eNASCAR Barometer: Risers & Fallers

William Byron finally made his way into virtual Victory Lane last week at Bristol Motor Speedway in the third round of eNASCAR's Pro Invitational series. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was also up front the first two races, and on track to win in Texas, but finally got to do the victory donuts in the first short-track race of the series. Byron has been one of the top drivers in the iRacing format as some of the other competitors come to grips with racing virtually as opposed to making laps on the actual circuits.

Bristol's field was set by the opening two heat races. Byron won his ahead of Christopher Bell, while John Hunter Nemechek topped Ryan Preece in the second. Byron led 116 of 150 laps in the main event and took the checkered flag ahead of Nemechek by more than a second. The key to a top finish appeared to simply be avoiding the drama raging deeper in the pack. Multiple incidents led to plenty of headlines and entertainment, which is remarkably like the aftermath of a normal race at Bristol! 

After a break this week for the Easter holiday the series will return at its second short-track event at the virtual Richmond Raceway.

UPGRADE

William Byron – Byron dominated last week's short-track showdown at Bristol and took the win he arguably should have had a week prior in Texas. He took pole position from the preliminary heat races and then set the pace early, staying up front through most of the laps to avoid the mid-pack drama and drive to the win. The victory was payback for being nudged from the lead a week earlier in Texas. It was the second week in a row the Hendrick Motorsports driver spent the afternoon at the front of the pack, which makes him one of the most sought-after drivers for fantasy rosters next week when the series returns to action at Richmond. Last week's win was his 309th from 1,499 iRacing starts.

Timmy Hill – In three Pro Invitational events, Timmy Hill has three top-three finishes. He was third in Miami, first in Texas and third again at Bristol. He simply gets down to business behind the wheel and does an excellent job of staying up front and out of trouble. He is an experienced iRacing veteran and has demonstrated his prowess consistently in every round, regardless of track configuration. He is the only driver to finish in the top five in every event and carries an average series finish of 2.3 into the next round at Richmond. He and Byron remain the most reliable fantasy options to date, and nothing seems to indicate different expectations in the next race.

Denny Hamlin – After winning the series opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hamlin didn't fare as well in Texas. He finished 24th in that race but bounced back again at Bristol with another top-five finish. He has the fifth-best finishing average among drivers who have participated in all three events and could present a nice option for fantasy rosters at Richmond. Hamlin has three Richmond wins at the real circuit, which is also his home track. He'll tackle his home venue in the virtual arena next and should have a good handle on the circuit and its characteristics as he seeks more success in the series.

Garrett Smithley – Smithley proved himself behind the wheel again last week at Bristol. His ninth-place finish in the race was his third consecutive top-10 finish in the series. He said his rig for virtual racing is a relatively inexpensive set of wheel and pedals that he has mounted to his computer desk. Compare that with some of the other drivers he is competing against who have what could accurately be described as simulators and you can begin to see just how impressive he has been. It isn't the instrument, it's the musician behind it! Persistence and focus have been Smithley's mantras and the current situation is affording him an opportunity to shine.

DOWNGRADE

Daniel Suarez – For the second week in a row Suarez was virtually sent home by NASCAR officials for an incident during a race. Two weeks ago, Suarez was parked after trying to intentionally wreck Ty Dillon after an earlier run in, a move he later tried blaming on his dog. Last week at Bristol he was removed from the event after another dust up with Kyle Larson. At Bristol the pair got into it about halfway through the race distance. Ultimately, both were parked by officials for their actions. With two races and two disqualifications under his belt, fantasy players should wait to see where Suarez finishes once he actually completes a full race distance.

Kyle Larson – Like Wallace, Larson was also parked and disqualified in Bristol. It was a shame for him to have the incident because prior to that he wasn't doing too badly. He had planned ahead to use one of his two damage rests later in the race, so probably felt he didn't have much to lose in trying to cause more damage to Suarez's machine. That didn't pan out as the pair were ultimately black flagged. Larson finished ninth in the Texas race and probably could have scored another good finish at Bristol based on his heat race where he finished fourth. He could be at the front again at Richmond, but that is another short track where emotions can run high.

Clint Bowyer – Bowyer has proven to be an entertaining commentator for the Pro Invitational series, but he hasn't yet found his footing behind the wheel in the competitions. A pair of 11th-place finishes are his best results in the series with a 16th-place finish in Miami to round out the three races. A little more work needs to be done to climb into the top 10 and then ultimately aim for a potential race win. He'll need to avoid contact and continue gaining experience in the format to make that happen, though. Bowyer said he felt like a rookie trying to compete with some of the drivers with significant iRacing experience and it looks like he'll need some more time to climb the rankings.

Ty Dillon – Dillon is another driver trying to find his footing in the virtual format. He doesn't have a sophisticated rig but did manage to get some hastily prepared sponsor logos and props onto his webcam for the broadcast at Bristol. He was part of the incident at Texas that earned Suarez his first disqualification and has a best finish of 16th from the three races. He was 25th at Bristol after being involved in a number of incidents. While he may be making the most of the situation to help promote his real-world sponsors, he (like others) will need to get more experience on the platform to begin climbing his way up the finishing order.

Ryan Blaney – Blaney didn't compete in the first round of the Pro Invitational series but was behind the wheel for Texas and Bristol. Instead of driving in the Miami round he was playing crew chief for friend Chase Elliott. That effort didn't last long as he was fired and forced to take up the wheel himself in the following rounds. Unfortunately, his best result from those two outings was a lowly 26th last week at Bristol. In fact, his average finish from the two races is just 26.5. Clearly, his success on the real circuits eclipses what he has been able to achieve in the virtual world. Fantasy players would be wise to keep that in mind when contemplating their Richmond lineups.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Darrell Wallace Jr. – Virtual Bristol proved that it can rattle emotions just as effectively as the actual Bristol Motor Speedway. Bubba Wallace and Clint Bowyer discovered that in last week's race. The pair came into contact multiple times and Wallace quit the event midway through the proceedings as a result. He returned to social media after some time to respond to criticism thrown his direction and even a sponsor got in on the action to say, "we're interested in drivers, not quitters." Anyone thinking stakes in the virtual world weren't quite as high as on a normal race weekend may want to reconsider that position in light of that. Despite finishing seventh in the first round of the virtual series, Wallace may pose a risky option after Bristol.