The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series kicks off May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. iRacing has confirmed the full 40-driver field, with 20 official teams competing for a $500,000 prize pool across 13 races. Defending two-time champion Steven Wilson returns with Spire Motorsports, chasing a third consecutive title that no driver has ever won in series history.
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Two New Teams Join the 2026 Grid
Two new organizations join the Championship Series in 2026, filling the spots left by Six Karma and KHI eSports. TC Esports arrives backed by Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian goalkeeper for Real Madrid and a noted sim racing enthusiast. Rick Ware Racing, meanwhile, brings its NASCAR Cup Series experience to the virtual grid for the first time. Together, both teams add fresh energy to a field that has competed at a high level for several seasons.
Driver Moves and a Large Rookie Class
The off-season brought significant movement across the grid. JR Motorsports made one of the bigger roster moves, signing veterans Zack Novak and Malik Ray. Novak moves over from Channel 19, while Ray comes from Vegas Inferno. RFK Racing, however, went in a completely different direction, running two rookies in Dylan Basen and Shawn Conklin. TC Esports will line up with Matthew Morton and Jake Nichols, both of whom earned their seats through strong performances in The Money Lap Challenge.
Nine drivers will compete as Rookie of the Year contenders in their first full Championship Series season: Logan Helton, Seth Noell, Sebastian Marin, Thomas Lloyd, Dylan Basen, Shawn Conklin, Kenny Brady, Tommy Gossett, and Matthew Morton. The class is one of the largest the series has seen. In addition, several of those drivers earned their spot by coming through the Qualifying Series gauntlet.
The Coca-Cola 160 from Charlotte Motor Speedway opens the season on May 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET, with pre-race coverage starting at 7:45 p.m. ET. The full season runs 13 races through October 13. It concludes with the Championship 4 Finale at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte, where four drivers will compete for the 2026 title.
