21 year-old sim racer turning NASCAR dream into reality at Circuit of The Americas

Salas, who earned his first victory on the short track scene at the famed Hickory Speedway in March of 2023, won the iRacing NASCAR Contender Road to Pro Series championship in 2023, driving for Deadzone Racing. 

"I am beyond excited," Salas said. "To be able to make my first Truck Series start feels surreal. Last year, I wanted to run some ARCA or Truck races, and someone that has always been very highly spoken of is Tyler Young. I got his contact info and hit him up."

Young, a veteran of the Truck Series scene as a driver and current Team Principal of Young Motorsports gave Salas his shot, proving to those in the industry that he believes in what the young driver has to offer not just in the virtual world, but on the real racetrack as well. 

In a year where William Byron, a sim-racer turned NASCAR star won the Daytona 500, anything and everything seems possible for Salas, who has taken a similar career path thus far to this year's winner of the Great American Race. 

Friday's practice session will be Salas' only shot to dial in his truck before an all-important qualifying session which determines whether or not he will take the green flag in Saturday's race. If he does make the race, he'll have 42 laps on the 3.426 mile road course to prove to the nation that he belongs with the big dogs of NASCAR. 

They say that first chances are rare in NASCAR, and second chances rarer still. If that adage is true, Salas has the chance of a lifetime at his fingertips — but a lot of pressure to perform beneath the bright Texas stars.