VIRTUAL WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- OK, let’s start with the full disclosure that this is assuredly not the real thing.
There was a field of 24 real-world drivers, but everything else about Saturday’s opener of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge was virtual. Sage Karam started on the pole position and stomped the field at Watkins Glen International (which had been chosen by fans in online polling).
The six-race virtual series will move to Barber Motorsports Park for an April 4 race that will take place the day before the real-world race had been scheduled -- before novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic erupted and scuttled the 2020 schedule.
WHAT DRIVERS SAID: A roundup of the postrace reaction
RESULTS: Where everyone finished
But even though there was nothing real about the 45-lap online event conducted Saturday on the 11-turn, 3.37-mile road course, the images from the race evoked the feelings of a pleasant Saturday drive at the bucolic track in western New York (thanks to iRacing’s realistic details through laser-mapping tracks).
Here’s a collection of computer-generated images (courtesy of Chris Graythen at Getty Images) that were provided by IndyCar as part of its race recap:
WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Sage Karam, driver of the #24 Wix Filters Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet, leads the field during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Will Power, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, races during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Oliver Askew, driver of the #7 Arrow Electronics Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, races during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Alexander Rossi, driver of the #27 AutoNation/NAPA Andretti Autosport Honda, races Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Jimmy Johnson Racing Chevrolet during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Simon Pagenaud, driver of the #22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, races during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - MARCH 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 United Rentals Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, leads a pack of cars during the IndyCar iRacing Challenge American Red Cross Grand Prix at virtual Watkins Glen International on March 28, 2020 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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