Charlotte-based esports companies partner with NASCAR

Some big news is hitting the scholastic esports scene with a new partnership between Stay Plugged IN (SPIN), the Charlotte Phoenix, and NASCAR. SPIN, the leading organizer of collegiate esports recruiting events as well as the premier esports recruiting platform for college scholarships, will be heading the tournament operations side and providing students with amateur tournaments.

NASCAR partners up with Charlotte Phoenix and Stay Plugged IN

The Charlotte Phoenix is a professional esports organization across multiple titles with a Rocket League roster that is currently ranked in the top 10 of North American teams. NASCAR entered into the partnership to provide scholarship dollars to students aiming to pursue esports and gaming parallel skills at the collegiate level. 

Throughout summer, SPIN will lead and produce two separate amateur tournaments within Rocket League in partnership with NASCAR. The competitors will compete in front of SPIN’s network of over 400 college esports programs spanning across North America. In addition to the gameplay tournaments, there will also be an educational camp where students will be divided into teams and have their coding and design skills put to the test.

(Picture: SPIN)

The objective of this camp is not only to learn more about the space, but students will also compete against other teams to see which can design and create the best game in the duration of the camp. The partnership between the two Charlotte-based esports companies and NASCAR will provide a space for students to build resumes and utilize experiential learning that will translate to skills applicable at the collegiate level.

Rick Rend, NASCAR's managing director, explains:

“Gaming is part of our DNA here at NASCAR – and we are firm believers in what the gaming world can offer students as they begin to map out their lives and careers. Whether it is competing in a high-level esports environment, building a career in the business of gaming, or some combination of the two, there are endless opportunities available to students to engage with the modern gaming world in a meaningful and rewarding way – and we are committed to doing our part to ensure that students can take advantage of these opportunities with the help of our friends at Stay Plugged IN.” 

SPIN Managing Director, Rick Suarez, explains:

“We’re incredibly excited to work with NASCAR to give students more opportunities to learn, grow, and develop their skills in the gaming industry. NASCAR’s strong brand enables us to get our message out to many students across the US that may not realize the wealth of possibilities esports can bring them.

"We hope NASCAR fans can see how esports can be beneficial, and we know that many esports fans will be excited by the chance NASCAR is providing. Our visions aligned to blend a series of competition and educational curriculum in a way that engages students through STEM. With our companies being headquartered in Charlotte, it was a natural fit to introduce this program in our local community as well as on our national platform." 

eNASCAR Scholarship Program details

Students will be able to participate in the three-part eNASCAR Scholarship Program. Each portion of the program is free-standing and provides opportunities for students to be seen by colleges while also building life and professional skills.

(Picture: SPIN)

Students from ages 13-18 interested in pursuing esports either academically or professionally are able to participate and begin their recruiting process.

Part 1: Scholarship Series I

The first portion of the eNASCAR Scholarship Program is an amateur tournament. Students will compete over a 3 week season that leads up to an end-of-season tournament. There will be 6 best of 5 games played in the season to determine seeding for the tournament. Students will be competing for the chance to earn a portion of the $2,000 scholarship provided by NASCAR. 

Part 2: Design & Coding

The second part of the eNASCAR Scholarship Program is a design and coding camp. Within this online camp, students will be broken up into teams where they will learn about coding each week through a 1-hour course.

At the conclusion of the educational period, the teams will then utilize Roblox Design and Development to create their own game that will be judged. The students will compete for their share of the $3,000 scholarship being awarded by NASCAR for the best developed and designed game. 

Part 3: Scholarship Series II

The third and final portion of the eNASCAR Scholarship Program is another amateur tournament. The format of the amateur tournament will be the same as Scholarship Series I, but with a larger scholar dollar amount attached. Students in this portion will be competing for $4,000 in scholarships provided by NASCAR.

About Stay Plugged IN

Stay Plugged IN is the premier esports recruiting platform for college scholarships. SPIN offers a multitude of events, tournaments, and recruitment LANs designed to put high school esports athletes in front of hundreds of college coaches on a weekly basis. Within SPIN’s first recruiting season they have facilitated over 55 students and college commitments with scholarships amounting to over $2,000,000.00. 

About the Charlotte Phoenix

The Charlotte Phoenix is a world-class esports organization currently competing within Apex Legends and Rocket League at a top level and also have large community members as content creators. Past games supported by the Phoenix include Valorant, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty. The Phoenix is a city-based organization that has been instrumental in building the esports scene within the Carolinas.

About NASCAR

Building on more than 70 years of on-track success, NASCAR raced into the future with the launch of the eNASCAR in 2018. eNASCAR distinguishes itself from traditional NASCAR by developing and promoting esports’ competitions, leagues and officially sanctioned series.

Aimed at fostering fan engagement and driver development, eNASCAR is uniquely positioned to drive the sport forward through the use of gaming and esports. The various initiatives under the eNASCAR umbrella will see drivers, teams and the industry come together like never before with the goal of creating a brighter and stronger future for the sport.

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