iRacing

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs begin Tuesday night at Michigan International Speedway, with ten drivers competing for four remaining seats at the Championship table. The three-round playoff format will also visit Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway before concluding at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, where the winner of the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup will be crowned. Michigan holds particular significance for the playoff field. Last year, Steven Wilson claimed victory at the track after a late-race caution reset the field, ultimately propelling him to the championship title and an eighth win of the season—a single-year record. Tucker Minter dominated that race but saw his points advantage evaporate following an ill-timed spin in overtime. Minter will have a chance for redemption on Tuesday, though Wilson's dominance last season—he won eight races across the 18-race 2025 campaign—sets a high bar for the field. Meanwhile, Garrett Manes claimed his first Championship Series victory at the Daytona regular-season finale after a four-year drought. Manes came back from a lap-down penalty to finish second, then inherited the lead when fuel-related issues struck the field on the final lap, securing his first win in 80 attempts. The William Byron eSports Bracket Challenge will also conclude at Michigan, with Parker White and Connor Yeroschak facing off in the final round. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on eNASCAR.com/live and iRacing social media channels, with the Countdown to Green pre-race show starting at 7:45 p.m. ET. Following Michigan, the playoffs continue September 15th at Texas Motor Speedway.

iRacing's 2026 Season 3, Week 12 (September 1–7) features a full calendar of racing across multiple disciplines, highlighted by the iRacing Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway as part of the NASCAR iRacing Series. The special event recreates the real-world Labor Day tradition at the historic oval, available in both fixed and open setup configurations using current NASCAR Cup Series machinery. The NASCAR iRacing Series continues its 36-week campaign at Darlington for Week 27, with fixed-setup races scheduled for Wednesday 21:00 GMT, Friday 01:00 GMT, Saturday 10:00 and 16:00 GMT, and Monday 01:00 GMT. Open-setup sessions run Thursday 01:00 and 18:00 GMT, Saturday 01:00 GMT, and Sunday 14:00 GMT. Elsewhere, the iRacing Grand Prix Tour reaches Week 15 of 24 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza with the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 E Performance, while the INDYCAR iRacing Series concludes its 17-week season at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. Dirt racing takes centre stage with the Dirt 410 Sprint Car Tour at Huset's Speedway (Week 29 of 37) and the Dirt Super Late Model Tour at Eldora Speedway (Week 31 of 39). Short-track enthusiasts can compete in the NASCAR Modified Tour at New Smyrna Speedway and the Super Late Model Tour at Stafford Motor Speedway. The Vintage Grand Prix Tour returns with the Lotus 79 at Suzuka International Racing Course for Week 11 of 16. Daily racing series include the FIA F4 Esports Regional Tours and GT3 Regional Tours, which serve as qualification pathways for their respective global championships. New for 2026 is the FIA Cross Car Championship at rookie level, featuring mixed-surface rallycross racing at Daytona. The Ring Meister series runs the Pontiac Solstice at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, while Draft Master Challenge by SIMAGIC features 1987-spec NASCAR Cup Series cars at Daytona. Rain Master Challenge by Podium1 offers wet-weather GT3 racing at Spa-Francorchamps.

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs commence on Tuesday night at Michigan International Speedway, with ten drivers competing across three races for a share of $500,000 and the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup. Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team) earned the No. 1 seed after claiming three wins during the nine-race regular season, tying defending two-time champion Steven Wilson (Spire Motorsports) on playoff points. Wilson secured the No. 2 seed due to fewer overall victories. Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming), Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), and Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) rounded out the top five seeds after winning races. Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports), Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), Connor Yeroschak (Letarte eSports), Wyatt Tinsley (Kansas City Pioneers), and Casey Kirwan (Kansas City Pioneers) qualified on points. Zack Novak (JR Motorsports) narrowly missed the field by three points. Zalenski has never won an eNASCAR championship despite 21 career victories—second all-time—and six previous Championship 4 appearances. He led the most laps during the regular season and won the opening race at Charlotte, a first for him to start a season. Wilson, despite recent inconsistency including a 23rd-place finish at Indianapolis and 29th at Nashville, remains a title threat with wins at all three upcoming tracks. White, the 2024 series champion, has shown consistency since a frustrating 22nd-place finish at Dover, posting four consecutive top-ten finishes to close the regular season. The three-race playoff format continues at Texas and concludes at Kansas, with the top four drivers advancing to the Championship 4 finale.

iRacing has announced major updates arriving with Season 4, headlined by the September 18th launch of NASCAR 26 alongside significant physics engine improvements and a substantial roster of new and refreshed content. Tracks Three classic circuits receive complete rebuilds based on fresh laser scans captured in 2026. Road America, part of iRacing's original 2008 lineup, has been fully reconstructed and will gain two new configurations featuring the Turn 5 bypass road (East and West variants). Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, added in 2010, has been rebuilt to emphasise its variable terrain and sweeping layout. Milwaukee Mile also receives a complete overhaul and introduces a new Road circuit configuration in Roval style. Existing owners of these tracks will receive the updated versions automatically at no cost; older versions will be retired. Two additional tracks receive visual refreshes. Summit Point Raceway undergoes a complete art upgrade with rebuilt models, textures, curbs and scenery throughout. Jefferson Circuit receives the same treatment. Road Atlanta gains new track surface textures, 3D curbs, foliage, trees and upgraded scenery. Cars The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH arrives after over a year of development, incorporating telemetry, engineering data and direct collaboration with the manufacturer to capture the V12 hypercar's power, downforce and chassis dynamics. iRacing has partnered with Caterham Cars to deliver two open-wheel sports cars: the Caterham Academy and Caterham 420R. Both vehicles will be sold as a single package. The Academy, designed for novice racers, emphasises lightweight mechanical grip and pack racing dynamics, positioned in Class D series. The 420R offers increased power-to-weight ratio and will compete in Class C. The Mazda MX-5 receives a complete re-engineering covering suspension kinematics, engine tuning, damper specifications, tire model integration and aerodynamics. The update aims to deliver more intuitive handling and closer door-to-door racing. The Gen 4 Grand National stock car joins the existing Gen 4 Cup package, positioned just below the premier division with high-momentum racing characteristics. Both Gen 4 cars receive drafting model updates. The pavement Sprint Car undergoes a front-to-rear rebuild with increased power, broader low-end torque, new tire model, overhauled suspension geometry and updated braking, developed in partnership with real-world and sim community drivers. Sim Systems The physics engine receives its first major milestone from a multi-year overhaul initiative called 'Physics Islands'. The core physics update loop has been refactored and multi-threaded, distributing calculations across available CPU threads. In full-field races and crowded multi-car battles, CPU physics overhead drops by 50% or more across a range of hardware, with gains unlocking future improvements to physics tick rates, input sampling and force feedback loops. A new multi-class, multi-pace car system launches for Season 4, deploying dedicated pace cars for each class and independent green flags for every category. The feature initially rolls out on select tracks with full support in official IMSA series, aiming to eliminate chaotic grid stacking and improve turn-one racing fairness. Season 4 also introduces updates to the Sim UI engine, retiring legacy architecture to unlock long-planned interface advancements. NASCAR 26 includes a new Chase mode allowing players to jump directly into championship racing, alongside new burnout celebration animations.

Garrett Manes claimed his maiden victory in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series at Daytona International Speedway, passing fuel-starved Blaze Crawford on the final lap of a chaotic triple-overtime finish. The win came in Manes' 80th career start in the series, ending a drought that included a heartbreaking near-miss at the same track four-and-a-half years earlier. The race served as the Regular Season finale, with only ten drivers advancing to the Playoffs and a share of $500,000 plus the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup. Manes, who started from pit road due to a restart violation, was already eliminated from Playoff contention entering the night, meaning the final four spots came down to points. Jake Nichols (TC Esports) finished second, followed by Blake Reynolds (Channel 199 Sim Racing) and Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming). The field completed 92 laps—12 more than the scheduled 80—with 41 lead changes among 20 drivers. The Playoff field of ten includes Steven Wilson (Spire Motorsports), Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team), Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports), Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports), Parker White, Connor Yeroschak (Letarte eSports), Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), Wyatt Tinsley and Casey Kirwan (both Kansas City Pioneers). Notable misses included former 2025 Championship 4 competitor Zack Novak (JR Motorsports), who fell three points short, and Qualifying Series champion Quentin Warman (Hyak Motorsports), who missed by 17 points. The final lap descended into pandemonium as fuel concerns mounted during the extended overtime. Steven Wilson led the most laps with 17, but pit-road fuel stops during the overtime periods left several contenders stranded. On the third and final overtime attempt, contact in Turn 4 involving Matthew Morton and Tucker Minter triggered a chain-reaction crash. Crawford, running out of fuel, lost the lead to Manes, who held on through the chaos to take the checkered flag. The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs begin in two weeks at Michigan International Speedway.

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series reaches a critical juncture on Tuesday night as the regular season concludes at Daytona International Speedway. The race will determine which drivers advance to the playoffs, with only ten spots available and a $500,000 prize pool at stake. Six drivers have already secured their playoff berths through wins or points: Bobby Zalenski, Steven Wilson, Vicente Salas, Parker White, Garrett Lowe, and Tucker Minter. The remaining four playoff positions are currently held by Connor Yeroschak, Shawn Conklin, Wyatt Tinsley, and Casey Kirwan, though sixteen drivers below Kirwan retain mathematical chances to either point in or win their way into contention. The superspeedway setting at Daytona's 2.5-mile oval creates unpredictability, with multiple drivers capable of disrupting the standings. Matthew Zwack will substitute for Kollin Keister in Jim Beaver eSports' No. 15 this week. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on eNASCAR.com/live and iRacing social media channels, with the Countdown to Green pre-race show starting at 7:45 p.m. ET. Momentum enters the race following Vicente Salas' dominant victory at Richmond Raceway two weeks ago, where he led 69 of 72 laps in the feature event to secure his first win of the season and clinch his playoff spot. Daytona holds particular significance in the championship's history: Steven Wilson opened his record-breaking 2025 title run with a victory here last year, while Daniel Faulkingham won the Qualifying Series event at the same track in February before signing with Rick Ware Racing for the championship season. Segment 3 of the season's mini-championship also concludes at Daytona, with five additional playoff points available to the winner. Parker White currently leads the segment standings with 71 points, followed by Quentin Warman at 70. The playoff field will be finalized after Tuesday's race, with the championship playoffs beginning September 1st at Michigan International Speedway.

iRacing Arcade will arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on August 21 at $24.99, bringing arcade-style racing with officially licensed vehicles and circuits to console players for the first time. The release includes four-player local split-screen multiplayer, a feature that will also roll out to the PC version as a free update on the same day. The console launch introduces four new cars to the game: the Formula Fangio (a 1960s-style single-seater), Formula Turbo (1980s formula car), Mercedes 190 E DTM, and Big Rig. Four new circuits join the roster—Circuito de Jerez–Ángel Nieto, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, and two layouts of Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Grand Prix and Historic)—alongside a fifth layout at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The existing car roster includes the Fiat 500, Formula Junior, Touring Car, FIA Formula 4, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, LMP2, GTP, Formula GP, and Caterham, with circuits spanning MotorLand Aragón, Barber Motorsports Park, Miami International Autodrome, Tsukuba Circuit, and others. The game centres on an extensive career mode in which players build and manage their own racing organisation, progressing from grassroots road racing to premier machinery such as GTP and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Between races, players construct garages and facilities, unlock performance boosts, hire drivers, and oversee multiple racing series as their operation expands. The title supports single-player career progression, AI racing, online multiplayer, and couch-based competition across Time Attack and Free Play modes.

iRacing has released version 3.0 of its Companion App, featuring a comprehensive technical modernization and redesigned user interface across iOS and Android. The update brings the mobile experience into closer alignment with the desktop iRacing UI, with improved data synchronization and a more consistent visual design throughout the application. Key improvements include real-time synchronization of favorites, social connections, and league data between the mobile app and the main iRacing platform. Users can now manage friend requests, follow drivers, and organize their favorite cars, tracks, series, and leagues directly from the app, with these preferences automatically reflected in the desktop UI. The reminders system has been redesigned with a guided step-by-step setup flow, making it simpler to configure notifications for races, series, and league events. The Series Details section has received substantial enhancements, including full Weather V2 display matching the desktop client, detailed race restriction information such as fuel and tire change limits, and redesigned standings that highlight the user's own position alongside friends and followed drivers. A new date-based week selector now better accommodates series with non-standard calendars, displaying series-specific week numbers when needed. Filtering capabilities have been expanded across multiple areas of the app, including Series, Upcoming Races, Leagues, Hosted Sessions, Time Attack, Cars, and Tracks. Event Results screens have been redesigned for clearer session navigation, and the News section now supports richer content rendering with improved image zoom and pan functionality. iRacing Companion App 3.0 is now available in eight languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil), German, French, Italian, and Simplified Chinese. The legacy 2.x versions will continue to function until the Season 1 2027 build, when they will be sunset. The update is available immediately on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

iRacing's 2026 Season 3, Week 9 (August 11–17) features a diverse racing calendar spanning multiple disciplines and regions. The week is headlined by the iRacing Portimao 1000, a special endurance event running August 14–15 that revisits classic sports car racing with 215 laps around Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, contested in multiclass team format. Among the weekly series, the newly launched iRacing DTM Series reaches Week 6 of 8 at Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke – Sprintstrecke, with 55-minute fixed-setup races offering free car selection. The NASCAR iRacing Series continues its 36-week campaign at Richmond Raceway (Week 24), while the INDYCAR iRacing Series moves to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for Week 14 of 17. The CREVENTIC Endurance Series reaches Week 3 of 5 at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya – Historic, and dirt oval racing continues with the Dirt 410 Sprint Car Tour at Knoxville Raceway (Week 26) and the Dirt Super Late Model Tour at Volusia Speedway Park (Week 28). Regional competition intensifies with the FIA F4 Esports Regional Tours and GT3 Regional Tours both in Week 9, offering qualification pathways for their respective global championships. The F4 series races at Summit Point (Americas), Winton Motor Raceway (Asia-Pacific), and Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (Europe), while GT3 contests Mid-Ohio, Tsukuba, and Nevers Magny-Cours across the same regions. Daily racing series continue with fixed-setup options including the Ring Meister series featuring the Ligier JS P320 at Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Draft Master Challenge by SIMAGIC running legacy NASCAR stock cars at Daytona, and the Rain Master Challenge by Podium1 offering wet-weather GT3 racing at MotorLand Aragón. The newly introduced FIA Cross Car Championship at rookie level provides mixed-surface rallycross racing at Daytona Rallycross.

The iRacing Creventic Endurance Series is set to resume in 2026, marking the fifth consecutive year of collaboration between iRacing and Creventic, the organizers of the real-world 24H Series. The championship will maintain its team-based endurance racing format across a curated selection of international circuits. The 2026 calendar comprises five events, combining multiple 12-hour races with a season-closing 24-hour endurance challenge. All 12-hour races will adhere to the established Creventic time slots, with events commencing at 01:00 GMT and 13:00 GMT on Saturdays. The series continues to position itself as an accessible entry point for endurance racing within the iRacing membership base. Full details regarding event scheduling, car lineups, and additional series information are available on the iRacing Forums.

iRacing is hosting the Portimão 1000, a multiclass endurance race presented by Simucube, taking place across five time slots from Friday 22:00 GMT through Sunday 00:00 GMT. The event features nearly six hours of racing—215 laps—around the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, with five separate start times to accommodate global participation. The race field comprises three classes: HPD ARX-01c prototypes competing for outright victory, GT1 machinery including the Aston Martin DBR9 and Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, and GT2 cars led by the Ford GT. Teams may field between two and 16 drivers under the sim's fair-share system. The third time slot on Saturday at 12:00 GMT (8:00 a.m. ET) will be broadcast live via RACESPOT on iRacing.com/live. Participants must hold a Sports Car license at Class C or higher, or Class D with a 4.0 Safety Rating minimum. Open setup and dynamic weather are enabled. The disqualification threshold is set at 100 incident points per team, with Stop and Go penalties beginning after 35 incidents. Splits can accommodate up to 60 teams. Portimão, which opened in 2008, is a 4.653 km circuit known for significant elevation changes and a mix of tight and sweeping corners. The track has previously hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix twice and the 6 Hours of Portimão, among other international motorsport events. The iRacing event revisits the classic Portimão 1000 endurance race format, which was first run in 2009 in International Sports Car competition.

iRacing has introduced a new DTM Series featuring races at the Nurburgring, bringing the format of Germany's premier touring car championship to the simulation platform. Races are scheduled for Thursday evenings with staggered start times at 8 PM across AEDT, CET, ET, and PT zones to accommodate the global iRacing community. The series employs a 55-minute timed race format that mirrors the real-world DTM structure. Competitors will drive the 2026 DTM specification cars, with fuel tank capacity limited to introduce pit strategy elements into each race. Full details about the iRacing DTM Series are available on the iRacing website.