This Sunday would have been a typical Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. It was expected to be filled with fans and drivers from all over ready to watch some high speed Nascar racing. Instead, the race was moved to the virtual world.
IRacing has brought racing fans the sport during a time where sports aren't really happening, and what makes it even better is that it has allowed former drivers to come out of retirement to race.
One of those drivers includes Nascar Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte. Labonte is a member of the 2020 Hall of Fame class and is one of 27 drivers to win all three of Nascar's National Series. Now he's using his skills to race in his own home.
"It really is kind of cool to have my neighbor come out and say, 'Did you do that in your house?' And I say, 'yeah I sure did." Labonte said.
Labonte comes with 21 Cup Series wins, and one Cup Series Championship from 2000. His older brother, Terry, is also a Hall of Fame inductee and a two-time Cup Series Champion.
This week Labonte prepared to race against some of Nascar's best drivers for Talladega weekend. He said virtual racing does more to him than he ever expected, and that the experience is about as real as it can get.
"I get out of it and I'm spent. I'm like phew, it was pressure packed for an hour at least so there's a lot of real things in it and it's pretty exciting for us."
He even added that preparing for a virtual race is just about the same as preparing for a regular, in-person race. Practice helps in every sort of way.
"I tried one thing and picked up a tenth of a second, and that led to another tenth of a second, and it led to better things so practice is the biggest thing that I see as a key factor of it."