In times of Corona and exit restrictions, many sporting events were canceled. Some sports therefore switch to virtual competition. The current NASCAR season is also considered iRacing event performed and struggles with brand new problems.
The driver Bubba Wallace threw the towel annoyed during a race and scolded the game as a live stream – a rage quit as it is in the book. Shortly afterwards, his sponsor Blue Emu ended his collaboration with him.
Another driver who was deliberately ramming Wallace several times during the race was to blame for the crash. This clip by esport expert Rod "keydaddy" Breslau shows the final moments of the stream:
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was intentionally bumped in this past weekend's iRacing event, ragequit the game on national television and stream, and then got dropped by his sponsor after the race for doing so
esports are definitely sports now pic.twitter.com/XvCAq8eJnW
– Rod 'keydaddy' Wroclaw (@Slasher) April 6, 2020
"I don't take this shit seriously"
Wallace is a successful NASCAR professional, he took part in car races at the age of nine. Some may also know him Pixar's Cars 3: In the animated film he lent his voice to the character Bubba Wheelhouse (in the original English setting).
He was unimpressed on his Twitter account after the incident and got a lot of encouragement from his followers:
"Bahahaha I'm laughing myself dead at my mentions. I messed up so many people the day by … dropping a video game. Bahaha. A video game. Damn, quarantine life is hard."
I mean #RAGEQUIT ?? https://t.co/GWtyiMClBf
– Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) April 5, 2020
Already in the NASCAR stream, he announced that "he doesn't take this shit seriously." However, his sponsor Blue-Emu found his statements and that he ended the race early less funny. Via Twitter official NASCAR partner announced that collaboration with Wallace has ended. The reasoning: One is interested in drivers, not quivers.
NASCAR driver vs. Video games
More than a million viewers watched the race, which was broadcast online and on cable TV by Fox. Of course, sponsors are very interested in also represented in a virtually positive way in front of a large audience to become.
As The Guardian reports there was problems with other professionals too. For example, driver Erik Jones was unable to qualify because of difficulties with his Internet connection. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson fired his spotter after he gave him wrong information.
And even esport professionals sometimes step into their pots: Because they cracked penis jokes in a live chat, two Overwatch players now have to pay a penalty:
