From sim racer to superstar, the rise of William Byron explained

The driver for Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron has established himself as an intimidating driver in the sport of NASCAR. The 26-year-old driver from Charlotte, North Carolina rose through the ranks and drives the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. But, his career in full-time stock car racing didn't start typically with karting but with iRacing.

A career that started from iRacing

Yes, William Byron indeed started his career with iRacing and currently, he is regarded as one of the top drivers in the sport. He found out at the age of six that he was interested in racing and from their on, carried his interest in simulator racing as a teenager.

By the time Byron was ready to race off-line back in 2012, he had more than 100 wins to his name and around 300 top-five finishes in iRacing. As of now, Byron has nearly 300 race wins in online simulator racing.

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William Byron has made appearances in various iRacing competitions across the United States. He also appeared on multiple eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and posted strong results. Meanwhile, Byron also owns a team called William Byron's eSports Racing Team. The team competes in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. Nick Ottinger and John Gorlinsky drive for the team.

William Byron's career in the Cup Series

The driver for Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron in his seven years long Cup Series career has competed in 243 races and counting. He has managed to win 13 races, register 97 top-tens and claim 13 pole positions to his name. His last appearance came at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Something I’ve been passionate about: William Byron

As he started his racing career with the help of iRacing, Byron speaks of the use of simulators and how it is the most important thing of all. While speaking to NASCAR.com, he said, "I just enjoy (iRacing). It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about. It really is how I got started in racing. It’s really cool to see the iRacing community now come together and these races are going on as much as they are. I’m pretty excited for it because I think it’s a good chance to shine."

"It’s cool because there’s so much text and chat that goes back and forth within the game, in the (simulator), that you wouldn’t ever have on the real track. You know, everyone is kind of on their own team and we don’t really talk at the track besides teammates in normal races, so that’s cool (to hear) the interaction between drivers," Byron added.

"I think it was really unique; I think, you know, the coolest part about the iRacing deal is that you have the ability to be on Twitter as the race is going on, and that’s way different than anything we’ve done before. The fact that we can be on there communicating and check the temperature of what fans are saying, what people are saying about the race," Byron concluded.

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