‘4 Hours at Charlotte’ iRacing Event to Benefit NMSS Set for July 31

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) and iRacing are revving up for a special, July 31 motoring event to raise funds for the advocacy group.

Called the iRacing 4 Hours at Charlotte Benefiting the National MS Society, the event will stream live at twitch.tv/iracing and marks iRacing’s first partnership with a nonprofit organization. The fundraising goal is $20,000.

iRacing has a community of more than 170,000 racers and is touted as the world’s leading competitive online racing simulation. iRacing members can experience a variety of pro cars, ranging from full-bodied stock car and race truck variants to edgy open-wheel vehicles. The platform allows racers to tackle racing challenges in an entirely virtual environment.

The July 31 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway will feature the Global Mazda MX-5, Audi RS3 LMS, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, BMW M4 GT4, and the McLaren 570S GT4.

To raise as much money for the NMSS as possible, competitors will look to race as many laps as they can. To that end, the event will also feature two fast repairs. Names of donors to the event or a fundraiser will be entered for prizes that include a Sim-Lab RaceX Pro Chassis, Fanatec ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5, and Podium Steering Wheel R300. Go here to register.

The list of participating celebrities include Chad Knaus, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief. Other high-profile guests will make appearances throughout the event broadcast.

“iRacing is teaming up with the National MS Society to put on a race that you do not want to miss!” the NMSS states on its race event webpage.

The National MS Society works to mobilize individuals and resources so that everyone affected by multiple sclerosis can enjoy life to the fullest as the search for a cure continues. Through its services network, the organization connected some 1 million patients and caregivers last year to needed information and other resources. The NMSS also invested in 380 new and ongoing research projects.

MS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath that insulates nerve fibers, marked by symptoms include numbness and tingling, fatigue, muscle spasms, walking difficulties, and pain. The disease is estimated to affect 1 million people in the U.S. and some 2.5 million globally.