NASCAR on TV this week

Keelan Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Among Talladega iRacing Pro Invitational Entries

When you think of a second-generation NASCAR driver, you probably don’t think of the name “Harvick”.

That will change Wednesday, April 21.

The entry list for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Talladega Superspeedway was revealed Tuesday evening (April 20) and featured several guest invites in addition to the chartered entries.

Among them is Keelan Harvick.

The eight-year-old son of 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick will be on the same virtual high banks as his father, along with 38 others representing the best in stock car racing. The real-life go-kart racer is on the entry list as the driver of the No. 62 for the iRacing feature televised on FOX Sports 1.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return in the No. 88 after failing to qualify in the season-opening event race on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt surface, as he has been given a Promoter’s Provisional.

Timmy Hill returns as well, using the Pro Invitational Past Winner Provisional, thanks to his victory at virtual Texas Motor Speedway last year. This time, instead of sitting in for Brad Keselowski in the Team Penske No. 2 following his initial exclusion, Hill will be sporting his usual No. 66 MBM Motorsports entry.

Clint Bowyer also returns in the No. 79 entry with a Promoter’s Provisional.

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck series driver and NBC Sports analyst Jesse Iwuji won the Fan Vote Award and will be participating in the No. 99 entry.

2021 iRacing Pro Invitational Round 2 Entry List

Kurt Busch and Chase Briscoe will be participating in a tire test at Nashville Speedway and will not be able to compete on Wednesday. (UPDATE: As of Wednesday morning, Briscoe is now entered in the event.)

Christopher Bell will have Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs on standby to wheel the virtual No. 20 Toyota. The rest of the entries will comprise of Cup teams who own a charter, which guarantees them a starting spot on the grid each week.

Ryan Preece, whose full-time No. 37 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet doesn’t have a charter, will not be a part of the event. Preece was in the season opener because he filled in for Kevin Harvick.

Coverage for the virtual event will begin Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.

Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT

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