Questions remain after eNASCAR iRacing free agency window closes

Free agency for the 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series ended on Monday, and the first wave of driver and team announcements have begun to trickle in. However, the landing spot for big names like reigning series champion Keegan Leahy and last year’s standout rookie Mitchell DeJong are still unknown.

Also unknown is the identity of the three of the 20 teams that will be competing in the series. Drivers were presented with a complete list of teams shortly before free agency began, but the identity of those three teams remain hidden from the public.

RACER understands that two of those teams are traditional eSports outfits that compete in other video games like first-person shooters who will be venturing into sim racing. One team currently has a small presence in the sim racing community and the other does not.

Four teams, meanwhile, have announced their driver pairings. RFK Racing will field a lineup of two rookies with Parker Retzlaff and Kaden Honeycutt. Retzlaff will be running a part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series season with Ryan Sieg Racing.

Team Dillon eSports, Austin Dillon’s effort, retained its 2021 drivers and will enter this season with Taylor Hurst and Corey Vincent. Stewart-Haas eSports made one change to its lineup, replacing Graham Bowlin with Steven Wilson while keeping Dylan Duval.

Finally, Wood Brothers Racing announced it will be signing Blade Whitt to replace John Gorlinsky who did not requalify for the 2022 season. Garrett Lowe re-signed with the team and will be back for his third straight season with Wood Brothers.

The rest of the teams have until February 1 to make their driver announcements. RACER also understands that there is a high likelihood that an eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Clash will be held at the virtual Los Angeles Coliseum and precede the real event slated for later in the week.

https://twitter.com/iRacing/status/1481323205126205445?s=20

iRacing was involved in the development of the track for NASCAR and eNASCAR Coca-Cola Series drivers were used to test it in the virtual environment last year.