So apparently NASCAR is hosting an esports event featuring real drivers in a simulated series of races in the racing sim title iRacing. Readers will recall that this sort of thing isn’t unique with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; many motorsports events are being held digitally. It’s during one such race that NASCAR drivers Bubba Wallace and Clint Bowyer had a bit of contact mid-event, causing Wallace to literally ragequit the event.
All things considered, having a crash — accidental or otherwise — in a video game is significantly better than one in a real-life NASCAR event, since the repercussions are not quite as dangerous or dire. That said, it certainly appears in the embedded videos below that Wallace was much more invested in the matter than Bowyer, though Bowyer’s seemingly retaliatory contact is what caused both drivers to wipe out.
The ragequit wasn’t without its fallout for Wallace, however; though Wallace would later make light of the matter, it also appears that a follow-up tweet features a response from Wallace’s sponsor Blue Emu confirming the end of his sponsorship. Woopsie.
"C'MON, @BubbaWallace!"- @ClintBowyer pic.twitter.com/Zqne4HIPa5
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 5, 2020
