Daly, Rossi to go head to head with off-road stars in virtual race

Given today’s virtual motorsports environment, it was not a matter of if, but when.

The rapidly-emerging Esports entertainment phenomenon blended with one of professional racing’s youngest demographics have resulting in this weekend’s “Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire.”

Making its debut on Saturday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m. ET, the event will offer a sparkling list of top asphalt, off-road and sim racers with the chance to bang doors virtually for branding rights and a $2,500 cash purse. The competition will immerse competitors in the iRacing-created world of short-course off-road racing, with drivers jumping between Pro 4 and Pro 2 machines in a single action-packed evening featuring the real course of Wild West Motorsports Park in Utah and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona.

A well-known motorsports media personality and host of the Down & Dirty Show powered by Polaris RZR, Beaver has assembled a remarkable group of stars for this first event. The entry list features Nitro Circus founder and action sports legend Travis Pastrana, NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series champion Greg Biffle, NTT IndyCar Series stars Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly, 2016 NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps, Grave Digger driver Tyler Menninga, and additional guest drivers to be announced.

Some of the top off-road racing talent have also been added, including defending Best in the Desert champion Seth Quintero, short course and rallycross standout Mitchell deJong, desert racer Mia Chapman, and short course standouts Corry Weller, Ronnie Anderson, Christopher Polvoorde, Andrew Carlson, and Connor Barry.

Top off-road sim racers like Cam Pedersen, Bobby Sandt Jr. and Josh Fox will fill out the field.

“I’m beyond excited to reveal the inaugural Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup Presented by General Tire,” said Beaver. “We’ve assembled an absolute dream team of people to put on the biggest and best off-road event in the history of iRacing, including a TV-quality live stream and broadcast team. We’re looking to set the standard for eShort Course for years to come.”

The single-night event will see drivers take on two distinctly different vehicle classes, the all-wheel drive Pro 4 and rear-wheel drive Pro 2 machines. The two off road tracks will each see two rounds, one in each class, with drivers quickly swapping truck types between main events. Beaver will join play-by-play voice Evan Posocco, and off-road television personality Tiffany Stone in the booth in a two-hour broadcast produced by RaceSpot TV.

Each event will feature a fixed setup, while entrants will score points for each race as in a normal season-long championship. The top three finishers at the end of the evening will split a $1,000 cash purse: $500 for first, $300 for second, and $200 for third. An additional prize of $500 is on offer to any driver that can break out from the pack and sweep all four main events. In addition, General Tire will be providing a new set of tires to the overall eShort Course World Cup Champion.

Jim Beaver eShort Course World Cup Invitational Drivers:

Professional Crossover Drivers

Greg Biffle

Ron Capps

Conor Daly

Tyler Menninga

Travis Pastrana

Alexander Rossi

Professional Off-Road Drivers

Ronnie Anderson

Connor Barry

Andrew Carlson

Mia Chapman

Mitchell DeJong

Christopher Polvoorde

Seth Quintero

Corry Weller