NTT IndyCar Series to kick off iRacing Challenge on March 18th

Three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Just one month before its regular-season opener, the NTT IndyCar Series announced that the second season of its iRacing Challenge would begin on Thursday, March 18th.

The three-race virtual event will be at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal, followed by Homestead-Miami Speedway on the 25th. The finale on April 1st will be determined by a fan vote that will take place between March 12th and 15th.

The first season of the IndyCar iRacing Series was very popular

The INDYCAR Vice President of Marketing SJ Luedtke spoke about the popularity of the first season of the IndyCar iRacing Series in a press release.

“The first season of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge definitely filled a competitive void that our drivers were missing last spring. It captured many entertaining moments and helped set the stage for the return to competition on the track in real life," read SJ Luedtke's statement.

"Season 2 will undoubtedly double down on those fun, colorful moments, highlighting the personalities of our athletes and get our fans ready for the green flag on our 2021 season in Birmingham, Alabama," concluded the statement.

Whoops... we got ahead of ourselves. Can't wait for the season to start! @iRacing begins next week. #INDYCARChallenge https://t.co/I4Wnjn14ze
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 11, 2021

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The iRacing Challenge will have an all-star lineup of IndyCar drivers involved. The drivers are listed below:

Josef Newgarden, two-time IndyCar champion
Takuma Sato, defending Indianapolis 500 winner
Ryan Hunter-Reay, a former series champion and Indy 500 winner
Simon Pagenaud, a former series champion and Indy 500 winner
Will Power, a former series champion and Indy 500 winner
Felix Rosenqvist, 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year
Scott McLaughlin, three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion
Romain Grosjean, Formula 1 veteran

Additionally, race winners Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter will be joined by Conor Daly and youngsters Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou. Each week also will feature a driver from the Road to Indy IndyCar ladder system.

Read more: Romain Grosjean is back in a race car for the first time since his fiery F1 crash

In honor of Women's History Month we are interviewing members of the INDYCAR family that have been pioneers in breaking barriers.

Today, INDYCAR Radio Network's @katie_kiel had the pleasure of catching up with @SarahFisher.

Watch: https://t.co/A5kpODLXqy#INDYCAR // #WHM pic.twitter.com/jNYik3c9br
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 11, 2021

Each race will be streamed live on IndyCar.com, IndyCar’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and the iRacing YouTube Channel. Drivers’ accounts will also be available for streaming. The March 18th event will begin at 6:30 p.m. (ET).

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The NTT IndyCar Series will begin its 2021 campaign on April 18th at Barber Motorsports Park. It is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. (ET) start on NBC.