It’s a “Team ATL” reunion at RealTime Acura as Pumpelly joins team

By Jul 28, 2016, 8:33 AM EDT
Photo: RealTime Racing
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If you pay even the remotest bit of attention to sports car racing on social media, you’ll know Ryan Eversley and Spencer Pumpelly are part of “Team ATL” – the Atlanta-based group of drivers whose fun activities are excellent intermediaries on off weekends when they aren’t racing.

Now they’re on the same team in the Pirelli World Challenge, with Spencer Pumpelly joining for the next two World Challenge race weekends (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Utah Motorsports Complex) in the second RealTime Racing Acura TLX-GT usually driven by team principal and driver Peter “PD” Cunningham, alongside Eversley.

Cunningham’s selflessness has been shown on multiple occasions this year because he allowed Eversley his chassis at Lime Rock Park after Eversley’s car was damaged too much to repair a week earlier at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Then Eversley led a 1-2 finish for the team at Road America on the Saturday there, before delivering a second win on Sunday.

Now, Cunningham will focus on testing of the new Acura NSX GT3 in the interim, while Pumpelly steps in. Cunningham is also fresh off of just opening the new RealTime Collection Hall in Wisconsin.

“To be a part of this progression of the NSX GT3 is a tremendous opportunity. Having been the test driver in North America for the first generation NSX race car, I feel a deep connection to this project,” said Cunningham, who won 14 races for RealTime with the first iteration of the NSX. “With the new NSX coming on line, it is a very important program for Acura and I’m honored to be able to contribute. As I focus my energies on the NSX, we knew that we needed to find a top-notch driver for the TLX to bring Acura the best possible result.”

“I am thrilled to be joining RealTime Racing this weekend in Ohio and excited to become part of the Acura family,” Pumpelly enthused. “The team and brand have achieved tremendous success in the series and it’s an honor to be able to work with all the people involved. The Acura TLX is an amazing car which should do well around the tight turns of Mid-Ohio. The team has been a huge help in getting me comfortable in the car and I’m eager to get on track with it.”

It’s the Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio presented by Honda Racing weekend and will see the new NSX GT3 make its U.S. public test debut, with Peter Kox driving.

A number of photos and tweets are below.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”