By virtue of winning last year’s iRacing World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship, Hayden Cardwell earned $10,000. That’s real money from a virtual game. He took that hard cash and invested it in something tangible — an actual late model.
“I wanted to do the real stuff,” said Cardwell, 18, of Knoxville, Tennessee. “Ever since I was little, I knew this is what I wanted to do — I had my mind on racing.”
With the coffers filled from iRacing, Cardwell sought a race car.
“We found [a used late model] on Facebook for $5,000, rolling, minus engine,” Cardwell said. “We spent $5,000 on the car and then bought a trailer for $5,000.”
Cardwell’s maternal grandfather, Tim Welch, helped him out with putting a Chevrolet Performance 602 engine under the hood. Cardwell, who works as a forklift operator, saved up additional money to recently upgrade the engine to a 604 engine.
Cardwell comes from a family with rich history in the sport. His uncle, Jason Cardwell, and cousins, Addison Cardwell and Baily Cardwell, race. The late patriarch of the family, Cardwell’s grandfather, Buster Cardwell, ignited the spark that led much of his family going into dirt racing.
“[My grandfather] passed away a couple of years ago from lung cancer — it was tough on us,” said Cardwell. “Every time we race, we know he’s looking down at us.”
The experience Cardwell obtained through the “video game” translated to on-track success. This year, he has won eight features in the sportsman class with the 602 engine.
“If I didn’t play iRacing before this, I don’t think I’d be where I am so quickly,” Cardwell said. “[iRacing helps with] noticing how the car reacts [to changes]. A lot of the stuff isn’t the same, but the little stuff, like stagger, you can learn. The load numbers on shocks [and springs are] different on iRacing. A 200-lb/in spring on there could make it loose on there [while it] makes it tight [in the real world].”
Hayden Cardwell said he recommends iRacing for those wanting to get their feet wet in the sport, especially kids.
“We need more younger kids in the sport,” said Cardwell. “You can get into [iRacing] fairly cheap. My computer, when I first started, was around $700 and [I spent] $200 for the [steering] wheel and pedals. You don’t have spend all kinds of money. I recommend to any kid, who has the time, to see what their parents will let them do, and get a computer, and see what they can do [on iRacing].”
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
