Paul Jeffrey
Premium
iRacing.com have Tweeted a new preview image from the upcoming dirt oval update due to hit the sim, this time giving us a first look at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on the Eldora Speedway dirt oval.
With dirt racing marking quite a departure from the usual iRacing staple of American and European road and oval content, many iRacing fans and curious onlookers are very excited to see how the developers represent this curious American form of motorsports. Those of us based in Europe are perhaps somewhat less aware of the world of short oval dirt track racing, but in American the sport is big business and commands an impressive following throughout the country. With many different national championships and a wide variety of cars and tracks on which to drive, dirt oval racing is quite literally the "grass routes" of motorsport across the pond.
In order to capitalise on what is a mainly US centric user base, iRacing took the bold decision to incorporate loose surface racing within their simulation all the way back at the beginning of last year, leaving many fans to wonder if the announcement was an elaborate April Fool's joke on account of the April 1st announcement date. However since the initial reveal iRacing have proven they are super serious about bringing in this new (for iRacing) form of motorsport to the service, and judging by the well advanced preview shots it appears the originally estimated Q1 2017 release date is indeed on schedule.
Alongside the previewed Eldora track, fans can also look forward to the previously announced Williams Grove Speedway and an undisclosed Rallycross track to team up with the also announced, but not yet previewed, Ford Fiesta WRX machine.
The upcoming dirt update is more than just a case of reduced grip and increased dust. iRacing plan to have fully dynamic and deformable racing surfaces on the dirt ovals, giving you the ability to search out the wet mud for better traction during a race and work to avoid the dynamically created groves as cars displace the loose surface and alter the racing line. The new update should prove to be a massive technological achievement for the team over in America and it will be fascinating to see how things progress when users get their hands on the new content.
With no exact release schedule or anticipated launch date other than Q1 2017, all that remains for sim racers to do is sit back and wait to see what happens next. I'm looking forward to it personally, and the update might even tempt me back to the service for a short time to give it a try.
Previously we have already been treated to several preview images from some of the other upcoming direct content, which we will briefly recap for you below:
Dirt Late Model
Late model race cars are the highest class of local stock car racing vehicles at many race tracks in the United States and Canada. Some regional and lower national-level series race in late models.
Late model stock cars are a product of the Carolinas and are the premier class raced at local and regional tracks in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. These purpose-built racecars weigh around 3,100 pounds and utilize both factory-designed crate and custom-built racing engines. The power plants produce over 400 horsepower underneath a fiberglass body built to withstand the rigors of short track racing without the weight of stock body panels.*
Sprint Car
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Sprint cars have a very high power-to-weight ratio, at a weight of approximately 1,400 pounds (640 kg) (including the driver) for a 410 Sprint car, power outputs of 900 horsepower (670 kW) to 1,100 horsepower (820 kW) are commonplace for these machines, which is around 140-340 more horsepower than a 2014 Formula One engine. Typically they are powered by a naturally aspirated American V8 with an engine displacement of 410 cubic inches (6.7L) capable of engine speeds of 9000 rpm. Depending on the mechanical setup (engine, gearing, shocks, etc.) and the track layout these cars achieve speeds in excess of 160 mph.*
Dirt Street Car
"True" stock car racing, which consists of only street vehicles that can be bought by general public, is sometimes now called "street stock", "pure stock", "hobby stock", "showroom stock", or "U-car" racing. In 1972, SCCA started its first showroom stock racing series, with a price ceiling on the cars of $3,000. Some modern showroom stock racing allows safety modifications done on showroom stock cars.*
* All descriptions of the three dirt racing classes have been taken courtesy of Wikipedia, because I'm British and know very little of these things! Sorry!
iRacing.com is a premier online only racing simulation with ranked career progression facilities and caters for a wide range of motorsport disciplines from around the world. The game is exclusive to PC and can be purchased now on Steam. Additional content is charged at further cost. The first dirt content is expected Q1 2017.
iRacing has its very own sub forum here at RaceDepartment, a place where you can go and discuss the simulation with your fellow iRacing enthusiasts and share your own custom made setups for the range of vehicles within the sim. Head over to our sub forum now and take part in the discussion.
Looking forward to dirt oval action in iRacing? Do you think the proposed Rallycross portion of the sim will be able to compete with such titles as DiRT Rally and DiRT 4? Which type of dirt vehicle are you most looking forward to in iRacing? Let us know in the comments section below!
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