Virtual NASCAR at Talladega: Jeff Gordon is ‘coming out of retirement.’ How to watch
Jeff Gordon has won six times at Talladega, but that won’t mean much this Sunday when the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will race on the superspeedway virtually for the first time. Gordon, who retired from full-time racing in 2015, will run as one of 38 drivers locked into the lineup for the fifth race of the eNASCAR Pro Invitational series.
“I’m gonna give it a try,” Gordon told FOX Sports co-hosts while calling an iRacing event on Wednesday night. “We’ve been trying to get me behind the wheel of one of these sim rigs and I’m coming out of retirement, boys!”
Gordon has been involved with the virtual exhibition series since it launched five weeks ago in the aftermath of NASCAR postponing its official season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The FOX Sports analyst will get a different view of the track in a ride — er, rig — of his own this Sunday.
“I’ve been such a curious viewer (of iRacing), having racing experience,” Gordon told the Observer in March. “As to how it works, pit stops and strategy and pacing. Just how you run side-by-side with certain cars and make passes.”
“I’ve been fascinated by it,” Gordon added. “So I would imagine at some point I probably will do (an iRace).”
That chance will come at the unforgiving 2.66-mile track. Gordon’s last win at the real Talladega Superspeedway was in the fall of 2007. He will drive the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, which is typically driven by back-to-back virtual race winner William Byron. Byron will drive the same number in a different car.
“(Talladega is) going to be wild,” Byron said after last week’s win. “I think there’s honestly going to be some really good racing, though.”
Although Byron won at the last two tracks, Talladega has always been anyone’s game. That could very well mean that less experienced iRacing drivers such as Brad Keseloswki or Kyle Busch, who are both making quick progress on the simulators, could dethrone Byron this week.
Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Ford Mustang, said he has been spending time on his new simulator rig, and “building a feeling and being comfortable with where all the buttons at knobs are.”
“That’s all really important to be good at it,” Keselowski said. “It’s so much different than the real thing. It’s like learning how to walk again.”
As Keselowski steps up, another driver will be stepping down this week. Bubba Wallace, who lost a sponsor earlier in the series for quitting mid-race, said he won’t be competing this week because he is feeling “burnt out” on the rig.
“Not the (game’s) fault, just been like that for years,” Wallace tweeted on Friday.
“I can’t sit at the (sim) rig all day and burn laps, I’d go crazy,” Wallace continued. “Before this pandemic, I hadn’t turned on my racing rig in at least 6-8 months. So I decided to opt out of this one and watch the madness.”
While the event is losing some of its entertainment with Wallace this week, Talladega always makes for exciting racing. There will also be hype around Gordon’s return — even if he doesn’t make it to the end.
VIRTUAL TALLADEGA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Race: GEICO 70
Distance: 70 laps (186.2 miles)
Where: Virtual Talladega Superspeedway
When: Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
TV: FOX, FS1, FOX Sports Go app
Worth mentioning: The charity partner for this race is the American Red Cross. Fans can make donations to support the American Red Cross via blood supply, training and supplies through The NASCAR Foundation at https://www.NASCARfoundation.org/response. In other charity news, NASCAR team owner Richard Childress announced earlier this week that he is auctioning off a No. 3 Dale Earnhardt race car to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.
Lineup for the GEICO 70:
| #1 | Kurt Busch |
| #2 | Brad Keselowski |
| #3 | Austin Dillon |
| #4 | Kevin Harvick |
| #6 | Ross Chastain |
| #8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| #9 | Chase Elliott |
| #10 | Aric Almirola |
| #11 | Denny Hamlin |
| #12 | Ryan Blaney |
| #13 | Ty Dillon |
| #14 | Clint Bowyer |
| #17 | Chris Buescher |
| #18 | Kyle Busch |
| #19 | Bobby Labonte |
| #20 | Erik Jones |
| #21 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| #22 | Joey Logano |
| #24 | William Byron |
| #24 | Jeff Gordon |
| #31 | Tyler Reddick |
| #32 | Corey LaJoie |
| #34 | Michael McDowell |
| #37 | Ryan Preece |
| #38 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| #41 | Cole Custer |
| #47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| #48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| #49 | Chad Finchum |
| #51 | Garrett Smithley |
| #52 | JJ Yeley |
| #53 | Joey Gase |
| #66 | Timmy Hill |
| #77 | Parker Kligerman |
| #88 | Alex Bowman |
| #89 | Landon Cassill |
| #95 | Christopher Bell |
| #96 | Daniel Suárez |
This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Virtual NASCAR at Talladega: Jeff Gordon is ‘coming out of retirement.’ How to watch."
