Miguel Carrera is the first registered entry in UHD eSPORTS history for the spring 2025 eNASCAR College iRacing Series. His interest in video games began with the Nintendo 64 and has now propelled him to attempt and compete for $10, 000 scholarships in iRacing competitions.
Carrera’s story with UHD started in 2021 and has continued his studies as a first-generation college student majoring in Control and Instrumentation Engineering Technology.
As a member of the UHD eSPORTS team, Carrera explains that it took a year’s worth of preparing for the eNASCAR College iRacing Series.
“At the time, a year ago, I did not have a racing simulator,” said Carrera, emphasizing the work it took to buy the proper equipment for iRacing.
“I bring it to campus, and I want to show [the UHD community] that…there is an actual group of people that want to compete at a national level,” said Carrera. “And with eNASCAR, it’s not really that hard to get into, it’s just that the amount to get in, it just intimidates people a lot.”
With a gaming experience ranging from consoles such as the GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360 and One to a PC, Carrera added, “I have faith that there is a good amount of people here that have an interest in motorsports and sim racing, but obviously people see Overwatch and Rocket League and Valorant. I want to show that iRacing and sim racing is like up there with some of the other games.”
The 2024-25 eNASCAR College iRacing Series presented by Playfly College Esports sees prospective collegiate iRacers race the road tracks: Watkins Glen International on Jan. 21, Talladega Superspeedway on Feb. 4, Iowa Speedway on Mar. 18, and Charlotte Motor Speedway on Apr. 1, alternating between the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series vehicles.
At the end of the season, the four best results from every driver in both the fall and spring semesters will be recorded, and the top 25 collegiate iRacers will advance to the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Apr. 15 for a chance at a $10,000 scholarship.
“I started late. It’s obvious I’m going to be on the back foot. But if I got the opportunity next academic year to be up with Steven Wilson and Parker White, I honestly would be ecstatic,” expressed Carrera. “Not only do they race collegiate, but they also race out on a professional level. So, going up against them and going up for $10,000 in scholarships would be really huge for me.”
The spring 2025 eNASCAR College iRacing Series is still underway, with Carrera having raced at the Talladega Superspeedway and now preparing to complete the time attack to qualify for the next race, which is the Iowa Speedway.
“Expect us to grow a lot more, we’re going to try to put ourselves in the best foot forward and try to get more people to come play,” Carrera said when discussing what is in store in the future for UHD eSPORTS team. “We’ll be able to provide a place for students where they feel welcomed.”
Students can check out @uhdesports on Instagram for updates on Carrera’s status in the spring 2025 eNASCAR College iRacing Series.