Hendrick Motorsports star reveals shock factor behind NASCAR success

Fresh off the back of his Cup Series win at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron has credited some of his NASCAR success to a surprising factor.

Byron was able to put on a stellar fuel-saving display to win the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, holding off the likes of Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney hunting him down from behind.

Byron has now won in all three national NASCAR series at Iowa Speedway, with Truck Series success in 2016 and an Xfinity Series win in 2017 preceding his victory on Sunday.

Going even further back, Byron has even won at the track in the K&N Pro Series East, and the Hendrick Motorsports star believes it could be his time spent virtual racing that has made it such a strong place for him to go to.

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Byron credits iRacing for NASCAR success

Speaking to the media after Sunday's race, Byron suggested that his time iRacing has contributed to his success at Iowa, as well as other tracks.

“There’s certain tracks I’ve had a lot of success on,” Byron explained.

“The funny backstory with this place [Iowa Speedway], and kind of Pocono ropes into that as well, is when I was a kid, the iRacing schedule would always line up with the racetracks in the summer, and that’s when I’d have the most time to iRace, [it] was in the summer.

“I would race this track a ton on iRacing. So I feel like that’s why it’s been a good track for me [in real life], is I just have thousands of laps kind of in my head of how the rhythm of this place goes.

“And even with repaves and everything, I feel like I just spent so much time as a 14-year-old, 13-year-old just racing on iRacing on Iowa and Pocono. I feel like those tracks in the summer, it honestly lines up pretty good. Those are usually our fastest tracks.”

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What is iRacing?

iRacing is a virtual racing simulator/platform that allows users to race against others worldwide in a variety of virtual racing series.

According to their official website: "iRacing puts you in the driver’s seat by allowing members to experience today’s newest form of competitive motorsport: virtual racing.

"iRacing is a fun, inexpensive and highly-competitive way for race fans and gamers to break a sweat by braking hard at the apex, while overcoming head-to-head racing challenges usually reserved for professional racers."

NASCAR has a significant presence on iRacing, with the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series feature on the platform, among a host of other stock car racing content.

iRacing will also produce the new NASCAR 25 game set to be released this fall.

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