iRacing just posted the full Season 2 release notes, and if you haven’t had time to sit down and read through all of it, don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for. The 2026 Season 2 build goes live March 17th at 0000 UTC, and this one packs in a lot. New cars, a new street circuit, a rebuilt track, major HUD changes, car class overhauls, rain-ready content, and AI improvements. Let me break it all down for you.
Two New Cars: Audi RS3 LMS Gen2 TCR and NASCAR Truck RAM
Let’s start with the headline content. iRacing is adding two new cars to the garage this season.
The Audi RS3 LMS Gen2 TCR is the successor to the original RS3 LMS, and it arrives with full rain capability and AI Racing support right out of the box. The Gen2 debuted at the 2021 World Touring Car Cup in real life. In fact, it went on to win TCR Model of the Year three years running and claim multiple championships worldwide. The visual refresh is based on the fourth-generation Audi RS3 road car, with a redesigned cockpit for improved ergonomics. As with all TCR machinery, the engine is largely standard production-spec. As a result, it replaces the original RS3 LMS in official iRacing events, which moves to Legacy status with a discounted price of $2.95. Additionally, customers who bought the Gen1 car recently receive iRacing Credits back: 100% if purchased within 180 days, 75% within 181-210 days, 50% within 211-365 days.
The NASCAR Truck RAM is the other headline arrival. RAM is making its return to NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series after a 15-year absence. Chrysler spun the brand off from Dodge in 2010, and it’s back in 2026 through a new five-truck effort with Kaulig Racing. The comeback story includes Tony Stewart making his debut in the RAM at Daytona. A reality show called Race for the Seat also brought Mini Tyrrell to the series, earning her a full-season drive. The truck also pushes 625 horsepower through 3,450 pounds around every surface NASCAR trucks race on. As a result, it completes a four-manufacturer Craftsman Truck fleet in iRacing. Moreover, the RAM supports AI Racing from day one.
New Track: St. Petersburg Grand Prix
St. Pete is in. The 1.808-mile, 14-turn street circuit ranks among INDYCAR’s most iconic venues. In fact, the series has used it as a season opener for years, with the start-finish straight running along a runway at Albert Whitted Airport. The opening chicane is a known chaos magnet at every real-world event. Moreover, Turns 4 through 9 make up one of the most technically demanding stretches on the INDYCAR calendar. Furthermore, the track supports AI Racing from launch. The track has CART roots going back to 2003, with INDYCAR taking it over as a season opener in 2005.
Rebuilt Track: Barber Motorsports Park
iRacing completely rebuilt Barber Motorsports Park from the ground up using new laser scan data. Additionally, iRacing recreated every aspect of the 2.3-mile, 16-turn circuit near Birmingham, Alabama to current art standards. Also, the track is known for its technical character, 80 feet of elevation change, blind apexes, and the world-class Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum directly adjacent. If you already own Barber, the new version is free. iRacing also retired the old version and its Short A and Short B configs.
HUD Updates: Layout Profiles, Visual Spotter, Throttle/Brake Timeline, New Widgets
The in-sim HUD is getting its biggest update package in a long time.
HUD Layout Profiles: Create, save, and assign named HUD layouts to specific cars or classes. Want a dedicated GT3 profile, a different one for NASCAR, or a rain profile you can switch to mid-session? Now you can. Profiles live in your Documents/iRacing/profiles/hud folder and can be shared with other drivers.
Visual Spotter: A new accessibility feature for single-monitor users. It uses the same data as your existing audio and text spotter, just displayed visually on screen. Enable it through the Widget Editor while you’re in-car.
Throttle/Brake Timeline: The Driver Inputs Widget now offers a timeline graph. It records your pedal input history so you can see what you were doing on the brakes two corners ago. A useful self-coaching tool.
Session Info Widget: Shows laps to go, time remaining, current session time, and an end-of-scoring indicator.
Session Rules Widget: A quick-reference display for the rules active in your current race session: driver change requirements, joker lap counts, tire change rules, and more.
Car Class Updates: GTE, TCR, Lotus 49, NASCAR O’Reilly
The GTE class now runs brand-new slick tires using the latest tire physics model and is rain-racing capable. iRacing updated the ride height rules, adjusted aero balance for lower rake setups, and reorganized the garage. Consequently, most old setups will fail tech.
The TCR class got a full-suite overhaul: new dry and wet tire parameters, revised engine specs including power curves and turbo settings, fuel capacity updated to IMSA-spec 85 liters, a reworked brake system, updated aero mapping, and improved consistency through corners.
The Lotus 49 is now rain-ready with updated tire parameters for wet weather capability. Additionally, iRacing reworked the suspension, dampers, and brake system. Notably, drivers can now fully adjust brake bias in fixed setup sessions.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Series class has updated engine power and drafting parameters, a 2026 rules package (4.25″ minimum ride height, 2.2 degree rear camber), and decal and branding refreshes.
Rain Racing: Four More Vehicles
iRacing’s rain racing roster is expanding by four this season. The Audi RS3 LMS Gen2 TCR, the Audi 90 GTO, the Lotus 49, and the Nissan GTP ZX-T all support rain racing as of the Season 2 build.
AI Improvements: Event Auto-Completion and More
Furthermore, AI Racing gets a major quality-of-life feature: Event Completion. If you leave a Solo AI Race session before all AI drivers finish, iRacing now automatically simulates and scores the remaining results. Previously, leaving early meant losing the event entirely. Additionally, iRacing trained AI Drivers for both new cars and both new/updated tracks.
Art Refreshes: Lanier, Langley, USA International
Moreover, iRacing gave three short oval tracks significant visual overhauls this season. Lanier National Speedway (Asphalt), Langley Speedway, and USA International Speedway (Asphalt) all feature updated track surfaces, buildings, trackside objects, trees, 3D foliage, shaders, and lighting to current iRacing art standards.
What’s Next
That’s the Season 2 overview. Overall, iRacerHub is going deep on each major addition separately. Individual articles are coming for the Audi RS3 LMS Gen2 TCR (release news, full guide, beginner tips, and launch video), the NASCAR Truck RAM (release news, full guide, beginner tips, and launch video), and the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Stay tuned.
