NASCAR driver William Byron got his start in iRacing, which has ‘come full circle now’

For The Win spoke with rising NASCAR star William Byron about the competition and culture of the virtual racing world.

NASCAR driver William Byron knows the iRacing world better than most — if not all — of the drivers currently competing online while the COVID-19 pandemic has the real-life season on hold.

When some drivers’ racing roots go back to go-karts or two wheels or dirt, the 22-year-old driver of the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got his start in the virtual racing world, highlighting the rare but conceivable route of turning simulation racing into a career on an actual track. And because of that, Byron is regularly a favorite to win in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, an exhibition series started while the regular NASCAR season is postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

And after leading the most laps in the first two races of the Pro Invitational Series but finishing empty-handed, Byron led 116 of 150 laps and took the checkered flag in the third event, which was two weekends ago at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.

He’s also a favorite to win the next virtual event Sunday at Richmond Raceway (1 p.m. ET) — where NASCAR would have competed in real life this weekend — and said that with not much else to do, he’s been on iRacing at least an hour every day.

William Byron does a burnout on the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway in this computer-generated in-game image. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

After the motor sports world moved entirely online, iRacing is now in the spotlight with NASCAR’s exhibition races even being broadcast on FOX and FS1. So For The Win spoke with Byron this week about his return to virtual racing and the culture of online competition.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Does all this focus on iRacing right now take you back to some good ol’ days?

It does, yeah, definitely. It’s how I got started, so it’s crazy to see it come full circle now. It’s definitely different because it’s taken on a new meaning and a serious meaning.

Because technology advances so rapidly, is iRacing now comparable at all to what you did growing up? Has it changed much, or is it still fairly similar?

It has changed quite a bit. There’s a lot of things that they’ve added since my first time on the sim. They’ve changed the tire wear — like the heat of the tires and the way they build air pressure and wear out differently based on how you drive the car. The aerodynamic properties of the car have gotten a lot different and a lot more in-tune with what they really are. So those things have changed quite a bit, which I think has really changed the game for us.

How would you describe the online culture of iRacing? Aside from not interacting with people face-to-face, how is it different from real life?

I think honestly there’s some differences in the culture online because everyone can talk to each other, and that’s much different than, obviously, what we normally work with.

But there’s also a lot of similarities in the way that the racing is online because the code of conduct that iRacing has is very similar to the real-life code of conduct. So it’s honestly not all that different.

Is there more trash talking because you can talk to each other?

I would say so. There’s the ability to have that for sure, and that’s definitely unique. Everyone can talk on the chat at the same time, so there’s more discussion back and forth between people than in real life when you can’t talk to the other people out there.

Is it ongoing conversation, or are you concentrating the whole time?

During green flag [runs], there’s not really much talking. But during the cautions, people talk back and forth.

Can you compare the competition in real life to iRacing or is that not fair?

I think honestly there’s more quality competition just because everyone has access to the same resources, so I think it makes the races really close and competitive. Obviously, real racing is very competitive, and there’s a lot there. But I think there are a lot of people on iRacing that are super competitive and a lot of equal abilities.

How would you describe the intensity of your rig on a scale of Denny Hamlin to a folding chair and a laptop?

Mine’s a middle ground between a Timmy Hill setup and a Denny Hamlin setup I would say. Over the years, I’ve learned what I need and sim seats, who does my simulator setup, they do a good job of building some good, quality rigs that are also not too elaborate.

Is there a virtual track you like to race on that you haven’t gotten to in real life?

I would say Montreal in Canada. That’s a really cool track. It’s a road course. I think it’d really be they used to race XFINITY cars there, so that’s a track I’d love to race on that I’ve ran laps at virtually.

What’s your favorite car to drive in iRacing?

Honestly, my favorite thing recently has been the sprint cars because those things are really, really fun to drive. They’re difficult. The dirt racing’s been a lot of fun to work with and drive.

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