In The Pits: iRacing is fun but won't carry teams for long

Virtual racing has been the small saving grace for motorsports since the coronavirus pandemic brought nearly everything to a halt.

Timmy Hill's iRacing victory on national television gave the journeyman driver and his sponsors exposure they would never receive during a normal NASCAR weekend.

What I'll gain from this is recognition. It's hard to get that recognition because of the level of competition that we are in real life, said Hill, who at 27 has bounced around NASCAR's three national series since 2011 before making his first Daytona 500 this year.

We just don't have the money, the dollars, to compete at a high level. Every once in a while we'll get that big payday and we can really reinvest in our race team," he said.

"This win will hopefully gain some recognition and attract more sponsors for us, maybe in the real world when we get back racing. Hopefully it will help me in the real world.

The real world looks grim right now: Racing and revenue have come to a halt and it is unknown what the landscape will even look like when the crisis ends.

IndyCar suspended its season 48 hours before it was set to open and last week new series owner Roger Penske made t he unprecedented decision to delay the Indianapolis 500 from Memorial Day weekend for the first time in its long and storied history.

Penske's transportation business has been hit and he informed Penske Corp.'s 60,000 employees over the weekend that both he and the company president would forego their salaries while senior leadership be paid less. Roughly 50 employees from IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway were laid off.

NASCAR has so far cut salaries for its executives by 25% -- that includes the presidents of tracks owned by NASCAR -- and 20% for all other employees. Behind the scenes, NASCAR has crafted a schedule to accommodate the seven races already postponed, but series leader have been hesitant to release details because everything is so fluid.

NASCAR has officially suspended the season until May 9 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia a state that on Monday issued a stay-at-home order until June 10 or it is rescinded by executive order.

Senior NASCAR executives have consistently checked in with teams and NASCAR had a Monday call with members of the Race Team Alliance to discuss future scenarios, including the development of the Next Gen car that had been scheduled for a 2021 debut.

A car meant to revolutionize the sport by improving the racing while cutting costs a project the entire industry is deeply tied to may now be pushed back a year.

Teams are caught in financial limbo. Sponsors unsure when their logos will be seen at a race are withholding money needed to make payroll and meet operating expenses. Stay-at-home orders have left little to no work for race teams.

Are we concerned about teams broadly and their financial health? Of course we are, NASCAR President Steve Phelps has said.

There are very few team owners like Penske or Rick Hendrick, who have other businesses larger than their racing hobby. The bulk of the sport is comprised of racers.

Chip Ganassi owns race teams that supply the bulk of his revenue, and when his sports car program ended last year he moved those employees to a third IndyCar team to avoid layoffs. Now he has five cars idled in two series. It's the same all the way down the grid, for owners such as Jay Robinson, Carl Long, Rick Ware and The Gaunt