WATCH: NASCAR Heat 5 Ultimate Summer Showdown, Race 1, LIVE

Capping off a week that’s been filled with plenty of eNASCAR happenings, the NASCAR Heat 5 Ultimate Summer Showdown will round out the virtual play when it all kicks off at Darlington Raceway on Thursday night – the first of four events live on Traxion.GG via YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

Registration for the first race began on 30th April, and after a week of open qualifier races, the two-console split field has been whittled down to 24 drivers apiece. Two drivers (Cody Giles and Timothy Moore) will be competing in both the Xbox and PlayStation races.

Virtual racers will be competing for a $5,000 prize as well as a BenQ monitor from the championship’s partner, while there are also smaller cash prizes for the runners up.

For the first event of the series, the races will be 55 laps each, and following the conclusion of both races, the registration for the qualifiers will open at midnight for the second event at Texas Motor Speedway.  

2020-2021 WINTER HEAT SERIES RECAP 

The Ultimate Summer Showdown is the second special series following the conclusion of the second season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League. The first series, the Winter Heat Series, also saw four events for both Xbox and PlayStation drivers with a champion crowned on both consoles. 

PlayStation driver Maxwell Castro and Xbox driver Justin Brooks were victorious in the Movember 50 at Dover Int’l Speedway on 22^nd November.  

The second event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Holiday 60, saw Brooks victorious on Xbox again while Cody Giles took the win for PlayStation.  

The New Year’s Resolution 70 went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course where Castro collected his second PlayStation victory of the series, while the 2020 eNASCAR Heat Pro League Champion Daniel Buttafuoco took the victory for the Xbox side. 

Finally, two champions were crowned at Daytona Int’l Speedway in the Valentine’s Day 80. For the Xbox crowd, Luis Zaiter capitalized on ongoing drama between Brooks and Buttafuoco to win the race and the championship. On PlayStation, not to be swept completely by eNASCAR Heat Pro League drivers in the series, Chase Williamson took a push from Jason Mitchell to hold the lead over Joey Stone on the final lap for the title. 

All those drivers have re-qualified for the first race in the Ultimate Summer Showdown. 

XBOX LINEUP STACKED WITH PRO DRIVERS 

In the 24-driver field for the first event, nine of those drivers have participated in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League in either of the first two seasons. Headlining the field is the rivalry between Brooks and Buttafuoco, while two drivers who have wheeled the eNHPL Roush Fenway No. 6, both Casey Masser and Nick Walker, will also be in attendance.  

The Winter Heat Champion, Ganassi Gaming’s Zaiter will be in the field, while Giles will be pulling double duty for Wood Brothers Gaming. JR Motorsports’ Tyler Dohar, Jose Ruiz from the former Leavine Family Gaming team, and Matthew Heale from Gibbs Gaming will also be in attendance. 

Zaiter grabbed the pole position for the race and will look to defend his Winter Heat Series title. Here’s how the Xbox race will line up: 

Xbox Qualifying Results
Place	Time	Name	Gamer Tag	Car
1	28.375	Luis Zaiter	CGM x Rose	42 – eNHPL
2	28.377	Justin Brooks	mrTRACKBAR33	37 – eNHPL
3	28.426	Daniel Buttafuoco	LukyDog385	13 – eNHPL
4	28.473	Cody Giles	XXFluffyxX2	16 – eNHPL
5	28.495	Timothy Moore	Word Burton	77
6	28.529	Elijah White	TheAviator1024	12
7	28.536	Tom Flitcroft	tomtomflitty	20
8	28.602	Jacob Brauer	DocHudson8818	2
9	28.607	Casey Masser	| Asylumzs |	6
10	28.666	Jeremy Nobles	MB1day RockyTop	17
11	28.679	Jordan Bane	Baner95888	19
12	28.699	James Holtzer	BIGJAWNxPA	9
13	28.713	Matthew Heale	RowdyMatt51	51 – eNHPL
14	28.749	Tyler Dohar	JRM Dohar88	88
15	28.768	Drew Jewah	DrewLMAO	14
16	28.773	Nick Walker	wowTHATSgarbage	11
17	28.816	Anthony Lord	MrSlideJob1996	18
18	28.843	Austin Green	Ace Sniper130	3
19	29.038	Jeff Noe	STOUT WHISKEY	66
20	N/A	Cody Kelley	Rocket5x	48
21	N/A	Josh Taylor	Amour Smoke	41
22	N/A	Jose Ruiz	JOSE 95x	95 – eNHPL
23	N/A	Mitchell Kelley	Tac2488	24
24	N/A	Erick Santiago	Ecs25	8

PLAYSTATION FIELD HAS LESS PRO INFLUENCE AND NEWER WINNER POTENTIAL 

It’s only fitting that since the PlayStation field had a non-Pro League champion back during the Winter Heat Series that there would be more varied talent on the PlayStation side to start off the new series. Defending Winter Heat Champion and the youngest driver to make it this far, Chase Williamson returns to the fold for another go at a title. 

For the Pro League talent, Ganassi Gaming’s Castro will be in the starting lineup alongside Josh Harbin, formerly with Leavine Family Gaming. They’ll be joined by JR Motorsports’ Joe Gornick, Petty Esports’ Mike Brass, former RCR Esports driver Joey Stone, and once again for Wood Brothers Gaming, double-duty Giles. Timothy Moore is also pulling double duty and will be driving the No. 77 in both races. 

With Williamson also attempting to defend his Winter Heat title by winning the PlayStation pole position, here’s how they will start on Thursday night: 

PS4 Qualifying Results
Place	Time	Name	Gamer Tag	Car
1	28.377	Chase Williamson	Itsyourbrochase	78
2	28.402	Joe Gornick	JRM_Gornick7	88
3	28.458	Tim Moore	WordBurton	77
4	28.503	Joey Stone	Sloppy_Joe_YT	24
5	28.511	Maxwell Castro	MaxBoost27	1 – eNHPL
6	28.55	Cody Giles	xX_Fluffy_Xx2	16 – eNHPL
7	28.575485	Mike Braas	MikeRPM44	44 – eNHPL
8	28.575485	Derrick Berryman	BADFAST43	43
9	28.58	Chris Perkey	ThatManPerkey	14
10	28.598	Tyler McMurter	TyMac11	20
11	28.603	Thomas Cohick	JCR_Clashin04	12
12	28.607	Chase Durheim	Chasing_you33	3
13	28.611	Josh Harbin	ThAbEaR_95	95 – eNHPL
14	28.638	Jordan Dworaczyk	JCR_JWOWisBACK	41
15	28.644	Mathew Montgomery	Coach-Mat	10
16	28.655	Matt Smith	FlashNine	21
17	28.655	Joe West	jaw2131	48
18	28.671	Keith Pittman	FRR_True_Death77	11
19	28.693	Grant Salzano	Salzano14	00
20	28.745	Adam Isn	adamjammer9	18
21	28.7482	Willis Young	BDR-BeaR24	9
22	28.7489	Daniel Basse	DBdabest20	8
23	N/A	Isaac Smallwood	ColaMotorsports	38
24	N/A	Forrest Hamilton	Grizzly0924_	51

2021 Ultimate Summer Showdown open qualifiers schedule 

Darlington Raceway: April 30, 2021 (12:01 a.m. ET) – May 6, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET) 

Texas Motor Speedway: May 21, 2021 (12:01 a.m. ET) – May 27, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET) 

Pocono Raceway: June 11, 2021 (12:01 a.m. ET) – June 17, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET) 

Atlanta Motor Speedway: July 2, 2021 (12:01 a.m. ET) – July 8, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET) 

2021 Ultimate Summer Showdown race schedule 

Darlington Raceway: 20th May 1, 8 pm ET, 55 Laps (+2 Pace Laps) 

Texas Motor Speedway: 10th June, 8 pm ET,60 Laps (+2 Pace Laps) 

Pocono Raceway: 1st July, 8 pm ET,20 Laps (+2 Pace Laps) 

Atlanta Motor Speedway: 22nd July, 8 pm ET,60 Laps (+2 Pace Laps) 

Watch the live events, starting tonight, on the Traxion.GG YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels.