William Byron, a teenager who learned how to race by becoming an expert at video games, is on the fast track to NASCAR stardom.
Hendrick Motorsports, historically NASCAR's premier organization, announced Thursday it has signed Byron to a multi-year deal and will place him at affiliate JR Motorsports to run an Xfinity Series schedule next season.
The 18-year-old only started racing real-life cars four years ago after he showed a penchant for winning on iRacing, a simulator program. That has carried over into reality: This season, the Camping World Truck Series rookie has won five of the 13 races he's run for Kyle Busch Motorsports and leads the series as the championship favorite.