Cubs' Kris Bryant, Travis Pastrana Participate in Red Bull Virtual All-Star Race

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant tried his hand at virtual racing on Thursday when he competed in the Red Bull Homestretch All-Star race.  

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff was scheduled to participate but was unable to make it online. 

The event pits real-world drivers from organizations like IndyCar, rallycar and motocross against athletes, celebrities, media personalities and other non-racers as they go head to head in Gran Turismo Sport. 

Thursday marked the first of six scheduled races happening each week through June 18. 

Bryant and Goff weren't going up against each other.

The Cubs star took part in the first race against eight other contestants, including Travis Pastrana and 2016 Indianapolis 500 pole winner James Hinchcliffe. He made it up to fourth place on the final lap, but he fell to the back of the pack after a spin out coming around a corner. 

Moving to a dirt track for the second race, Bryant struggled to keep pace with the rest of the field. The 2016 National League MVP never emerged from the pack and eventually crossed the finish line in last place. 

Bryant's time of 10:14.620 was more than one minute behind seventh-place finisher Bryce Menzies (9:07). 

In the third and final race of the day on the Tokyo Expressway, Bryant briefly climbed out of the cellar and jumped all the way up to fourth place right out of the gate. He did a good job of holding his own by staying in the top five into the third lap. 

The fourth lap saw Bryant make another move to reach third place. trailing only Timmy Hansen and Sebastien Loeb. The 28-year-old avoided spinning out, as he did in the first race, and posted a strong fifth-place finish with a time of 9:48.151, just six seconds behind winner Scott Speed (9:42.552). 

Looking ahead, Week 2 of the Red Bull Homestretch All-Star will be held on May 21 at 12 p.m. ET on the RedBull Twitch channel.