MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 25, 2021) – William Byron won Wednesday night’s eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing event on the virtual dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first of five such events to be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Degree Chevrolet did not make it out of a rough-and-tumble Heat 2, finishing 10th in the 13-car field, and just missed transferring into the 70-lap main event. Even so, the night was still an enjoyable one for the iRacing enthusiast.
“Lots of fun tonight watching all these real world pros try and figure this stuff out,” Earnhardt Jr. tweeted after the race. “Appreciate Fox/NASCAR allowing me to participate with them.”
Starting 10th on the outside line, Earnhardt Jr.’s plan was to keep his Chevrolet Camaro clean and make his passes early on the way to seventh place, which was the transfer spot for the feature. That plan lasted all of about 50 feet past the flag stand on the initial green flag, as the car inside slammed his Degree-backed machine into the outside wall.
It was more of the same the rest of the way. Earnhardt Jr. climbed as high as ninth in the 20-lap race, despite a door-slam by Martin Truex Jr. that sent him hard into the outside concrete a second time at lap 5, but could not rise any farther in the order.
Following the checkered flag, Earnhardt Jr. reported that the left front suspension on the Degree machine had sustained serious damage in the qualifier.
In the feature, Byron was able to hold off late challenges by Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick to earn the victory and a $5,000 donation to Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the charity of his choice. Reddick rallied past Bell for second, with Garrett Smithley fourth and road racer James Davison rounding out the top five.
Earnhardt Jr. will be back for more eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series action on April 21 at the virtual Talladega Superspeedway, airing on Fox Sports 1.