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How to Hear Crew Chief and Iracing Spotter at Same Time

Struggling with how to hear crew chief and iracing spotter at same time? This guide for iRacing drivers explains the why and gives quick steps to fix it fast.

If you’re stuck on how to hear crew chief and iracing spotter at same time, here’s the short answer: keep iRacing’s Spotter on, run Crew Chief as your engineer only, and make sure both apps use the same audio device. Follow the steps below and you’ll have both voices working together in minutes.

Quick Answer: how to hear crew chief and iracing spotter at same time

Turn on the iRacing Spotter in Options > Sound. In Crew Chief, disable its Spotter so it only gives engineer updates. Set both iRacing and Crew Chief to the same audio output device, disable Windows “communications ducking,” and balance the volumes so neither voice talks over the other.

What’s Really Going On

iRacing’s Spotter gives “car left/right, clear” calls. Crew Chief is a separate app that adds an engineer voice for gaps, laps, strategy, damage, and more. If both spotters are on, you’ll get duplicate or overlapping calls. The clean setup is: iRacing handles the spotter calls, Crew Chief handles the engineer info. Audio device mismatches or Windows ducking can also make one voice silence the other.

Step-by-Step Fix

Enable iRacing’s Spotter: In iRacing, go to Options > Sound. Make sure Spotter is checked and raise the Spotter volume to a clear level.
Set Crew Chief to “engineer only”: Open Crew Chief. Leave “Chief” enabled and uncheck “Spotter” so it doesn’t duplicate left/right calls.
Pick the same output device: In iRacing Options > Sound, choose your headset/speakers. In Crew Chief audio settings, choose the same device.
Stop Windows from muting one voice: Windows Control Panel > Sound > Communications tab > select “Do nothing.”
Balance volumes: In iRacing, set Spotter louder than general game audio. In Crew Chief, adjust the Chief volume so messages are clear but don’t overpower the spotter.
Test it: Start a test session, drive alongside another car to trigger spotter calls, and confirm both voices are audible and intelligible.

Extra Tips / Checklist

Hearing double spotter lines? You left Crew Chief’s Spotter on. Turn it off and keep only iRacing’s Spotter active.
Want Crew Chief’s spotter instead? Turn off iRacing’s Spotter and enable Crew Chief’s Spotter. Don’t run both spotters at once.
Different devices are okay (for example, Crew Chief to headset, sim audio to speakers). Just be consistent and confirm you can hear both.
If voices duck or go quiet when one talks, revisit the Windows Communications setting and any “noise suppression” features in your sound software.
Choose different voice packs/voices so you can instantly tell spotter vs engineer.

FAQs

Can I run both Crew Chief and the iRacing spotter together?
Yes—run Crew Chief as the engineer and keep iRacing as the spotter. Don’t enable Crew Chief’s spotter at the same time as iRacing’s to avoid duplicate calls.
Why do I only hear one voice at a time?
Usually a device mismatch or Windows “communications ducking” is muting one app. Set both to the same output device and set Windows Communications to “Do nothing.”
Can I send Crew Chief to my headset and keep car/game audio on speakers?
Yes. Point iRacing’s output to speakers and Crew Chief to your headset. Just test levels so you can hear both clearly.
Is there delay or echo if I keep both spotters on?
Often yes. You’ll hear two calls slightly out of sync. The fix is simple: use only one spotter (iRacing or Crew Chief), plus the Crew Chief engineer.

Wrap-Up

Set iRacing as the sole spotter and let Crew Chief handle engineering. Match audio devices, kill Windows ducking, and balance volumes. Do a quick test session and you’ll have clear, non-overlapping calls for cleaner racing and fewer surprises in traffic.