You're going to see a lot more drone racing at the Monster Mile.
The International Drone Racing Association has signed a three-year partnership with Dover International Speedway, which takes effect during the next tripleheader race weekend in June.
Drone racing association founder and CEO Justin Haggerty said it may not be obvious, but there are a lot of similarities between the two sports.
"We’re a motorsport. We have four of them. And even though we fly, we’re still a motorsport,” he said.
200,000 people pour through the speedway on a race weekend. Haggerty is hoping to capitalize on that exposure to get more of those motorheads into drone racing, which is growing in popularity.
“We’re continually being shocked by new pilots showing up on the scene who have maybe only been flying for a couple months or a year,” he said.
16 professional teams from around the globe will compete in the race and earn points towards the World Championship.
Four pilots on each team will take turns driving and serving as pit crew.
The pilots fly the drones in first-person view using virtual reality goggles to navigate a series of obstacles in a circle track.
The races are free and will take place outside the Monster Mile in the Fan Zone, with bouts beginning Friday, June 2 and running through that Sunday.
