FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas Motor Speedway isn’t hosting its opening race weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. At least in real life.
But TMS will be featured as the virtual home track for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 is scheduled for noon on Sunday and will be broadcast on Fox, Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports app.
And guess what? Fans can gamble on it.
An online sports betting website, BetOnline.ag, is taking wagers on everything from if there’s a lead change in the last 10 laps to the length of the national anthem to the length of the pre-race prayer.
And, of course, you can bet on who will win the race. Ty Majeski, a NASCAR truck series driver, is the favorite with 3-to-1 odds.
Former racing great Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second at last week’s iRace, has 7-to-1 odds. Denny Hamlin, who won last weekend’s race, is at 8-to-1, while veteran Joey Logano is at 25-to-1.
If you’re looking for a dark horse, why not Texas native Bobby Labonte? The NASCAR Hall of Famer has never won at his home state’s track, but maybe this is the race. He’s listed at 50-to-1.
The first eNASCAR race did fairly well with TV ratings, drawing in 903,000 viewers on FS1 last Sunday. That’s lower than a typical NASCAR race, but it did rank as the highest-rated esports TV program in history.
TMS is encouraging fans to watch the race and doing its own eWatch-N-Win event on the track’s Facebook and Twitter pages. It’ll challenge fans’ knowledge of the track’s history and they can win prizes, including TMS-themed autographed memorabilia.
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TMS announced it’ll host a blood drive next Wednesday, April 1, at the Lone Star Condominium Clubhouse (3575 Lone Star Circle, Fort Worth, Texas 76177) located just off Turn 2.
The track is partnering with the American Red Cross North Texas Region and The NASCAR Foundation to hold it. The drive is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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