iRacing gets lots of things right, but when it comes to coding things like the way the guy at the start/finish line waves the flags, accuracy isn’t entirely important. As a result, the virtual starter moves in an aggressive and slightly janky way, slapping the flag up and down like he’s trying to use it to put out a small fire.
During Nascar’s iRacing events over the past couple of months, the flag-waver (or Barney, as he’s become known) became something of a cult hero, to the point where even Nascar itself honoured him before the real racing resumed.
What if I told you that when they went back to the track, the biggest star wasn't invited.#TheLastFlag pic.twitter.com/n8V95fNqak
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 19, 2020
Ahh yes, the real racing. Nascar returned to actual circuits on 17 May and has already run three races in the space of a week – each without fans, following strict social distancing in the paddocks, and condensing each event into one day.
During the second race at Darlington last Thursday, the starter, Joey Aycock, decided to pay this brilliant tribute to Barney by expertly mimicking his unique flag-waving technique.
Took lessons from the 🐐. pic.twitter.com/LeLsCeVRWJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 21, 2020
Was fun to do that last night! My shoulder is fine today 🤣
— J Aycock (@joeyaycock) May 21, 2020
We’ll give that a solid 8/10 for execution – Barney really puts the full force of his upper body into it – but it has to be a 10/10 for effort. We love it!
