Did William Byron start as a sim racer? All you need to know

Over the years, William Byron has established himself as a formidable racing driver in NASCAR. The man from Charlotte, North Carolina rose through the ranks and is currently racing full-time with Hendrick Motorsports. However, his start to the pinnacle of stock car racing did not start with karting, but with iRacing.

Byron, who is currently regarded as one of the top drivers in the sport, started his career with iRacing. He found interest in racing when he was six, and from then on he carried his interest in simulator racing as a teenager.

By the time he was ready for off-line racing in 2012, he had more than 100 wins and nearly 300 top-fives in iRacing. As of 2024, William Byron, who worked his way from racing in the simulator to racing on the track, has over 300 race wins in online simulator racing.

Besides appearing in various iRacing competitions all across the United States, Byron also appeared in multiple eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and came out with strong results.

Interestingly, the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver also owns an iRacing team named William Byron eSports Racing Team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The team competes in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series and has Nick Ottinger and John Gorlinsky driving for it.

In his Cup Series career, William Byron has competed in 243 races and counting in seven years. He has 13 race wins, 97 top-tens, and 13 pole positions under his belt. His last appearance in the Cup Series was at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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William Byron: "Have always been passionate about iRacing"

NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) drives down pit road at Go Bowling at The Glen - Source: Imagn

As William Byron started his motorsport racing career with iRacing, the use of simulators has always been paramount for him. Speaking about the importance of iRacing, and how passionate he is about this form of racing, the 26-year-old said to NASCAR.com:

“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."

William Byron qualified for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and is currently competing alongside his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman for the title.