has done nothing but get stronger since we've been with them. I think you're going to see more race tracks follow Lucas and what they're doing."

Otto Szebeni, Director of Sales and Marketing for iRacing, said iRacing is a great way to give the fans a way to relate to what it's like to be behind the wheel of a race vehicle.

"We're always trying to get people to experience what real-world racers are experiencing," Szebeni said. "Many fans will never have the opportunity to hop in a race car or race truck and rip around a track. This just gives fans the opportunity to be more a part of what their drivers and race teams go through."

"We want people to be excited about motorsports," Szebeni added. "At the end of the day there's nothing that can replace hopping in a real truck or real car and ripping around a track, but there's nothing closer for the general public right now to experience that kind of accuracy and that kind of fidelity."

iRacing is the leading sim racing software for PCs. Developed as a centralized racing and competition service, iRacing organizes, hosts and officiates online racing on more than 80 virtual tracks all around the world. In the fast-paced world of eSports, iRacing is a one-stop-shop for online racing.

Szebeni said dirt tracks are relatively new to the iRacing lineup but he sees the popularity in them growing rapidly. Go to iRacing.com for more details about iRacing or to WR1 Chassis online page for more info on the Sim units.

Wheeler said the accuracy of iRacing is such that drivers, such as himself, use it to improve their racing. Wheeler drove his USRA Modified to a feature win last July at the CMH Diamond Nationals program.

"The whole other part of iRacing is the training side," Wheeler said. "It's been a huge part of my success. I won at the Diamond Nationals and I only had probably 10 races going into that, but had been able to race on our Sim and practice."

While iRacing's participants encompass all ages, Lorton said he sees this as a way to engage the younger demographic.

"Last year, I realized we need to get the attention of fans back into racing and the drivers. Watching some kids and fans at the races majority of younger fans were on their phones and or playing games on them not really watching the races," he said. "What better way than through gaming and getting drivers also involved to draw the two back together more."

Lucas Oil Speedway plans to debut the simulators during the 9th annual KOZL Man Show Expo, March 13-14, at the Springfield Expo Center.

The Lucas Oil Speedway season kicks off with the Open Test and Tune on March 28, with the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series opening night set for April 4 with action in all four divisions - Pitts Homes USRA Modified, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods, Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models and O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks.

Season passes for 2020, along with gift cards which can be redeemed in any department of the speedway, are now available. Contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com

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