William Byron takes first checkered flag on eNASCAR iRacing circuit

Third-year NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron, a junior business administration — communications student at Liberty University, won Sunday’s Food City Showdown at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, the third event in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series.

As the world’s premier motorsports simulation, iRacing allows competitors, and fans, to experience NASCAR in a virtual format. However, iRacing is now being viewed on a much larger platform due to COVID-19 restrictions postponing select Cup Series races during the 2020 season. Drivers have shifted their talents to the newly developed iRacing series, created just three weeks ago, which allows drivers to continue racing on Sunday — only virtually.

The 22-year-old Charlotte, N.C., native, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, has started on the front row for all three races, including back-to-back pole positions, and is the leader in laps led.

Virtually driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, with Liberty University as one of his sponsors, Byron recorded the fastest time in Sunday afternoon’s qualifying, placing him on the pole for the first of two qualifying heat races. In his heat race, Byron led from flag to flag, securing his first-place starting position for the 150-lap race at the half-mile oval.

Following a series of cautions early in the race, Byron paced the field for the first 71 laps before heading down pit road on Lap 72. Lining up ninth for the ensuing restart, Byron worked his way through traffic and regained the lead on Lap 108. Despite multiple cautions and restarts over the final 42 laps, Byron maintained the lead and took home his first checkered flag in the Pro Invitational Series.

“I thought we had a pretty solid race … (and) stayed up close to the front as well as we could,” Byron said. “We had one tire strategy call that got us back in the field and then we just had to work through the top five methodically after that.”

With a background in iRacing that ultimately propelled him into his on-track racing career, it came as no surprise that Byron scored a win in the Pro Invitational Series. In fact, Sunday’s win was Byron’s 309th iRacing win in 1,499 starts.

“It’s been a lot of fun, I’ve enjoyed it,” Byron said about iRacing in his first interview with ESPN SportsCenter. “Obviously, my background’s kind of with iRacing (so) I feel like it’s kind of an edge that I can have. It’s cool to see guys like Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson on there and be able to race against them for the first time on there. Luckily, we have a sport in NASCAR where the cars are very similar on that platform.”

The third virtual racing event was the first held on a short track, raising the intensity levels for drivers due to the bump-and-run style of racing that it delivers on a track featuring high-banked tight turns.

“Bristol Motor Speedway is a track that throws many challenges at you — with fast closing rates coming out of the corners, lap traffic, track position in the top lane, and a lot of bumping and banging — and this weekend (was) no different, even though we were racing there virtually,” Byron said.

The first two races of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series both surpassed the previous record as the most watched esports event in U.S. television history, with last week’s race at virtual Texas Motor Speedway earning 1.339 million viewers from its broadcast on FOX and FS1. With a break for Easter Sunday this weekend, Byron will return to the simulation racing scene on April 19 at virtual Richmond International Raceway.

“I’m very fortunate that it’s taken off like it has during this time,” Byron said. “I’m excited to get back on the racetrack sometime soon, but I know right now, this is kind of what we have and it’s our chance to show the world what racing is really like and also relate to young kids out there that can do this, too.”

When Byron is not competing in iRacing, he is completing courses toward his degree through Liberty University Online Programs. As an advocate of online education, he recently offered advice to residential students when Liberty moved its classes online in response to COVID-19 restrictions.