iRacing Week 13 Season 2 2026: What to Race, What Counts, and What to Test Before Season 3
Week 13 is back in iRacing, and that usually means one thing: expect the unexpected.
With 2026 Season 2 coming to an end and Season 3 about to begin, iRacing has opened the usual in-between week where the service feels a little different from normal. The new build is live, fresh content starts appearing in official sessions, and the schedule mixes serious ranked racing with experimental combinations that you would rarely see during a regular season.
It is not just a throwaway week, though. Some series still count towards iRating and Safety Rating, while others are mainly there for fun, testing and survival. So before jumping into the first race that appears on the list, it is worth knowing exactly what you are signing up for.
A First Taste of the New Build
For many drivers, Week 13 is the first proper opportunity to try the latest content in race conditions. Practice sessions are useful, but nothing exposes a car’s behaviour faster than a short race surrounded by other drivers trying to learn the same thing at the same time.
This season’s Week 13 line-up includes several special series built around that idea. The BMW M2 Cup is likely to be one of the main attractions for road racers, giving drivers a chance to understand the new M2 Racing before it becomes part of the regular competitive ecosystem.
There is also plenty of Week 13 madness elsewhere. Tube Frame Twister brings the Euro NASCAR RC01 into the spotlight, while Ridiculousness throws together NASCAR Cup Next Gen and Xfinity machinery in combinations clearly designed more for entertainment than long-term championship discipline. The inclusion of Coronado also gives drivers a first opportunity to experience one of the headline additions coming with Season 3.
The Tour Modified series adds another option for anyone looking for something different during the changeover week. As always with Week 13, part of the appeal is simply trying cars and tracks you might normally ignore.
Ranked Racing Is Still Very Real
The biggest mistake you can make in Week 13 is assuming that every race is harmless. It is not.
A number of official series remain ranked, which means your iRating and Safety Rating are affected exactly as they would be during a normal season. The racing environment might feel more chaotic than usual, but the consequences are still real.
The ranked options cover most disciplines:
Oval
- NASCAR iRacing Series
- Street Stock Challenge
- NASCAR iRacing Truck Series
- Mini Stock Cup
Sports Car
- Mazda MX-5 Cup
- Ferrari 296 Challenge
- Porsche Cup Series
- GT3 Challenge Fixed
Formula
- FF1600
- Formula Vee
- FIA F4 Challenge
Dirt Oval
- Dirt Street Stock
- Dirt Mini Stock
- Sprint Car Series
Dirt Road
- iRacing Rallycross Lite
- Cross Car Cup
That means Week 13 can still be a productive week if you want to race seriously, gain experience or protect your licence progression. But it also means you need to be selective. A ranked Week 13 race can be fun, but it can also undo a lot of careful Safety Rating work if you treat it like a demolition derby.
Some series with independent real-world-style calendars may also continue as normal, even while the rest of the service is operating under the Week 13 format. That is especially relevant for certain NASCAR-related competitions.
Unranked Does Not Mean Lawless
For drivers who want a lower-pressure experience, the unranked schedule is where Week 13 becomes more playful. These races do not affect iRating or Safety Rating, which makes them ideal for experimenting, learning new content or simply enjoying unusual combinations without worrying about your numbers.
But there is one important reminder: the Sporting Code still applies. Unranked does not mean you can drive however you want. Intentional wrecking, blocking, retaliation and other behaviour covered by the rules can still cause problems.
Among the unranked oval options are:
- Pickup Cup
- Dallara Dash
- Carburetor Cup
- 5 To Go, a short shootout-style format using ARCA machinery
On the road side, Track Day offers a mixed field with cars such as GT4, TCR, MX-5, GR86, Spec Racer Ford, Radical SR10 and more. There is also Figure GR8 with GT4 cars and Mountain Showdown, both fitting nicely into the “just try it and see what happens” spirit of Week 13.
Dirt racers also get their share of odd combinations, including:
- Pro 2 Dirt Oval
- Mudskipping with the Skip Barber Formula 2000
- 2×4 Off-Road Trucks
Time Attack content is also part of the week, with hillclimb challenges and Porsche Experience Center layouts using the Porsche 911 Cup 992.2.
How to Approach Week 13 Without Ruining Your Week
Week 13 can be one of the most entertaining parts of the iRacing calendar, but only if you approach it with the right mindset.
If you are joining ranked sessions, race with patience. The first lap is usually where most of the chaos happens, especially when drivers are learning new cars, unusual track combinations or mixed grids. Finishing cleanly is often more valuable than forcing a risky move for one extra position.
If you want to test new content, unranked sessions are usually the better place to start. You can learn braking points, car behaviour and racecraft without putting your ratings directly at risk.
And if you are jumping into multiclass or experimental formats, make sure you understand the basics around incident points, blue flags, black flags and rolling starts. Week 13 is fun, but the sim’s rules do not disappear just because the calendar gets weird.
In short: use Week 13 for what it does best. Try the new build, explore combinations you would not normally race, enjoy the chaos where it is meant to be chaotic, and be careful when the session is ranked. Season 3 is just around the corner, and Week 13 is the perfect chance to arrive prepared.