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eNASCAR Heat Pro League Watkins Glen Advance

Matthew Selby, a.k.a. ‘Slick’ and Brandyn Gritton, a.k.a. ‘Hot Rod’ Ready for First Road-Course Race of 2020 eNASCAR Heat Pro League Season

Details:

  • Event: eNASCAR Heat Pro League (Round 2 of 14)
  • Series: NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series
  • Time/Date: 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 29
  • Location: Virtual Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile, seven-turn road course)
  • Distance: 24 laps (58.8 miles)

Where to Watch:

Overview:

  • Stewart-Haas eSports fields two drivers in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League – one for Xbox One and the other for PlayStation 4 (PS4).
  • Matthew Selby, a.k.a. “Slick” (SHRe Slick 4), competes on the Xbox One platform, and Brandyn Gritton, a.k.a. “Hot Rod” (SHRe_HotRod_14), races on the PS4 version. Selby is new to the team in 2020 while this is Gritton’s second season.
  • Both Stewart-Haas eSports drivers scored strong finishes in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League season opener April 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Selby finished fifth in the Xbox One race and Gritton came home sixth in the PS4 race.
  • It was Selby’s first career eNASCAR Heat Pro League start.
  • It was Gritton’s 10th career eNASCAR Heat Pro League top-10.
  • Stewart-Haas eSports enters Watkins Glen seventh in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League championship standings with 37 points, 23 behind the series-leading JTG Daugherty Throttlers.
  • Gritton finished fourth in last year’s eNASCAR Heat Pro League race at Watkins Glen. He led six laps in his lone career start at The Glen.
  • This round of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League at Watkins Glen features the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series. The NASCAR Cup Series was featured in the season opener at Homestead. As such, Selby and Gritton have swapped their Ford Mustangs for Ford F-150s in tonight’s race.

Matthew Selby, a.k.a. “Slick”, driver of the No. 4 Ford Performance Racing School Ford F-150 on Xbox One:

“Watkins Glen is a pretty technical track and it all comes down to setup and if you can hang on to it. I’ve raced at The Glen in other esports series, but haven’t won there yet – looking to change that tonight. It’s definitely a race you don’t want to miss. It’ll be an exciting one for the fans and we’re ready to go with our Ford Performance Racing School F-150.”

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Selby is new to Stewart-Haas eSports, but he is not new to sim racing. The 17-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, has been sim racing for 10 years, belying his status as an eNASCAR Heat Pro League rookie.


Brandyn Gritton, a.k.a. “Hot Rod”, driver of the No. 14 DEKALB Ford F-150 on PS4:  

“We’ve put in a lot of work this week to prepare for Watkins Glen. It’s a challenging layout that tends to force a lot of mistakes. Staying focused is key, as is having some luck. We’ve got a strong DEKALB Ford and I believe we can get the job done.”

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Gritton helped Stewart-Haas eSports win last year’s inaugural eNASCAR Heat Pro League championship, and he returned in 2020 to defend the team’s title. The 24-year-old from Kokomo, Indiana, led the league in wins (4), poles (7) and laps led (219) in 2019. Gritton’s victories came at Bristol Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.

Background:

  • The eNASCAR Heat Pro League is the first-ever console-based NASCAR eSports league and it races on NASCAR Heat 4, the latest game in the NASCAR Heat franchise.
  • The eNASCAR Heat Pro League features a 14-race schedule comprised of virtual racetracks from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series. The four-month schedule is divided into three, four-race segments, followed by a wild-card race before culminating with a championship race.
  • Segment No. 1: April 22 NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, April 29 Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International, May 6 Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway and May 13 Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
  • Segment No. 2: May 20 Truck Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, May 27 Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, June 3 Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway and June 10 Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Segment No. 3: June 17 Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway, June 24 Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, July 1 Xfinity Series race at Road America and July 8 Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • The wild-card race will be a Cup Series race July 15 at Daytona International Speedway with the championship race also being a Cup Series event on a TBD date at a TBD track.
  • This is the second season of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League and Stewart-Haas eSports is the reigning champion after winning last year’s inaugural title.