4:32 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — William Byron led the most laps in NASCAR’s first two virtual races and had nothing to show for his gaming skills. The third time out, he got the win. Byron easily won the iRacing event Sunday at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, where NASCAR would have been really

7:07 PM ET Start your engines and place your bets — Las Vegas is taking action on virtual NASCAR racing. Nevada Gaming Control on Friday announced that the state’s sportsbooks could offer betting on the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, beginning with this weekend’s events from virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s the first time

5:58 PM ET Associated Press NASCAR has delayed the debut of its next generation stock car that was scheduled to hit the track next season. The car will now be delayed until 2022 because the coronavirus pandemic has slowed development. “Due to challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic, the debut of the Next Gen car

10:08 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The five 3D printers at NASCAR’s Research & Technology center — two delivered in February and installed less than two weeks ago — are typically focused on composite parts and working on an updated stock car. But when racing came to a stop March 13 amid the

9:43 PM ET Associated Press Gronk is coming to iRacing. Rob Gronkowski and WWE star Mojo Rawley are set to serve as the grand marshals for the NASCAR virtual racing event on Sunday. Gronkowski, the retired New England Patriots tight end, is also scheduled to host WrestleMania. WrestleMania, WWE’s signature event, is held over two

4:03 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead sang the national anthem from a remote location. Troy Aikman, borrowing Matthew McConaughey’s trademark phrase “Alright, alright, alright,” commanded drivers to start their, uh, simulators. NASCAR’s new normal resumed Sunday with another virtual event, the second in an iRacing series thrown

1:38 PM ET Associated Press Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has joined the field for IndyCar’s inaugural online race as he contemplates driving in that series following his retirement from full-time stock car racing. IndyCar has followed NASCAR, IMSA and Formula One in setting up a virtual racing series to give fans content during the

5:50 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR informed its staff Tuesday that pay cuts will be imposed across the company until the series returns to racing. NASCAR president Steve Phelps announced the moves in a memo to employees, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press from a person who requested

It was all so real. But it was also never real. “It sure felt real to me,” Hamlin said, laughing. Sunday’s race was the NASCAR equivalent to Tron, with an entire racetrack, garage area and grandstand digitized via iRacing, the hyper-accurate racing simulation software that has long served as an escape for gamers as well

4:59 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The stands were packed, Jimmie Johnson caused several wrecks, Denny Hamlin raced barefoot and damaged cars were repaired with the push of a button — a few virtual signs that NASCAR backed quite an unreal race. NASCAR eased off the brake in the real sports world brought