Jeffrey Hrunka - Staff Writer
When people picture the future stars of NASCAR, dirt tracks and late models come to mind. Not a computer screen. Yet, esports are continually becoming a viable pathway into American stock car racing.
William Byron has been touted as a star who entered the top level of American motorsport through virtual racing. However, he achieved this feat without entering the top level of eNASCAR, the Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
iRacing, the world’s premier racing simulation, prepares professionals for when they hit the racetrack and allows fans to get a feel for what it means to be a professional racecar driver. Many who have found a knack for racing on the service have climbed the ladder to compete with the best in the eNASCAR community in the aforementioned “Coke Series.”
With the simulation being a near replication of the real thing, many of these former esports stars are now household names in the top divisions of stock car racing. We all know about Byron, but here are some other drivers who have followed the eNASCAR path.
Parker Retzlaff
This list has to start with Parker Retzlaff. Last season, he reached the top level of stock car racing by starting at Richmond Raceway and Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series. He showed promise in those two starts, claiming a seventh-place finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.
Alongside the part-time starts, he has raced full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Jordan Anderson Racing No.31 Chevrolet Camaro over the last two years. In 2023, he accumulated two poles, two top-5s, and four top-10s but had an abysmal 12 DNFs, sitting himself outside of playoff contention. Over the offseason, he moved to Alpha Prime Racing’s No.4 Chevrolet Camaro for his 2025 season.
His virtual racing career accompanied this rise, as he made his iRacing Coca-Cola debut with RFK Racing in 2022. He wouldn’t do much in his rookie season as he had 0 Top-5s and Top-10s. He ended the season with a best finish of 13th at Daytona and a 34th points standings finish.
Although that was his only season in the top series of eNASCAR, many fans recognized his name on the racetrack from the virtual simulation, increasing his popularity. The same can be said for his rookie teammate at the time, Kaden Honeycutt, who still currently competes in the series alongside his career in NASCAR.
Kaden Honeycutt
Honeycutt’s maiden season in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series saw him finish 37th in the final driver standings, as he missed the regular season finale, with a best result of fourth at Talladega Superspeedway with RFK Racing. Unlike Retzlaff, Honeycutt continued racing in the series, developing his talents over the next two years.
He saw an overall increase in performance, coming home 29th in the final driver standings with a best finish of ninth at Talladega Superspeedway. Over the offseason, Honeycutt replaced four-time champion Michael Conti at JR Motorsports in the No.8 Chevrolet Camaro. This move translated into an uptick in performance, as he ended the season with two Top-5s, seven Top-10s and a 14th points finish through 18 races.
His rise in eNASCAR has coincided with his success in stock car racing. In 2023, Honeycutt amassed two ARCA Menards Series West victories in four starts, three Top-10s in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 11 starts, and made his first start in the Xfinity Series with CHK Racing; however, his breakout year came the following season.
With an increased number of starts in 2024, Honeycutt took full advantage of the extended track time, teaming up with Niece Motorsports and finishing with two Top-5s, six Top-10s and a stage victory in 14 starts in the No.45 Chevrolet Silverado. He only added to this success at the local level with a 2024 Cars Tour Late Model Pro Championship, and most recently won the 2024 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, the most prominent late model stock car race in the U.S.
These accolades have earned him a full-time opportunity with Niece Motorsports in the No.45 Chevrolet Silverado for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Of the drivers in the article, Honeycutt has found the most success across the board. That couldn’t be more different from Vincente Salas, as he is the only one of these three to have won in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
Vincente Salas
Salas embarked on his eNASCAR journey after his career in shifter karts was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first season in the Coke Series he showed promise, accumulating one win, one Top-5, and six Top-10s, finishing 10th in points with Spacestation Gaming.
In his following two seasons with Williams Esports, his performance decreased. In 32 starts, he combined for two Top-5s and six Top-10s, earning himself a 22nd-place points finish and a 37th-place finish, respectively. His breakout year came in 2024 when he made strides in performance on iRacing alongside starts in the Craftsman Trucks Series for Young Motorsports and BMR Racing.
In the Coca-Cola iRacing Series, Salas finished the season with one win, five Top-5s, 10 Top-10s and a fifth-place points finish with Tony-Kanaan eSports—one spot short of the 2024 iRacing Coca-Cola Series Championship 4.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, he finished 34th and 25th in each of his starts at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and World Wide Technology Raceway. While these results didn’t replicate those he gets on iRacing, the duo of events allowed Salas to get a feel for racing in a premier NASCAR series.
While each driver stepped into the world of stock car racing before making their respective appearances in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, the service is what got their name in the spotlight of fans.
The benefit of having real teams and drivers interact with the virtual racing series has allowed it to spread through social media and gain popularity. These teams have also benefited from this partnership, as many eNASCAR drivers aid teams in preparing for race weekends.
23XI Racing hired Keegan Leahy, 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Champion, as a performance consultant to help maximize their cars as much as possible, particularly on road courses. He was a major contributor to Tyler Reddick's victory in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA in 2023.
The virtual racing series has shown that it can produce talent and that the skills learned on the iRacing service benefit real-life success. Salas, Honeycutt, and Retzlaff are examples of how the transition works. More teams need to take a chance on these drivers because they know how to race at these top tracks around the country better than anyone else.
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