Tanner Watkins to compete in the 2018 Indy Elite Series
EVANSVILLE, I.N. – The Watkins Motorsports Group is proud to announce that they will enter Tanner Watkins into the 2018 iRacing Indy Elite Series, a 17-round championship that features cash payouts, a diverse and challenging schedule, and some of the toughest competition on the iRacing circuit driving the Dallara IR-12 Indy car.
The first race is this Sunday, February 25 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and will be broadcasted live on Racespot TV at 7:00 p.m. ET.
“It is incredibly exciting to announce that we will enter our No. 24 Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation Indy car in the 2018 Indy Elite Series,” said Tanner, co-owner and driver for the Watkins Motorsports Group. “This will be the toughest championship we have competed in thus far in our team’s history, but I am looking forward to the challenge and getting better throughout the season.”
Serving as the team’s primary partner for the 2018 racing season, the Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation is committed to finding a cure for brainstem tumors known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG).
Nearly every day one child in the United States is diagnosed with DIPG and another child dies from it. The Foundation seeks to make a difference and Defeat DIPG both by raising awareness of DIPG and by providing funding for research into effective treatments for DIPG.
The Watkins Motorsports Group supports the Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation and their efforts to find a cure to DIPG and childhood cancer. The Foundation and WMG enter their second year of this on-track partnership in 2018.
One of the more grueling championships on iRacing, the Indy Elite Series features competitive open setup racing as teams fight their way through a 17-round schedule. The league will feature 40 drivers, and the fastest 33 drivers will qualify for each race. In 2018, teams will compete for cash prizes with payouts for each race and larger purses for the Indianapolis 500 as well as the championship results.
The schedule is highlighted by the 3rd annual Indy Elite Indianapolis 500, to be held on Sunday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET live on Racespot TV, and the season will conclude with a grueling 300-mile showdown at Michigan International Speedway on September 23.
Those two races, plus a 350-mile event at Pocono Raceway on August 12, fill out the Triple Crown series of contests that will be worth double points for the 2018 championship.
As part of a new partnership for the 2018 season, Tanner’s No. 24 Watkins Motorsports Group entry will be working in a partnership with Absolute Zero, a well-respected team in the iRacing IndyCar paddock. In conjunction with Powerslide Motorsports, the group will team up to take on some of the best drivers on iRacing as they prepare for the 9th iRacing Indianapolis 500 in May.
About the Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation
The Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation is committed to finding a cure for brainstem tumors known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG). Nearly every day one child in the United States is diagnosed with DIPG and another child dies from it. The Foundation seeks to make a difference and Defeat DIPG both by raising awareness of DIPG and by providing funding for research into effective treatments for DIPG.
Amanda and Brandon Huffman established the Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation in honor of their 7-year-old daughter, Avery Hayden Huffman, who bravely battled against DIPG for 7.5 months before passing away on February 16, 2016. Like many families who learn of their child’s diagnosis, it was the first time the Huffman family had heard of DIPG.
The Avery Huffman Defeat DIPG Foundation is a chapter of the Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation, the parent foundation based in Maryland that honors the legacy of 6-year old Michael Mosier, who also courageously fought DIPG, and is committed to the fight against DIPG.
About the Indy Elite Series
The Indy Elite Series offers competitors of the iRacing IndyCar circuit the opportunity to compete with one and other under a unique format that is sure to provide intense, close, and exciting racing with a hint of championship drama and a weekly prize pool.
The series will begin on February 25 and consist of 17 races throughout the year in unison with the real life IndyCar Series. The schedule adds some diversity this season mixing in Verizon IndyCar Series road courses along with some of Indy Elite’s traditional oval schedule.
The schedule utilizes both the traditional Sunday Evening timeslot and new this season will be races on Tuesday evenings to kick off real life race weeks by us running the same track. The schedule was made to avoid all real life IndyCar event weekends as well as major holidays throughout the summer.
About the Watkins Motorsports Group
The Watkins Motorsports Group (WMG) is a company dedicated to achieving optimal performance in the profession of simulation auto racing. Our goal is to produce successful and sustainable race teams that will bring the name of WMG to the forefront of sim racing, at an affordable and user-friendly rate for the staff of the Watkins Motorsports Group.
We will accomplish these goals through a series of strategic business decisions centered on cost-effective technological improvements, simulation racing community involvement, in-depth learning and data sharing, and thorough driver development for the on-track product.
