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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joins iRacing as Executive Director
NASCAR’s most popular driver, co-owner of JR Motorsports, and longtime sim racer Dale Earnhardt Jr has officially announced that he is joining iRacing as an executive director and part of the company’s management committee.
Official Webpage – www.iRacing.com
Through the end of his full-time stock-car racing career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. amassed 26 career victories, including the 2004 and 2014 Daytona 500s. His 26 victories tie him for 29th on NASCAR’s all-time race winners list.
He also has 13 pole positions and eight non-points wins (five in the Daytona 500 qualifying Duel, two in the Clash, and one All-Star Race victory). Even though he was sidelined for the second half of the 2016 season with a concussion, Earnhardt still managed to find success, scoring a victory in his preseason Daytona 500 qualifying Duel and earning four runner-up finishes through the first 18 races. Overall, Earnhardt has qualified for the NASCAR playoffs eight times (2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015).
Earnhardt is the only third-generation NASCAR champion, achieved when he won the 1998 and 1999 NASCAR Xfinity Series titles. He follows his legendary father Dale Earnhardt Sr., a seven-time Cup champion and winner of 76 races, and his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, the 1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion.
Press Release:
CHELMSFORD, MA (Nov. 2, 2020) – iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are pleased to announce that, effective immediately, Earnhardt Jr. will officially join iRacing as an executive director and part of the company’s management committee. The NASCAR Hall of Famer, two-time Daytona 500 winner, and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion will have a hand in numerous aspects of iRacing, from partner and community relations to user experience and development of the platform’s stock car offerings.
“We’re elated to officially welcome Dale to the iRacing team as an executive director of the company,” said iRacing owner John Henry. “For more than 20 years, Dale has been a passionate advocate of sim racing whose efforts to improve the product have dramatically shaped our direction as a company and relationships throughout the sport for the better. Through all this time, he’s never been paid a penny for his contributions. After discussions earlier this year, we’ve pursued a mutual interest in having him come on board as an official member of the company, and we look forward to continuing our growth with Dale’s guidance from years to come.”
“I’ve been a sim racer for nearly three decades and a devoted iRacing member since its beginning,” said Earnhardt. “Realizing iRacing’s potential early, its success has always been important to me. Whether it was connecting iRacing with NASCAR in 2008, making other partner introductions, developing content, laser-mapping racecars, Beta testing new technology, it has been a privilege to be a small part of iRacing’s expansion. Even more, it means the world to me to officially become part of the family. I consider Steve Myers, Tony Gardner, and Dave Kaemmer great friends with like passions. I’m excited to work with them on new partnerships and projects to continue iRacing’s meteoric growth.”
“I have been lucky to call Dale a friend for 20 years now, and professionally he has provided me opportunities to reach people and companies I never would have had access to without his help. We are very much a family at iRacing and Dale has been unofficially part of that family for a long time,” said iRacing Executive Vice President and Executive Producer Steve Myers. “To now make him an official part of the company doing what he has really been doing already is not only a positive step for iRacing, but also rewards Dale for his multiple decades of hard work in helping us build our brand and company.”
Earnhardt Jr.’s interest in sim racing dates back to the 1990s as an avid player of NASCAR games produced by iRacing predecessor Papyrus. He brokered the first meeting between iRacing and NASCAR, which was held in the JR Motorsports offices in North Carolina, and has continuously supported sim racing through his own leagues and teams. Earnhardt Jr. was the inaugural race winner in iRacing’s premier eNASCAR division back in 2010, taking the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway. The familiar JRM colors have been a consistent presence at the front of the pack this year, whether through his official eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series team or by driving in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series for real-world stars. Additional responsibilities that Earnhardt Jr. will take on in his new role at iRacing include eSports, strategy, marketing, partnerships, and licensing.
2020 has been a record-setting year for iRacing, with tens of thousands of new users joining the platform. During the spring, iRacing set the record for the six most-viewed esports telecasts of all time in the United States with the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. A diverse fleet of new content released this year has included North Wilkesboro Speedway and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, two iconic short tracks that were brought to the service in part through Earnhardt Jr.’s efforts. In addition, iRacing’s premier eNASCAR division will crown its first $100,000 champion in November, as part of a series-record $300,000 purse announced earlier this year.
