Trine student Wyatt Burton takes the checkered flag at virtual Indy 500

Wyatt Burton has attended the Indy 500 every year since he was 2, and now he has won a virtual version of the race.

Burton, a member of Trine University’s esports team, placed first at the event hosted by the Collegiate iRacing League (CiL) on Feb. 19, beating out Mario Merenda of the University of Oklahoma by 0.038 second.

It was the first full-length (500-mile) version of the race hosted by CiL.

“I was trying to decide whether I wanted to be the lead car or not on the last lap,” he said in a post-race interview with CiL. “The opportunity came so I kind of had to take it and hope it wasn’t the wrong move, and it turned out to be the right move.”

A huge fan

The computer science and information technology major from Edinburgh, Indiana, said he has “always been a huge motorsports fan,” watching races with his father every weekend.

He began simulated racing in his early teens when his parents bought him a Logitech G29 system with racing wheel and pedals for Christmas.

“I only played on PS4 and mostly raced on the game ‘Project Cars 2,’ ” he said. “This was great fun for me at that age and it really intrigued me into the mechanical engineering side of racing, as I wanted to change the car setup and be as fast as possible.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Wyatt found he had lots of free time and got into racing more seriously.

“Shortly after I got my first job, I saved up enough money to buy a PC and iracing gear,” he said. “This past year I finally upgraded my simulator and started competing often. After meeting with Jeremy (Goossens) on my Trine visit I was very excited to join the iracing team.”

Multiple tracks

The CiL features virtual races on road courses and street circuits as well as short ovals and speedways.

In addition to the Indy Motor Speedway, races are held on virtual versions of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen and Michigan International Speedway, among others.

Wyatt said the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is his favorite track, with speeds often exceeding 230 miles per hour.

“Racing at these speeds inches from other cars can provide adrenaline like no other,” he said. “Overall, ovals are my favorite, and I typically excel at them when racing in competitions.”

The league includes students from schools including Ball State University, Clemson University, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, East Carolina University, Purdue University, Penn State University, St. Clair College, University of Alabama Huntsville and Converse University.

This is Wyatt’s second season of racing in the CiL. During his rookie season last semester, he led every lap at Texas Motor Speedway but was taken out by a crash with 13 laps to go.

Wyatt was the only Trine student in the Indy 500, qualifying fifth out of 32 drivers.

The win was the first for Trine University in the CiL, and was very special for Wyatt, who is currently fifth in the overall standings.

“(It’s) probably the biggest race in the series,” he said in the post-race interview. “My first win, so that’s always good. And then it’s also a home race for me, so kind of the cherry on top.”