LANDON CASSILL

Austin Dillon avoided a massive wreck in the rain to win at Daytona International Speedway and snag a playoff spot in the Cup Series’ regular-season finale.

Jeremy Clements won a crash-filled Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway early Saturday for his second career victory and first since 2017.

The NBA, MLB and the NWSL are just some of the sports leagues that are now signing deals with cryptocurrency platforms as the popularity of crypto explodes.

Scott Dixon, five-time IndyCar champion and relatively new iRacing competitor, received a brief set of instructions from boss Chip Ganassi about the world of virtual racing. Kyle Larson was fired by Ganassi this week for using a racial slur during a virtual race. He has competed in the first three official NASCAR virtual races, hosted other virtual events and signed topical pain reliever Blue-Emu the sponsor that dropped Wallace as a backer. Virtual racing has become the only way for drivers to promote their partners during stay-at-home orders, and teams have recognized the value of having their drivers participate. Until racing resumes, the virtual competition is all there is for drivers and fans.

The popularity of virtual motorsports racing on television has come with surprising success stories and occasional complications as race teams scramble to create value for sponsors and partners. IndyCar drivers participating in the series online races represent their real sponsors and for the most part that is also true in NASCAR. Some of the small-team drivers have seized the opportunity presented by being the only racing available. Not only did he win a NASCAR race, Hill, a regular gamer considered among the best in the iRacing community, has put together a partnership with Pit Boss Grills for the virtual racing. Hendrick Motorsports last week had Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott virtually connect with sponsors the duo would have hosted at the actual track.

William Byron led the most laps in NASCARs first two virtual races and had nothing to show for his gaming skills. Byron easily won the iRacing event Sunday at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, where NASCAR would have been really racing before the coronavirus pandemic caused sports to shut down. Some things are different, but a lot of things are similar, and this is a racetrack Ive always enjoyed coming to, Byron said. I need a beer really badly.Wallace appeared to rage quit the race after the incident. For Timmy Hill, winner of last weeks virtual race, the series has given him sudden exposure.