Author: Cory Mott

Crown Jewel, Fireball Talks NASCAR, & High Velocity TV pen historic media deal

Crown Jewel, Fireball Talks NASCAR, and High Velocity TV have come to terms on a historic media rights deal for the 2025 Crown Jewel season. For the first time in Crown Jewel history, races will be broadcasted by external partners with commentators, live production, and media content.

Crown Jewel officials have finalized a deal for the Crown Jewel Cup Series with Fireball Talks NASCAR for all 36 points races, and 2 exhibition races for the 2025 Crown Jewel Cup Series season. Races will continue to take place on Wednesday nights and will feature the new franchise system announced by the officials yesterday. FTN will be rotating multiple sets of commentators through the booth for the 2025 season, each bringing a unique perspective to the league, while continuing to build on storylines created in the 2024 season. Each broadcast will consist of live production, custom numbers, custom broadcast assets, driver headshots, social media posts, pre-race trailers, and in-race advertising. This will allow the league to expand its social media and marketing efforts while also expanding sponsorship opportunities for the 2025 season and beyond.

READ MORE: 2025 Franchise System Reveal

For the 2025 Crown Jewel Xfinity Series, spectators can expect a twist for the broadcast – welcome to the Crown Jewel Cup Series Drivers Only broadcast! Headed by current broadcasters Nathaniel Campbell and Cory Mott, fans will be treated to a rotating cast of Cup Series talents telling the stories throughout the 33-race schedule. Nobody knows the league storylines quite like the veterans and giving them the opportunity to shine on the Xfinity broadcast will bring nothing but good times and great commentary for the fans of the Xfinity drivers.

For the 2025 VRS Truck Series, has inked an agreement with an up-and-coming broadcasting company – High Velocity TV. High Velocity TV recently filled in during a time of need for the Cup Series, and proved they can be a great asset to the community. HVTV will broadcast all 23 races of the VRS Truck Series season, with HVTV commentator Christian Delgado heading the booth. He will be joined by Crown Jewel community member and current Cup Series commentator Bill “Billy” Martin, who will continue as the “colorful” commentator and league expert for the broadcast.

SEE NOW: OFFICIAL: VRS partners with Crown Jewel as Truck Series title sponsor

League owner, Cory Mott, spoke on the media deal today:

This historic media deal will allow us to reach audiences that otherwise would not have been able to enjoy the exciting atmosphere our league has crafted. Combined with the franchise system, this will allow us to bring an even more authentic racing experience to all league members, their friends and families, and of course – the fans. Increasing fan experience has been a major focus for us for the 2025 season, and this brings us one step closer.

High Velocity TV owner, Christian Delgado, also spoke to the media:

We are happy for the opportunity to broadcast for Crown Jewel. We are fairly new and just getting our foot in the door when it comes to broadcasting, but we look forward to getting to know the drivers and community members throughout our time.

2025 Franchise System Reveal

Crown Jewel officials have released the official 2025 Franchise System transition processes and procedures – let’s discuss. Haven’t seen it yet? You can find it here: 2025 Franchise System.

Before we start talking about the franchise system itself, we need to understand how teams will be classified for the remainder of the 2024 season and transitioned over to the 2025 season. With a system like the franchise system, team owners take a step up into a middle management-type role, where they will be responsible for operating their team and will also be responsible for their drivers. As seen below, it is imperative that any teams planning on participating in franchise bidding over the offseason are registered prior to the 2024 Cup Series playoffs and participate in 20 combined races (2 drivers complete one race means 2 combined races) before the end of the 2024 season.

  • Full Time Team
    • A team that completed a minimum of 20 combined races in the 2024 Cup season.
  • Part Time Team
    • A team that completed less than 20 combined races in the 2024 Cup season.
  • Open Team
    • A team that is registered after the beginning of the 2024 Cup Series playoffs.

Now that we understand the types of teams that will be transitioning over, we can outline the transition procedures:

Transition Procedure Breakdown

  • At the end of the 2024 season, all drivers will become free agents.
League# of FranchisesCost ($)
Crown Jewel Cup Series36$50.00/season ea.
Crown Jewel Xfinity Series24 – 30$20.00/season ea.
  • Full time teams and Tier III Discord supporters that have been subscribed for a minimum of 3 months will have priority access to Cup Series franchise bidding.
  • All teams that do not acquire a Cup Series franchise will have priority access to Xfinity Series franchise bidding.
  • Teams may claim a maximum of 4 franchises in each series.
  • All un-acquired franchises will be auctioned to the community.
  • Full-time Cup Series drivers are ineligible for Xfinity Series drivers points and limited to 8 regular season starts in the Xfinity Series.
  • Full-time Xfinity drivers are ineligible for Cup Series drivers points, but are not limited in Cup Series starts.
  • Crown Jewel will be hosting a media day for all series on January 29, 2025.

Why a franchise/charter system?

Having a system like this will allow all dedicated community members the opportunity to guarantee a place to race at least once per week in our flagship series. With concerns over the skill level in the league rising, this will allow us to cater to dedicated, long-term members while still offering the opportunity for new drivers to join and race.

The franchise system will bring an aspect of teambuilding not seen anywhere else in iRacing community leagues. Team owners will be responsible for putting the most competitive drivers in the Cup Series, while being encouraged to scout and develop talent in the Xfinity Series. Team owners will take a larger role in the community and continue to grow the overall talent pool within the league. Drivers will naturally climb to the ranks of the Cup Series, while others will fall due to poor performance, team orders, etc. This is the start of a greater expansion towards having a fully developed NASCAR career mode eco-system that spans from Cup all the down to ARCA and eventually beyond.

In the event that participation does not reach the levels expected, we have a failsafe plan to remove the Xfinity franchises and open it back up for full participation. In the event that participation is larger than expected, we also have a rapid acceleration plan in place to implement Truck team owners and move forward with a similar system to expand the ecosystem before the 2025 season starts. However, it is the current plan to keep the VRS Truck Series open to all for the 2025 season.

On top of an expanded ecosystem, expanded owner’s standings will be tracked based off the car numbers ran in the Cup and Xfinity series, and team owners can expect prizes at the end of the season based on performance. As well as a more refined incident system that will be announced later in the fall. These are all features that are now possible due to the new franchise system – with more planned on being added moving into 2025, 2026, and beyond!

If you haven’t seen the full breakdown of the 2025 Crown Jewel Franchise transition processes and procedures, you can find them here.

OFFICIAL: VRS partners with Crown Jewel as Truck Series title sponsor

Crown Jewel partners with popular sim racing company VRS, bringing them in as the Truck Series title sponsor for the remainder of the 2024 season and 2025 season.

The Sportsman Truck Series – a staple of the Crown Jewel Community – has received its first title sponsorship in its storied history. VRS, a sim racing hardware manufacturer and coaching company, has agreed to sponsor the remainder of the 2024 season and the upcoming 2025 season. The partnership between Crown Jewel and VRS will bring prizes and exclusive access to Team VRS – a coaching program currently in closed beta.

Being a Crown Jewel member will allow you exclusive access to apply for coaching programs run by eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRaicng Driver, Bobby Zalenski. Full information on Team VRS and the application process can be found here: TEAM VRS.

In addition to Team VRS coaching, VRS will also be providing the following prizes to the Championship 4 drivers at Phoenix later this season:

  • Champion (1st Place)
    • 1 Year VRS Subscription (Competitive Plan)
    • 3 Month Team VRS Scholarship
    • 1 VRS Sponsor Hat
  • Runner Up (2nd Place)
    • 3 Month VRS Subscription
    • 1 Month Team VRS Scholarship
  • 3rd Place
    • 3 Month VRS Subscription
    • 1 Month Team VRS Scholarship
  • 4th Place
    • 1 Month VRS Subscription
    • 1 Month Team VRS Scholarship

With the new title sponsorship, the VRS Truck Series logo has been reworked. Contingencies will be updated over the weekend.

We are very excited to have such a reputable sim racing company backing up the hard work we put into this league, day in and day out. This is nothing short of an incredible step forward for our community, leagues, and for our members. Thanks again to VRS for taking the time to meet with me and for supporting all the hard work that has got us to this point!

Cory Mott – Crown Jewel Owner

The VRS Truck Series Split #3 continues Monday at 8:30 PM EST – live from the Indianapolis Raceway Park short track for 200-laps around the tough short track! Watch live on the Crown Jewel Racing Network!

OFFICIAL: 2024-2025 Crown Jewel Offseason Schedule

With the playoffs looming on the horizon, Crown Jewel is officializing it’s plans for the 2024-2025 offseason for its main Wednesday night series. The community will be running a series of “Crown Jewel” events featuring multiple eras of NASCAR stock cars, IndyCars, late models. We hope you will join us during the winter as we take a break from the NASCAR Next Gen and take trip through history with some iconic races.

Featuring seven separate rounds of modern and classic crown jewel races, your skill will ultimately be tested across this grueling schedule. A mix of pure speed and precision will surely show who the best overall drivers in the league truly are.

1987 Daytona 500

Date: November 20th, 2024
Track: Daytona International Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 200 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Cup 1987
Setup: daytona_oval.sto
Tire Sets: 10 Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2024 Snowball Derby

Date: December 4th, 2024
Track: Five Flags Speedway
Race Length: 300 Laps (150 mi.)
Cars: Super Late Model
Setup: Open
Tire Sets: 4 Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2005 Indianapolis 500

Date: December 11th, 2024
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 200 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: Dallara IR-05
Setup: indianapolis_indyovalpit.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2003 Southern 500

Date: December 18th, 2024
Track: Darlington Raceway
Race Length: 367 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: Gen 4 Cup
Setup: darlington.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2014 Coca-Cola 600

Date: January 8th, 2025
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 400 Laps (600 mi.)
Cars: 2013 NASCAR Gen 6
Setup: charlotte_oval.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2011 Brickyard 400

Date: January 15th, 2025
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – NASCAR Oval 2008
Race Length: 160 Laps (400 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Car of Tomorrow
Setup: TBD
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2019 Bristol Night Race

Date: January 22nd, 2025
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway – Single Pit Lane
Race Length: 500 Laps (~250 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Modern Gen 6
Setup: bristol.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

NASHVILLE: Porter sweeps, Villano picks up Kern Raceway

Cody Porter picks up two wins this week, one in the Sportsman Truck Series and one in the rain-delayed Circuit Cup Series race in Nashville. Thomas Villano finds his third win of the ARCA season at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Crown Jewel started off the weekend out in Bakersfield, California. A small crowd showed up following the real-life Cup Series Nashville race – seven drivers took to the high banks of Kern County Raceway. Robert Fraley took his first career pole with a qualifying time of 20.286s and lead the field to green. Robert would also bring out the first caution of the race, spinning from the front of the field and collecting Cory Mott. At this point, the race became the Thomas Villano show. Thomas would take the lead and lead 128 laps before claiming his third victory of the season. Villano currently leads the standings by 21 points over Jim Mott heading into Auto Club this upcoming week.

Monday night saw the Sportsman Truck Series returning to action for the Split #2 finale at Nashville Super Speedway. Zack Saunders took the pole with a qualifying time of 30.079s and lead the field to green for 150 laps around the 1.33-mile oval. Saunders would only lead 17 laps however, along with his teammate Mike Burnett – who would go on to win both stages in the race. In the closing laps however, Cody Porter would make his move to the front of the field and lead the field to the checkered flag for his first career win within the Crown Jewel Community.

READ MORE: USHERING IN A NEW ERA: HOW THE MCRL BECAME CROWN JEWEL

As this was the Split #2 finale, three more drivers locked themselves into the Sportsman Truck Series playoffs – John Connor, Cory Mott, and Henry Kallhoff. These three drivers will join Mike Burnett, Zack Saunders, and Nishil Condoor in the playoffs later this season. Split #3 will provide the last 6 playoff spots – three coming from the Split #3 standings, and three coming from the full-season wild card standings. For the current playoff situation, make sure to visit the Sportsman Truck Series Playoff page for a full breakdown.

Disaster struck on Wednesday night. At approximately 7:30 PM EST, iRacing experienced an outage that created a ripple effect, tanking server performance. Circuit Cup Series officials decided to delay the race – a “weather delay” was put on the stream, and server performance was monitored. One final attempt to create the league session occurred at 10:00 PM EST, and it was successful – the race was on.

I set up for the long run – I worked with Oskar Jensen to get the setup dialed in for the long run. Firing off, we were not good – really had to drive our balls off. But towards the end we were mowing them down left and right!

Cody Porter, #04 Money Shift Racing Ford Mustang Darkhorse

After a two-hour and eighteen-minute delay, Thomas Wolfe led the field to green after qualifying with a time of 30.379s. Two quick cautions struck as cars tangled in the middle and back of the field. A 30-lap run ensued where Thomas Wolfe would find himself out front when a caution struck at lap 41 – ending the stage. Stage two saw much of the same dominance from Wolfe, where he would lead every single lap in the stage and win. Backroad Bandit teammate Kristopher Burnham would put up a fight in stage three, leading 51 laps before falling back to Wolfe. However, from the middle of the pack came a surging Cody Porter, taking the lead with just nine laps left in the race. Cody Porter would go on to win the race and sweep the week at Nashville Super Speedway.

REPORT: Circuit Motorsports Club to exit Crown Jewel following 2024 season

Following a newsletter released by Jacob Wiecenski, Circuit Motorsports Club will not be the title sponsor for the Crown Jewel Cup Series in the 2025 Season.

This comes as no surprise, as rumors have been circulating regarding an increase in price for Cup Series naming rights following recent townhall meetings within the community. All signs point to the increase in price for the naming rights being tied directly to a potential new broadcasting deal for the Crown Jewel Cup Series.

Jacob Wiecenski goes on to state that not only have they not been able to come to terms for the 2025 Cup Series naming rights, but they also are struggling to come to terms with Ford Performance that have led to a falling out with the manufacturer. This leads many to believe that they will soon join the Toyota “wave” that seems to be brewing for the 2025 season. Toyota Racing Development has already secured two teams under contract for the upcoming season – Top Tier and WRL Racing. Could Circuit find themselves in the Toyota camp? If so, what does the alliance situation look like within TRD? The recent newsletter has done nothing but create more questions than answers.

READ MORE: Ushering in a new era: How the MCRL became Crown Jewel

All of this speculation has some to believing that Circuit may shut down or rebrand altogether. While this currently only effects part-time drivers Jacob Wiecenski and Archie Williams, this does show that original sponsors and supporters of the Crown Jewel Community may be falling through during this transitionary period.

Decisions will need to be made in the Circuit camp, but per the report – we can all but expect a brand-new title sponsor heading into the 2025 Crown Jewel Cup Series. Who that will be is still unknown at this time.

This is a developing story, and updates will be provided throughout the summer months and heading into the postseason.