iRacing now the Official Racing Game of the CARS Tour, new Late Model Stock coming in March

Finally, some confirmed bits for the upcoming 2023 iRacing Season 2 build.

While we can confirm, per the iRacing Forum, that both the Ray Race Cars Formula 1600 and the Renault Clio Cup cars are coming in Season 2 (the FF1600 being added as base content), it was also announced that there’s a new Late Model Stock Car coming to the service, and with it, a new partnership.

The scanned Late Model Stock hails from the JR Motorsports garage, one of their CARS Late Model Stock Tour entries driven by championship-winning team driven by Carson Kvapil. Not only are iRacers getting a new car, but also a new official partner as iRacing becomes the Official Racing Game of the CARS Tour.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is an Executive Director at iRacing and as of recently, a member of the ownership group of the CARS Tour together with fellow NASCAR drivers and owners Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Justin Marks, teased the announcement a few minutes before iRacing made it official on Monday.

The art used on the promotion of the car is Earnhardt Jr’s scheme from the Racetrack Revival race at North Wilkesboro Speedway last Summer. Earnhardt Jr finished third in the one-off event behind the winner, his driver Kvapil, and Mason Diaz in second.

The partnership between the CARS Tour and iRacing extends into sponsorships in the real-world racing product as well. “In real-world CARS Tour events, iRacing logos will be present on every car, and iRacing will also sponsor the Halfway Lap Leader Award at each race,” the press release read.

The new Late Model Stock Car will replace the existing Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS currently on the platform. That particular car is getting retired instead of being made “legacy” content, so those who currently own that old SS will get the new LMSC for free, but it won’t be selectable anymore.

Those looking to get the CARS Tour experience can race on many short tracks that the series visits, including Hickory Motor Speedway, South Boston Speedway, Langley Speedway and the aforementioned North Wilkesboro, which exists in the sim as a version from the 1980s.

Whether this turns into a revival of the CARS Esports Tour Series or not, a series that was around back in 2016, remains to be seen. Either way, this looks to be a gain for both the CARS Tour sanctioning body and the team behind iRacing.

Images via iRacing