Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup Draws Over 175,000 Views

More than two dozen of the world’s top sim racers, off-road champions, and crossover motorsport superstars took to the virtual track on Saturday for the inaugural Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire. When all was said and done, Cam Pedersen held off intense challenges from real-world off-road racing veterans like Mitchell deJong and Connor Barry to best the field in all four races, earning $500 for the win, a $500 bonus for sweeping the event, and a free set of General Tires.
 
“The first-ever Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire was a massive success,” said JBeS owner and event organizer Jim Beaver. “We had a world-class lineup of drivers from just about every racing discipline imaginable, and everyone put on an incredible show. Thanks to everybody who worked so hard behind the scenes to get this event going, all of the drivers for showing up and giving it their all, and all the fans who tuned in. Finally, huge congratulations to Cam—he had the event of his life on Saturday, and he’s an incredibly deserving winner!”
 
The first major short course event on iRacing, the Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire pitted drivers in a two-hour, four-race campaign that saw them alternate between Pro 2 and Pro 4 trucks at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and Wild West Motorsports Park. The all-star entry list included action sports and rallying legend Travis Pastrana, 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi, 2016 NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps, NASCAR champion Greg Biffle, two-time Supercross champion Chad Reed, and IndyCar star Conor Daly. In addition, off-road stars like Justin Lofton, Corry Weller, Andrew Carlson, Ronnie Anderson, Seth Quintero, and Mia Chapman also competed in the premier showcase of virtual short course racing.
 
The inaugural event was crossposted on Facebook pages throughout the industry and simulcast on YouTube and Twitch. With eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series play-by-play voice Evan Posocco, longtime off-road pit reporter Tiffany Stone, and Beaver himself in the booth, the broadcast drew 175,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed short course event stream in iRacing history.
 
As for the on-track action, few drivers had anything for Pedersen, even with a mid-race competition caution in all four events. The Canadian driver held off deJong in both Pro 2 races, stared down his toughest challenge of the night from Barry in the Pro 4 race at Wild Horse Pass, and defeated fellow sim racer Dave Bodio in the Pro 4 finale from Wild West to lock up the title. deJong claimed $300 for second place in points, while Josh Edmundson took home $200 in third.
 
“The Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup was everything I could have dreamed of as a sim racer,” said Pedersen. “If someone were to have asked me in the summer of 2017 when I first started in iRacing that I would be considered as one of the top sim racers in off-road dirt on the service, then add having the privilege of racing against some of the biggest real-world motorsports names like Travis Pastrana, Chad Reed, Greg Biffle, and Alexander Rossi, I would have called you crazy. It’s not every day that racers of that level and prestige are in one place at the same moment doing something that I have had the pleasure of becoming particularly good at, which is racing the off-road pro trucks in iRacing.”
 
Podium finishers in the Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire were as follows:
 
  • Pro 2 at Wild Horse Pass: Cam Pedersen, Mitchell deJong, Josh Edmundson
  • Pro 4 at Wild Horse Pass: Cam Pedersen, Connor Barry, Josh Edmundson
  • Pro 2 at Wild West: Cam Pedersen, Mitchell deJong, Dave Bodio
  • Pro 4 at Wild West: Cam Pederson, Dave Bodio, Mitchell deJong
 
Plans for future events put on by Jim Beaver eSports will be announced in the coming weeks. JBeS’ eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series team will return to action tonight at Richmond Raceway with drivers Eric Smith and Michael Guariglia, while Bodio, defending champion Keith Jeffery, and Rob Rafferty continue to compete in the SidsView.com Modified Series on Thursday nights on Speed51. For more information on Jim Beaver eSports, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.jimbeaveresports.com.
Adam Sinclair