First 10 Drivers Confirmed for ISOWC 2021!

ISOWC Staff -

We have the first names confirmed for the upcoming 6-race ISOWC 2021 season and they include some of the strongest names in the iRacing IndyCar Community. Shared amongst them are the last 5 iRacing Indy 500 wins, 15+ iRacing IndyCar Open Championships, the 2 iRacing IndyCar Series titles and much more. With registration still open for a full week, 40 more drivers will join these 10 on the Road to 7k.

Leading the charge is Brandon Traino (Team I5G w/ ART), fresh off his championship victory in the 2021 S1 iRacing IndyCar Open series. Traino enters the Month of May looking for his third consecutive iRacing Indy 500 victory - a unprecedented feat considering in the 11 year history of the event, Traino is the only two-time winner. Traino will be joined by his teammates Christopher Demeritt, Matt Pawelski & Michele Costantini - all of whom can speak to the thrill of grabbing victory across the yard of bricks on the iRacing service. With more potential teammates joining through the association with the Apex Racing Team, it might not just be 4 teammates chasing a title this summer.

The I5G/ART alliance will have at least 4 drivers in the upcoming 2021 ISOWC season

Leading the charge for Powerslide Motorsports is the man Traino dethroned for his iRacing IndyCar Open title just weeks ago, Adam Blocker (Powerslide Motorsports). With 8 iRacing IndyCar Open titles under his belt (including all 4 in 2020), the 2019 Indy Elite Championship, alongside 3 consecutive Lionheart IndyCar Series titles dating back to 2017, Blocker will be a force to be reckoned with. As a trackside engineer in the IndyCar paddock with Ilmor Engineering, Blocker will have real-world commitments to work around - how will he respond to the challenge? Helping to share the workload will be Henry Bennett & Hugo Olsson - while Bennett has title wins dating back to 2017, the Swede Olsson only joined the team mid-way through 2020 but after taking victory at the 2020 Open-Wheels 500, the Powerslide crew is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

The 3 confirmed Powerslide drivers share 13 combined iRacing IndyCar Open Championships among them, 

Team Talent, the third major team in the iRacing IndyCar community, will be represented by Josh Chin and Philip Kraus. While Chin will be racing under the PRIVATE LABEL Team Hype banner, the 2018 iRacing Indy 500 winner does not just excel at the Brickyard, but is a master of fuel saving in a series where strategy will be ever-changing. He'll have new teammate Philip Kraus joining him in his championship attempt. Kraus won the 2020 Indy Elite series representing another outfit, but after making the switch to Team Talent just a month ago, what does the future hold for him here in the ISOWC? Just like I5G and Powerslide, Team Talent has more drivers waiting in the wings ready to get the call this summer.

Who else from Team Talent will join Kraus & Chin on the Road to 7k?

It's not all about the big three, VRS Satellite Racing will have at least one confirmed car in the ISOWC 2021. Adam Crane, the 2020 iRacing IndyCar Series Champion, will be hoping to have a few of his teammates on the entry list come May 8th when we make the trip to the virtual Watkins Glen to get things underway.

The full list of the 10 confirmed drivers can be found below:

  1. Adam Blocker (8x iRacing IndyCar Open Champion, 3x Lionheart IndyCar Champion, 2019 Indy Elite Champion) | #74 | Powerslide Motorsports
  2. Adam Crane (2020 iRacing IndyCar Series Champion) | #29 | VRS Satellite Racing
  3. Brandon Traino (2019/2020 iRacing Indy 500 Winner, 2021 S1 iRacing IndyCar Open Champion) | #9 | Team I5G w/ ART
  4. Christopher Demeritt (2017 iRacing Indy 500 Winner) | #144 | Team I5G w/ ART
  5. Henry Bennett (5x iRacing IndyCar Open Champion, 2019 iRacing IndyCar Series Champion) | #007 | Powerslide Motorsports
  6. Hugo Olsson (2020 Open Wheels 500 Winner) | #39 | Powerslide Motorsports
  7. Joshua Chin (2018 iRacing Indy 500 Winner) | #93 | PRIVATE LABEL Team Hype
  8. Matt Pawelski (2016 iRacing Indy 500 Winner) | #75 | Team I5G w/ ART
  9. Michele Costantini (2019 Open Wheels 500 Winner) | #66 | Apex Racing Team w/ Team I5G
  10. Philip Kraus (2020 Indy Elite Champion) | #19 | Team Talent

ISOWC 2021 gets underway on May 8th, 2021 at Watkins Glen with the final round of the 6 race championship taking place on July 31st, 2021 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To learn more, visit the Competitor Home or join the Series Discord. To sign yourself up for the ISOWC, visit https://isowc.org before the 17th of April, 2021.