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Relive the iRacing Pro Invitational Series at virtual Richmond

William Byron has done it again!

After winning at virtual Bristol, driver of the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, William Byron finishes No. 1 at virtual Richmond.

Where most drivers found their start with go-karts or two-wheelers, Byron’s roots came from the iRacing world– he wouldn’t even be in the Cup Series if not for virtual racing.

“I wasn’t in a racing family growing up, so this was really my avenue to cut my teeth,” said Byron. “Obviously a much different way than most guys grew up, but I feel like in my generation it’s pretty normal.”

While Byron pulled out the win today, it wasn’t a sure thing – right down to the final minutes.

There was a big wreck (one of many) bringing out caution with four laps to go, which threatened Byron’s lead. He questioned whether he needed new tires, and opted against changing them out, which clearly paid off.

“The damage, the tires … oh no it’s not over! There’s still wrecking!”

With numerous crashes, struggle was the name of the game today. The first caution flag flew on Lap 31, where Ross Chastain “The Watermelon Man” wrecked and took out quite a few drivers out in his wake, including our very own in-race analyst Clint Bowyer.

From what we’ve seen in the first four weeks of iRacing, Bowyer is no stranger to getting caught in the virtual crossfire.

“And I hate to say it, but did I see a 14 car at the end getting caught up in this? Yes, I think so … don’t rage quit on us there Bowyer! But I understand why you’re upset – you did nothing wrong there, just riding along, and they ran over you.”

It was a rocky start from the beginning for Bowyer, as he was absent from the qualifying round, and the reason why might surprise you:

“I had to go to the bathroom – I got up, and I missed qualifying,” said Bowyer. “The bathroom is a long way away here in the studio.”

Another thing we’ve learned throughout the first few weeks: It seems whenever there’s a wreck involving Cup Series Driver Bubba Wallace, he brings Bowyer for the ride along with him – that’s not exactly what we’d call a joyride.

Bubba tried to go to the inside and made contact with Bowyer, spinning him out.

Unfortunately, the troubles only mounted, and Bowyer’s day was done early. But we’ve got good news: While his car’s engine stopped running, that didn’t stop him from providing us with some off-the-track entertainment.

“This just in buddy: It looks like we’ve lost the motor,” said Bowyer. “She has expired – dead in the water.”

Quite a few other notable names struggled today, as well.

The youngest winner in two of NASCAR’s three top divisions, Joey Logano, was still learning the difficulties and differences of being in a virtual race.

“I think the hardest part is that you’re used to feeling what the car is doing through the seat of your pants,” said Logano. “It’s hard for me to feel that, and you’re usually adjust and modulate your steering and throttle through that. That’s been the most challenging part for me.”

We also had a first-time virtual driver in our midst – Kevin Harvick known as “Happy Harvick” lived to his name, as he stayed in good spirits despite his issues on the track.

“Well it was going good, and the first time I got my Skype running over here, it went into my headphones,” said Harvick. “I drove off the racetrack, drove over three or four of them, caused a little bit of damage to my car … but we’re having fun man. This is my first time, and I’m just glad I can keep up.”

Even our top iRacing performers had their fair share of problems – NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece has finished in the top 10 at every iRacing event this season, but today was not his day.

“Honestly Preece has put a ton of time in and it’s showing,” Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spotter Steven Steffen said over Twitch as Preece ran in the lead. “He’s put in a lot of time, so he needs to be commended for that.”

Preece led the first 59 laps before Byron passed him for the top spot – after that, Preece faded and spun after contact with Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 21 Ford. Thankfully, no damage was done.

From then on, Preece and DiBenedetto had scores to settle with each other, but Preece had the last laugh as DiBenedetto was parked after being warned from a short check.

Needless to say, DiBenedetto’s final payback didn’t quite go as planned.

DiBeneditto checked in after today’s race, and if there’s one thing we learned from him, it’s that he likes to race comfortably. In week one it was in his underwear, and in week four, he brought out a giraffe onesie.

But even in his costume, he wasn’t feeling very silly on the track.

“This one wasn’t quite as smooth as the others … I wasn’t real fast, so I had to do the long run approach – and in one of the longer runs Ryan Preece was coming back and he dropped anchor, so I got to him and got underneath getting into turn one. And then he chopped down across my nose, spun himself out … figured he would know that was on him – clearly not … sorry we messed up the game with all this nonsense, but it’s just a game, it’s just for fun.”

Speaking of fun – despite his struggles – Harvick loved getting back out on the “virtual” track, and he’s already excited for next week.

Runner up Timmy Hill, winner of the series’ second race at virtual Texas Motor Speedway, placed second in the No. 66 Toyota.

Hill, like Byron has a background in iRacing and his top performances, including a streak of top three finishes on the virtual track, have pushed his name into the NASCAR conversation.

“I ran top three, top five all day long – tried putting tires on there at end. I just used them all too much – tried to come back through the field. Congrats to William Byron on a great win, we just came up a tad bit short. All in all I’ve been really excited.”

We’ll see if Hill can follow in Byron’s footsteps next week and get his second iRacing win of the season.

Catch you at virtual Talladega Superspeedway!

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EltasZone Sportswriters, Sports Analysts, Opinion columnists, editorials and op-eds. Analysis from The Zone Team
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