CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sim Motorsports will be the presenting sponsor for the second annual Podium eSports Daytona 500 on February 2, 2020. The event will be known as the “Podium eSports Daytona 500 presented by Sim Motorsports.”
The winner of the Podium eSports Daytona 500 will also win a Sim-Lab rig courtesy of Sim Motorsports. The rig is valued at $549.
“Sim Motorsports is excited to bring Sim-Lab’s line of high-quality cockpits and accessories to the United States, and we are excited to announce our launch with a group like Podium eSports,” said Sim Motorsports’ owner Chris Iten. “After seeing the scope of last year’s Podium eSports Daytona 500, we didn’t hesitate to partner with Podium eSports for this year’s edition of the race.” Sim Motorsports’ website, www.simmotorsports.com, will relaunch at the end of January.
The Podium eSports Daytona 500 returns in 2020 as iRacing’s largest fixed-setup tournament-style Daytona 500 event. Time Trials will be held on the evening of January 31, with the two fastest cars locking themselves into the front row for the feature race.
Qualifying Day for the Podium eSports Daytona 500 returns on Saturday, February 1, as drivers will race their way through one of eight heat races, two last-chance qualifiers and two duels to set the grid for the feature race. In 2019, over 170 drivers competed on Qualifying Day for 43 starting spots.
The Podium eSports Daytona 500 presented by Sim Motorsports will be held on February 2, 2020. The green flag will fly at 1:30 p.m. ET, and will use the Beta UI’s daytime transition capabilities. It will be run in-sim at the same time as it will be run in real life. The inaugural Podium eSports Daytona 500 paid over $7,500 in prize money.
Every event of Podium eSports Speedweeks will be broadcast on the Podium eSports Twitch channel, which can be found at twitch.tv/podiumesports/.
The Podium eSports Daytona 500 costs $30 to enter. For more information on the event, including the event rulebook and registration forms, visit www.podiumesports.com/daytona-500.
Podium eSports Speedweeks Calendar
Date
Car
Track
Laps
Entry
Purse
January 27
Dirt Sprint Car – 360
Volusia Speedway Park
30 (heat format)
Free
N/A
January 28
Super Late Model
New Smyrna Speedway
125
$5
$100 paying to top five
January 29
NASCAR K&N Chevrolet Impala
Daytona International Speedway – 2007
80
$10
Charity race
January 30
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Daytona International Speedway
100
$10
$200 paying to top 10
January 31
Daytona 500 Time Trial Night
Daytona International Speedway
2
$30 (for entire weekend)
N/A
February 1
Daytona 500 Qualifying Day
Daytona International Speedway
20/30/60
$30 (for entire weekend)
N/A
February 2
The Second Annual Podium eSports Daytona 500
Daytona International Speedway
200
$30 (for entire weekend)
TBD
2020 Podium eSports Daytona 500 Schedule
Date
Time
Session
Number of Laps
In-Sim Time
January 31
9:00 p.m. ET
Qualifying
2
Night
February 1
1:00 p.m. ET
Heat 1
20
Afternoon
February 1
1:45 p.m. ET
Heat 2
20
Afternoon
February 1
2:30 p.m. ET
Heat 3
20
Afternoon
February 1
3:15 p.m. ET
Heat 4
20
Afternoon
February 1
4:00 p.m. ET
Heat 5
20
Afternoon
February 1
4:45 p.m. ET
Heat 6
20
Afternoon
February 1
5:30 p.m. ET
Heat 7
20
Afternoon
February 1
6:15 p.m. ET
Heat 8
20
Afternoon
February 1
7:00 p.m. ET
LCQ 1
30
Late Afternoon
February 1
8:00 p.m. ET
LCQ 1
30
Late Afternoon
February 1
9:00 p.m. ET
Duel 1
60
Night
February 1
10:30 p.m. ET
Duel 2
60
Night
February 2
1:30 p.m. ET
Race
200
February 2, 1:30 p.m.
About Podium eSports Podium eSports, home of the best broadcasts in sim racing, launched in January 2019. Podium eSports uses the iRacing motorsports simulation to deliver the most entertaining competition on the service. In its first year, Podium eSports earned over 40,000 views from 300+ hours of content. Podium eSports has also partnered with the Porsche Club of America and the CARS Tour to develop the CARS eSport Tour and the Porsche Club of America Sim Racing Series. Podium eSports races are broadcast live on the Podium eSports Network, which can be found at twitch.tv/podiumesports. For more information, visit www.podiumesports.com.
