By Seth Eggert, Associate Editor
Racing for a motorsports icon is a dream for any racer, real-life or virtual. For Dylan Duval, he’s moved from competing for motorsports icon Tony Stewart to ‘Kickin’ the Tires’ with action sports icon Travis Pastrana.
Before the team era, Duval picked up his only career victory at the top level of NASCAR’s esports arm. His win came, fittingly, at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native often ran a paint scheme inspired by Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
In the team-era of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, Duval went from being an independent driver to representing Stewart-Haas Racing under their esports banner. He aided in the recruitment of 2023 champion Steven Wilson to the team by being given the choice of who he preferred as a teammate.
The team co-owned by three-time NASCAR champion Stewart left the series following their championship runs in 2022 as a team and 2023 in the driver’s championship with Wilson.
Entering the series in 2024 is another iconic name in the world of motorsports, or more specifically, action sports. The Nitro Circus Sim Team, named after Pastrana’s Nitro Circus brand, has successfully landed onto the grid. The primary sponsorship for Duval will be the iconic Nitro Circus, founded in 2003. Among the associate sponsorships on the Canadian’s virtual No. 41 Ford Mustang Darkhorse is Kickin’ the Tires.
“It’s really meant a lot to me that I’ve had the opportunity to represent such iconic names in the world of motorsports over the years,” Duval explained.
“As a kid first joining iRacing, I never could’ve even imagined some of the relationships I would form, or the experiences I would have. It’s been truly an honor that I’ve been trusted to help carry their names into the virtual world. Honestly, I can’t thank iRacing enough for making our series what it is today, because without them none of this would’ve ever been possible.”
With the new team comes a new teammate for Duval. Lining up alongside the veteran is eNASCAR rookie Matthew Zwack. Due to iRacing’s systems of relegation and free agency, Zwack is the fourth different teammate that Duval has had in the past five years. Despite that, he is confident that with the potential that Zwack has shown that they can contend for the team championship in Nitro Circus’ debut season.
“I’m not too concerned with the change of teammates, across my four years at Stewart-Haas Racing I had three different teammates,” Duval said.
“So it’s not something I’m unfamiliar with. It will be an adjustment for sure but I’m really looking forward to working with Zwack this year. He’s shown a lot of potential, we seem to get along (well) so it should be a fun year. Regardless of who my teammate is, the goals are unchanged. I’m coming into this year expecting for us as a team to win.”
The eNASCAR veteran sits eighth in all-time series starts at 147 to date. Now, the 28-year-old is partnering with a veteran and independent motorsports news site founded by Jerry Jordan, Kickin’ the Tires.
Outside of competing in eNASCAR competition, Duval is expanding the world he competes in to include several different iRacing leagues, primarily the FTF Cup Series. He also founded and owns Duval Creative, designing graphics and paint schemes for himself and his competitors, but maintains more of a focus in the digital media world.
Duval’s interest in NASCAR began with EA Sports’ NASCAR 07. It wasn’t until 2010 that he joined iRacing and then expanded his interest in motorsports.