By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Four tires proved to be the right call as William Byron scored his third eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series victory on iRacing.
As the final caution waved, Byron and his crew, decided to take four tires. William Byron eSports’ eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series driver Nick Ottinger, and iRacer Matt Holden, made the aggressive call with Byron. The virtual No. 24 Axalta Voltatex Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE lined up fifth at the laser-scanned Dover International Speedway.
On the restart, Byron ducked below Landon Cassill in turn one. The Hendrick Motorsports driver clipped the left rear of Cassill’s No. 89 Blue Emu Chevrolet. That sent the Shepherd Racing Ventures driver spinning up the track.
iRacing officials opted to hold the caution as they waited for the track to clear. Dover’s reputation as being a ‘self-cleaning track’ paved the way for Byron to continue his march forward.
With eight laps to go, Byron caught race leader Timmy Hill. He hounded the No. 66 RoofClaim.com Toyota Camry for the next two laps. With six to go, Byron blew by Hill’s old tires to take the lead. He took the checkered flag with a gap of 0.300 seconds over Christopher Bell.
“Obviously, there was a lot of cautions, so I just had to kind of pace myself,” explained Byron. “It was hard to predict when we were going to get a longer run so it’s hard to know what to do with the tires in terms of how much to save, whatnot.
“My help there, Nick, Matt Holden, did a great job of really kind of leaving the strategy up to them as far as what tires to take. I think four tires at the end was the right call to be aggressive. Just thankful for their support and ready to get back to our normal racing here soon.”
Hill finished third with Erik Jones and Michael McDowell completing the top-five. Rounding out the top-10 were Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Garrett Smithley, and Aric Almirola.
The ‘Monster Mile’ lived up to its’ reputation for much of the race. Nine caution for accidents slowed the 150-lap race. Blaney, who finished seventh, was the only driver to finish the event incident free.
The final caution of the race possibly changed the outcome of the event. Hamlin had been on the freshest tires at the time. Exiting turn four, John Hunter Nemechek enacted an apparent payback move, wrecking Hamlin. In the ensuing chaos, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, and others were swept up in the incident.
Nemechek had been battling Hamlin for fifth when the duo made contact. The Front Row Motorsports driver got sent up the hill while Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx “Delivering Strength” Toyota Camry remained inside the top-five. Nemechek left the server immediately after the incident.
Ross Chastain started first after a 10-car invert. He ran inside the top-10 throughout much of the 150-lap race. Late race contact sent the driver subbing for Ryan Newman bouncing between the outside and inside walls. His car gave up one lap away from the finish as a result of the damage.
The eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series will conclude with iRacing’s newest addition to its’ simulation service, North Wilkesboro Speedway, on Saturday, May 9.
The Finish
1. 24-William Byron [8], 2. 95-Christopher Bell [11], 3. 66-Timmy Hill [7], 4. 20-Erik Jones [31], 5. 34-Michael McDowell [20], 6. 11-Denny Hamlin [10], 7. 12-Ryan Blaney [32], 8. 88-Alex Bowman [35], 9. 51-Garrett Smithley [2], 10. 10-Aric Almirola [27], 11. 15-Brennan Poole [28], 12. 41-Cole Custer [36], 13. 19-Bobby Labonte [14], 14. 22-Joey Logano [15], 15. 18-Kyle Busch [22], 16. 1-Kurt Busch [30], 17. 6-Ross Chastain [1], 18. 4-Kevin Harvick [18], 19. 52-JJ Yeley [26], 20. 32-Corey LaJoie [5], 21. 89-Landon Cassill [6], 22. 49-Chad Finchum [17], 23. 3-Austin Dillon [16], 24. 53-Joey Gase [24], 25. 31-Tyler Reddick [34], 26. 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [4], 27. 38-John Hunter Nemechek [9], 28. 48-Jimmie Johnson [19], 29. 37-Ryan Preece [33], 30. 96-Daniel Suarez [12], 31. 78-Regan Smith [29], 32. 13-Ty Dillon [23], 33. 2-Brad Keselowski [13], 34. 77-Parker Kligerman [3], 35. 17-Chris Buescher [23], 36. 21-Matt DiBenedetto [21].
Lead Changes: 12 among seven drivers
Lap Leader(s): Ross Chastain 1-3, Parker Kligerman 4-14, Denny Hamlin 15-23, William Byron 24-42, Garrett Smithley 43-45, William Byron 46-52, Garrett Smithley 53-60, Alex Bowman 61-65, William Byron 66-73, Timmy Hill 74-99, William Byron 100-137, Timmy Hill 138-143, William Byron 144-150.
Laps Led: William Byron 79, Timmy Hill 32, Garrett Smithley 11, Parker Kligerman 11, Denny Hamlin 9, Alex Bowman 5, Ross Chastain 3.
Hard Charger(s): 20-Erik Jones and 88-Alex Bowman (+27)
Cautions: Nine for 40 laps.
Margin of Victory: 0.300 seconds.
Time of Race: One hour, 31 minutes, 58.731 seconds.
Average Speed: 97.849 mph.
Fastest Qualifier: 11-Denny Hamlin 22.044 seconds (163.310 mph).
Fastest Lap: 24-William Byron, Lap 142, 22.300 seconds (161.435 mph).