Pro Invitational Series race to feature Next Gen car, Jesse Iwuji, winner of fan vote

Before NASCAR Cup Series stars honor racing history for Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, they‘ll look toward the future in Wednesday night‘s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race by competing virtually in the NASCAR Next Gen car (8 p.m. ET, FS1).

Drivers and fans will get a first look at NASCAR‘s new car, which will debut in competition in 2022, in the third event of this year‘s 10-race schedule that features a full field of NASCAR Cup Series stars facing off in iRacing exhibition races live and aired by FOX Sports and NBC Sports.

The race follows the formal unveiling of each manufacturer’s Next Gen car model in a much-anticipated event at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, streamed live on NASCAR.com.

Just four days later, the NASCAR Cup Series visits the historic Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1) on Throwback Weekend, a nod to NASCAR‘s history in the form of commemorative paint schemes — and even a special Goodyear tire design.

For the second Pro Invitational Series race in a row, Camping World Truck Series driver and U.S. Naval officer Jesse Iwuji will compete against the field of Cup Series stars after winning a fan vote against a mix of up-and-coming stars and popular names across multiple NASCAR national series.

The Next Gen car has been designed in collaboration with NASCAR, its OEMs — Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota — and teams in order to boost competition. The car has been developed and tested extensively, but Wednesday night‘s iRacing Pro Invitational Series race will mark the first time a full field of drivers have competed in the fully stylized cars.

The live broadcast of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from Darlington Raceway, featuring Next Gen cars, airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Pre-race programming begins during NASCAR Race Hub, also on FS1, at 6 p.m. ET.

The entry list for the race is as follows (subject to change):