CONCORD, NC — An hour before Monday night’s inaugural World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model iRacing Invitational from The Dirt Track at Charlotte on DIRTVision, a tweet rocked Dirt Late Model fans in social media. Legendary Scott Bloomquist announced he was racing.
With only a few hours to get used to his new setup, Bloomquist made the Morton Buildings Feature, which Mike McKinney won in a NOS Energy Drink-sponsored car. Nearly 50 star drivers from across multiple disciplines competed in the unique iRacing Invitational, but the addition of Bloomquist added a whole new dimension …
LETS GO!!
Guess who's joining the @WoOLateModels @iRacing party?
Black sunshine goes #WoOiRacing TONIGHT.
Catch it live on @dirtvision at 7pm ET.@Bloomquist_0 @SBR_TeamZero @Team0RaceCars @MortonBuildings #GoTeamDrydene #TeamZero #NoWeakLinks pic.twitter.com/xkCjZnp0Gc— Scott Bloomquist Racing (@SBR_TeamZero) March 30, 2020
Practice session just ended! Who thinks @Bloomquist_0 will win the race tonight @TheDirtTrack? Make sure to tune in on @dirtvision !! #NoWeakLinks pic.twitter.com/H1IgA4JcwW
— Scott Bloomquist Racing (@SBR_TeamZero) March 30, 2020
The stout field included NASCAR stars like Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe, NHRA champions Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon, and a bevy of dirt racing experts, like three-time DIRTcar Summer Nationals and DIRTcar Late Model national champion Bobby Pierce, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series 2019 top rookie Carson Macedo, 2018 Prairie DIRT Classic Champion Devin Moran, last week’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink iRacing Invitational winner Logan Seavey (in the Rocket Chassis #1 House Car), current DIRTcar Nationals Champion Nick Hoffman, and dozens more.
Here’s the scheme for tonight’s @WoOLateModels @iRacing Pro inv. @NosEnergyDrink @WorldofOutlaws #WoOiracing pic.twitter.com/bZh1DdfHjl
— Bobby Pierce (@BobbyPierce32) March 30, 2020
IT’S RACE DAY! 🏁
Back-to-back nights of World of Outlaws? Yes, please! Tonight Carson & Kyle will compete in the @WoOLateModels @iRacing Invitational!
📍: @TheDirtTrack
📺: @dirtvision
0️⃣2️⃣: @carson_macedo
5️⃣7️⃣: @KyleLarsonRacin
🕖: 7:00pm ET pic.twitter.com/PZwqVtytEg— Kyle Larson Racing (@KLRteam) March 30, 2020
@dirtvision pic.twitter.com/40RKkaPQAM
— Devin Moran (@devinmoran99) March 30, 2020
Well, wasn't planning on racing tonight but got the last minute call from @Rocket_Chassis, so we will be running Charlotte tonight with @WoOLateModels! Have some big shoes to fill, so hopefully we can put their race car up front. pic.twitter.com/202t3Gs8MP
— Logan Seavey (@Logan_Seavey) March 30, 2020
Best of luck to @Nick_Hoffman2 tonight with the @WoOLateModels in his @Team0RaceCars! @NautiPine @foxracingshox @DirtDraft @NASCARTechUTI @dirtvision pic.twitter.com/Maxv55DS9b
— Team Zero Race Cars (@TeamZeroRaceCar) March 30, 2020
Then, the green flag dropped. It was wild. Bloomquist didn’t disappoint for having very little iRacing seat time. The action was fast and furious, with everyone trying to get to the front as quickly as possible. For some it worked out, for others, well, not so much. Clearly, the addition of Bloomquist had an impact on his fellow competitors.
That was the most nerve racking 8 laps of my life.
— Kevin Swindell (@KevinSwindell) March 30, 2020
I guess if I’m gonna get beat by someone in a late model Bloomer is a good one… https://t.co/VLi7IOaG0u
— Chase Briscoe (@ChaseBriscoe5) March 30, 2020
I’ve beat @Bloomquist_0 in a race…I can die happy. https://t.co/Yw01MoJ4zz
— Mike McKinney (@Mike_McKinney) March 30, 2020
POST RACE REPORT!
See what @Bloomquist_0 has to say about his first @iRacing experience tonight with the @WoOLateModels!Our @Team0RaceCars was fast! Thanks to all who tuned in on @dirtvision!
As always, thank you for allowing us to do this @TeamDrydene!#WoOiRacing pic.twitter.com/g7mcJU5k45— Scott Bloomquist Racing (@SBR_TeamZero) March 31, 2020
I have been doing this stuff for a long time…was very impressed to see how quick Scott was able to adapt and how open he is to this world.
Will forever be a great guy for our sport. https://t.co/LCSkOj5lt1
— Mike McKinney (@Mike_McKinney) March 31, 2020
Well..I was terrible tonight in the @WorldofOutlaws @iRacing event. No excuses. Crew chief (me of course) missed the setup. Glad I am normally around way smarter people than myself to do that kind of stuff! I can’t thank @DIRTcar_Racing and @WorldofOutlaws enough for the invite!
— Justin Allgaier (@J_Allgaier) March 31, 2020
I’m glad @LSchuchart1s let off for me in the heat.. and also I didn’t let off for @J_Allgaier 😂… that was fun @iRacing @WoOLateModels … also good job to @Mike_McKinney … that was fun. pic.twitter.com/GHtlkPNlHa
— Chris Ferguson (@ChrisFerguson22) March 31, 2020
Big win tonight with the @WoOLateModels in the @iRacing Invitational! Our @NosEnergyDrink machine was fueled up!
Thanks to WoO/WRG for this event. pic.twitter.com/ZSrEI3ffKg
— Mike McKinney (@Mike_McKinney) March 31, 2020
The flexibility of DIRTVision was also apparent in the way fans consumed the race, including a few who opted to watch everything from a computer monitor to a big screen TV.
https://twitter.com/Jetstar9er/status/1244774818563702784
.@WoOLateModels night on @dirtvision! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/Eg0p1V70fV
— Cole Gross (@CGross23) March 30, 2020
SLIDE JOB FOR THE WIN! 👀@iRacing x @WoOLateModels #AmericasHomeForRacingpic.twitter.com/Y0S1kS0P9M
— The Dirt Track (@TheDirtTrack) March 31, 2020
Fun night watching @Mike_McKinney and @BobbyPierce32 on “track” tonight.
Thanks @iRacing & Outlaws for keeping us all entertained and congrats McKinney on your win!#GetAfterIt // @WorldofOutlaws https://t.co/olJJMJMXf0
— NOS Energy Drink (@NosEnergyDrink) March 31, 2020
Finally, the media reports started rolling in congratulating McKinney for the $1,000 victory …
They were banging digital doors for the win on The Dirt Track at Charlotte! Watch: https://t.co/KArbVkGH3D
— Racing News (@RacingNewsCo) March 31, 2020
NEWS: @Mike_McKinney WINS the inaugural @WoOLateModels @iRacing Invitational over a photo finish for second between @KaedenCornell and @winger_ashton!@iRacing | @WoOLateModels
— Jacob Seelman (@JacobSeelman77) March 31, 2020
Congratulations @Mike_McKinney 💻 🏁 https://t.co/vlDVAM25Kl
— PRN's At The Track (@PRNAtTheTrack) March 31, 2020
