The switch from real-life racing to esports has been increasingly popular with viewers — NBC reports that last weekend’s iRacing Indycar Challenge at MIS brought in 25 percent more viewers than the first event — but slightly tricky for racers. Not because of the difference in the action, but in the way people can see and hear everything you do.
Last week Bubba Wallace lost a company that sponsored his real and virtual race car after dropping out of a race when someone wrecked him 11 laps in, and now fellow driver Kyle Larson has been fired from his spot driving the #42 for Chip Ganassi Racing after uttering a racial slur during another iRacing event. He was apparently checking his microphone connection with his spotter and said “You can’t hear me? Hey (n-word)” while he was part of the live broadcast.