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  • William Byron goes back-to-back, wins virtual Richmond in late race shootout

    William Byron goes back-to-back, wins virtual Richmond in late race shootout

    William Byron held off a hard charging Timmy Hill to take the checkered flag at Richmond in the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series. It would be the first time in the series that a driver would win back-to-back races.

    “Just really pleased with how it turned out,” Byron said. “The pit call there with about 40 laps to go was a tough one. I didn’t really know how that was gonna to work out, but luckily we were able to have a little bit of buffer to the guys with four tires, and then the late restart, it just executed that well.”

    Ryan Preece obtained the pole in his No. 37 Chevy with Landon Cassill on his outside. With no quick repairs, drivers had to be extra cautious to avoid trouble.

    Preece would lead the field to the green flag, Byron would shuffle into second while outside pole sitter Cassill would drop to fourth.

    The first caution would fly on Lap 26 when Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford Mustang would have his wheel disconnect, sending him for a spin. Kevin Harvick would be also swept up in the crash.

    Preece would lead on the restart, but a yellow would fly immediately as Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman would collide off of Turn 2. Clint Bowyer would crash trying to check up as he and Bubba Wallace would make contact, sending the No. 14 into the Turn 3 wall.

    Another restart would fly but Kurt Busch would find trouble as he, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon would crash into Turn 1, bringing out another yellow. Kurt Busch was trying to get toward the inside but would get hit by Logano’s No. 22, putting the No. 1 into the inside wall and up into the field.

    Preece would still maintain the race lead, with Byron and Timmy Hill in hot pursuit.

    Bowyer would lose the engine for his No. 14 car, knocking him out of the race.

    As the race remained green, the gaps would get much closer. Byron would close in the gap as he would take a look to the inside on Lap 60 and pass the No. 37 with ease in Turn 3. Brad Keselowski would take over the fourth position over Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 65, the No. 2 would gradually move his way upward as the Team Penske car would eventually surge to the third spot.

    Pole-sitter Preece would start to drop back, as Parker Kligerman and Cassill would pass the No. 37, putting Preece in seventh. Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Preece would make contact in Turn 1, sending the No. 37 for a spin, bringing out the caution.

    Keselowski had issues getting into his stall under caution, giving him damage to his No. 2. Byron would have a good jump on the field and held a solid gap over Kligerman. Hamlin would lose positions due to being stuck on the outside, but would file back in line.

    DiBenedetto would be disqualified from the session after retaliating against Preece. Preece had turned the No. 21 into Turn 1 earlier, and shortly afterward DiBenedetto would return the favor. He would be parked for the remainder of the race.

    Due to the skirmish between Preece and DiBenedetto, it would jam the field up once again. Byron would stay out on the track, but a vast majority of the field would come down pit lane to take some fresh rubber.

    Byron would continue to lead, with Christopher Bell and Erik Jones following behind. The top 3 had stayed out on older tires while those behind would had much fresher tires.

    Kligerman and Hill had a close call as the No. 77 would put on a block down the backstretch. Hill would hit the back end of the Valvoline Toyota, sending Kligerman up the racetrack.

    With 24 laps to go Garrett Smithley and Daniel Suarez would make contact, sending the No. 51 into the Turn 4 wall. No caution would fly and the field would continue racing. Jones would move up toward the second spot while Bell would drop backward as Hill would barge his way toward the third spot.

    Hill’s charge to the front would continue as he would pass Jones in Turn 2 with 15 laps to go. Kligerman and Hamlin would also begin their climb as they would march towards the top 5.

    Byron’s lead would maintain a second gap, but a caution with four laps to go would evaporate the gap.

    Tyler Reddick and Bell would crash off of Turn 2. The wreck would continue as Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and several others would be swept up in the carnage trying to avoid the No. 31 and No. 95 cars.

    A late shootout would ensue. Byron would have the proper jump but Hill would try and close in. It wouldn’t be enough as Byron would be victorious at Richmond.

    Results:

    1. 24 – William Byron
    2. 66 – Timmy Hill
    3. 77 – Parker Kligerman
    4. 89 – Landon Cassill
    5. 18 – Kyle Busch
    6. 11 – Denny Hamlin
    7. 20 – Erik Jones
    8. 8 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    9. 43 – Bubba Wallace
    10. 2 – Brad Keselowski
    11. 9 – Chase Elliott
    12. 31 – Tyler Reddick
    13. 6 – Ross Chastain
    14. 19 – Bobby Labonte
    15. 13 – Ty Dillon
    16. 38 – John Hunter Nemechek
    17. 51 – Garrett Smithley
    18. 96 – Daniel Suarez
    19. 37 – Ryan Preece
    20. 1 – Kurt Busch
    21. 17 – Chris Buescher
    22. 88 – Alex Bowman
    23. 12 – Ryan Blaney
    24. 95 – Christopher Bell (Disconnected)
    25. 22 – Joey Logano
    26. 48 – Jimmie Johnson (Disconnected)
    27. 21 – Matt DiBenedetto (Disqualified)
    28. 3 – Austin Dillon
    29. 4 – Kevin Harvick
    30. 14 – Clint Bowyer (Disconnected)

  • Is there any merit to the sim racing/real racing debate?

    Is there any merit to the sim racing/real racing debate?

    One side holds a slew of individuals who are quick to decry sim racing, saying that it shouldn’t be held to the same standard that actual racing is. They’re quick to point out how absurd it is that sim drivers are getting noticed and called upon by actual individuals in the racing world to compete under their banner. Drivers and dignitaries such as Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Parker Kligerman all have sim drivers who compete for them.

    This side of the debate is understandable. The NASCAR world is full of drivers who still have to scratch and claw their way to the top for even the smallest opportunity to compete in the main event. Some of those drivers don’t even get the opportunity to prove themselves. Therefore, in a sense, their frustration is almost warranted when they see competitors who don’t have to put in as much work and effort as they do get their spot in the limelight while hobnobbing with the sport’s greatest names.

    On the other side of the argument, sim racers are quick to point out the actual drivers who have benefited from sim racing, such as William Byron, Josh Berry and Ty Majeski. For that matter, when Hamlin swept Pocono in 2006 he was quick to credit his time on a racing simulator and how it helped him navigate the speedway.

    Ryan Newman is also someone who has benefited from sim racing before. After crashing in both Bristol events in his rookie season, Newman took to EA Sports’s NASCAR Thunder 2003, where afterward he said in a Sports Illustrated interview that the game helped him learn a few things on how to get around the track.

    It’s been established that sim racing is a beneficial tool in today’s motorsports world. As for the sim competitors getting live television coverage and signing deals with the sport’s top teams, is that necessary? Do sim racers really need to be held in a higher capacity than the regional competitors looking to make a name for themselves?

    From a practical standpoint, no. Sim racing cannot replace the actual, real-life experience of a live race track. It cannot make up for the senses one experiences at a track. But from a marketing standpoint? This is something that racing needs regardless of discipline, be it NASCAR or Formula One.

    At this point in time, eSports is a real thing and is treated with the same legitimacy any other sport does. There’s a lot that goes along with eSports competition, and there are even strength and conditioning coaches for eSports competitors. With games like Overwatch and Fortnite bringing such competitions into the spotlight, the world can now see just how much of this is a legitimate business.

    That being said, NASCAR now knows how to bring in a new crowd and get more people involved. The more sim racing gets marketed, the chances are more devout gamers may toss their hats in the ring. On top of that, the more recognizable drivers/individuals who decide to start their own eRacing teams, the better the chances are for sport, competitor, and team to spread the racing product and what they’re trying to do.

    Besides, it’s a great way to crank out a racing fix when there’s no racing going on. iRacing rigs are notoriously cheaper to set up than a weekly race team, and the amount of detail that goes into the games is surprisingly life-like. There are sim racers the world over who pour hours and hours of time into their iRacing efforts, and it shows. To be fair, with the current business model in racing and how much it’d cost to actually form a team that could compete for wins, sim racing could very well be the more viable alternative.

    When all is said and done, both real racing and sim racing have their individual pros and cons. Nothing can match the spectacle and glory of a real-life event, and sim racing will never be able to match that experience. But at the same time, sim racing is available year-round and is a good way to keep off the pre-/post-season doldrums. It’s all a matter of preference; that said there’s no point to argue which is better or why it is better.