NASCAR race teams are shut down as NASCAR has halted on-track activity and the state of North Carolina is under a stay-at-home mandate. But Hendrick Motorsports fabricator Corey Williams is remaining busy with another sort of NASCAR-related work — simulator rig building.
NASCAR’s move to virtual racing with its eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series in an attempt to feel a void resulting by a lack of real-world, on-the-track racing because of the COVID-19, or coronavirus, pandemic has created a demand for such sim rigs. It just so happens, Williams has experience building those rigs.
Williams used to race real late models, but when that racing slowed down, he wanted to remain in racing. He turned to the virtual world, iRacing, but was unhappy with his sim setup. That lead to building his own rig, which eventually led to building similar rigs for other iRacers.
“I grew up racing go-karts and legends cars and ran super late models; racing was the only thing I ever thought about,’’ Williams said. “You know I just loved it so much. When my racing started slowing down, I still had to find an avenue to really get that competitiveness out of my system, so I got into iRacing, and as soon as I got home with a wheel and pedals, and kind of was at my desk racing, I started seeing some issues with things moving around and pedals sliding around. I just became quickly frustrated with that, so I’m like ‘There’s got to be a better way.’ So I went to work, brought my wheel and pedals in there, and I just started kinda working away. I built a little rig and brought it home and took some pictures of it and threw it up on the iRacing hardware forum and just began getting a lot of messages asking if I sold it or would build it for other people. And I was like, ‘Yeah.’”
The sim-building business slowed down as Williams began working at Hendrick Motorsports, and his focus shifted back to real-world racing. He joined HMS in 2009. Now, he works specifically on the team’s superspeedway cars. As a result, Williams has played a part in Hendrick Motorsports entries claiming the pole for five of the last six Daytona 500s.
But that real racing is on hold now, replaced, temporarily, by iRacing. As a result, his attention, as well as the attention of others in the NASCAR community, has shifted back to the virtual world.
“It’s kind of funny, because the last one I built was when I first started at HMS, and I remember I had to go and ask permission to build it, but it was for Roush Racing,’’ Williams said. “I built one for them, and that was the last one I’d done. I didn’t know if iRacing would continue to grow like it was. I kind of thought it may be a quick little fad. Just recently, I realized it’s picking up speed so I was like, I need to get back in.’’
In the early days of his business, Williams also built a rig for the late John Andretti. Andretti built one of Williams’ early rigs for his son Jarrett.
“That was pretty cool to sell one to him,’’ Williams said. “I went over and set it up at his house and I have a picture on my [Facebook] page of John in the simulator trying to get his son set up in it. That was probably the first real big name I’d say I made one for.’’
Since Williams has gotten back into the sim-rig building business, among those who have called on him for iRacing equipment has been Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott.
“It’s kind of crazy to think this is where all the NASCAR guys have been sitting these past couple weeks, but it’s a tool that not a lot of people have, and we’re lucky to have something like it to keep racing,’’ Elliott said.
Elliott’s order was filled just before the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series ran its second race — the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 at virtual Texas Motor Speedway on March 29. Elliott wound up 20th in that race. Elliott utilized his new rig, again, Sunday in the Food City Showdown at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.
Williams cranked the business back up in October in his two-car garage at home with new tools and a new design in his head. He also has a staff of two — 10-year-old daughter Macie and nine-year-old son Corey Jr. — to sometimes help him produce about one rig per day.
“I’m trying to keep my simulators the same, but I also want to create a place where people can come and a la carte say, ‘I want this set-up with this wheel and pedal. I want that keyboard tray but I don’t want that shifter mount,’” Williams said. “So I’m just building them to what the customer requests. That’s what I’m trying to keep it at.’’
At the very least, reviving the business has given Williams something to do.
“It’s just crazy how this whole thing went. I got back into it and was kind of just building at night and on the weekend,’’ Williams said. “With everything shut down, I really have nothing left to do right now except try to focus on this and that’s what I’ve done. Between everyone having to be home and cooped up, it’s just exploded, and I’m looking forward to it.’’
