Posted on 04/08/2020 10:01:32 AM PDT by C19fan
Two weeks in, NASCAR and iRacing have toppled even the most optimistic expectations with their nationally televised virtual races, which have averaged more than a million viewers. The third edition of the eNASCAR series takes place Sunday, when drivers will log online to square off in a simulation at Bristol Motor Speedway. Here's a primer to catch you up on the sports surprise of the spring:
Where can I watch Sunday's eNASCAR race, the Food City Showdown? At 10 a.m. Pacific time, the race will be broadcast on Fox or Fox Sports1 as well as the Fox Sports app, with the network's lead NASCAR announcers, Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds, on the call. It will be the third e-race since NASCAR's real schedule was suspended last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I watched some of it this past weekend. It was more interesting than the actual races.
I sort of laugh when one car passes through another as if it is a ghost.
I like it much more than the NASCAR running today. NASCAR commented rules suicide and I’m not so sure that NASCAR deep state has not actively tried to kill the sport to break up the conservative base.
I need to add that to my Bucket List.
I have been a subscriber at iRacing off and on for about eight years. It is pretty much (one of the) most accurate consumer-level simulations for auto racing that’s available. Some of the NASCAR drivers are running in five-digit full-motion setups with three huge wraparound monitors and super-powerful brand-new computers, but honestly you can do just as well with a force-feedback steering wheel controller clamped to your desk (about $200 and up) and a reasonably decent gaming PC built in the past six years.
I haven’t played in years, I don’t think my wheel works any more, but I might be thinking about spending a little of my “virus stimulus” on getting a new one and getting back into it. The main downsides are that (a) it is a subscription service, $13/month or $99/year, and you also have to purchase many of the tracks and cars at between $8 and $15 each; and (b) it is VERY competitive and serious and people don’t always extend newbies much grace.
That having been said, it’s as close as most of us will ever get to dicing in a pack at Talladega or hammering through Eau Rouge at Spa in an F1 car. Pro drivers have been using it for years as a learning tool because iRacing laser-scans the tracks they add, meaning they are millimeter-perfect in terms of the layout. Every bump, seam, camber, curb, everything. Even the Nordschliefe, as huge as it is. The physical modeling is obviously not 100% to real life but it’s about as close as possible on consumer-grade PCs, and it’s good enough that drivers use it to learn new tracks without spending money on seat time and risking real cars.
}:-)4
Great info thanks.
So what you are saying is that it is a bit more realistic than Mario Kart 8 :)
i watched it- pretty dang cool- I also race online in iracing- it’s surprisingly ‘realistic’ - ie, tires wear, you will lose traction on corners- if set up is wrong, you will slide into walls- you alwaysh ave to tweak the car ot get best traction- car damage will affect aerodynamics, track temp affects traction on and on and on it goes- the developers have done a really good job
And the tracks in iracing are very ‘lifelike’ inthat they have all the bumps practically that the real tracks do- for isntance, the old daytona track has bumps in corner 1 that will send your car uptrack if you hit them wrong- and watching the old clips of daytona real races- sure enough you could see them hit those same bumps-
Watchign the pros race in iracing was pretty cool- not quite as good as real thing, but still fun to watch
Like Boyer said at the end “Phew, I’m worn out- this was a lot of work” (They usually have steering wheels that have direct drive force feedback built into the wheels- which will tire you out after 100 laps or more-
The pros were able to try things they won’t in real races because of course there’s no risk factor- but it was cool watching them try lines that they usually wouldn’t during a real race-
during hte shutdown it’s the ‘next best thing’ and it is pretty cool-
LOL! Can you imagine Kyle Busch’s frustration? “Dammit! What do I have to do to send this guy into the grandstands!?”
Well, I’ve never seen anybody lob a red shell at anybody else during a race, so I guess so. :)
}:-)4
[[but honestly you can do just as well with a force-feedback steering wheel]]
I use an old- really old momo wheel with shifter built in- (the shifter is ‘forward, backwards’ only- not an H shifter-) It works fine- I did break down and buy Fanatec pedals- very nice- but wayyy too much money-
[[That having been said, it’s as close as most of us will ever get to dicing in a pack at Talladega or hammering through Eau Rouge at Spa in an F1 car. ]]
Yep- it’s so ‘real’ that i had to quit- woudl get too shaky, weak- it was a lot of work, and ‘nerve wracking’ (Didn’t want to wreck people out and cause their irating to go down)
I have condition that causes me to get exhausted/weak easily- so i couldn’t continue doing iracing- I hated giving it up- it was awesome getting in different cars, getting to learn their quirks, getting to know how they handle etc- at speeds of 200 or more- bumper to bumper- very cool-
forgot to mention- Yep- the tracks are very accurate- everything, liek oyu mentioned- right down ot tiny details- they really do a fantastic job replicatign hte real world experience
It’s so accurate that an online phenom- young kid, 16 or so i think he was- was invited to try out a real race car on real track to see if his online experience was able to help him out on the real track- sure enough- the kid nailed the real track- the folks watching him were very impressed that he knew the track so well and could handle the nuances so well- Was pretty impressive watching him behind the wheel of a million dollar race car flying around the course- His lap time was very impressive too from what i remember of the vid-
I joined Iracing while it was still beta, but I haven’t raced in years. I don’t know if it is still true, but in the early days it wasn’t unusual to have big name NASCAR drivers in races.
I watch and like it because Jr’s back.
Now that would be ‘must see’ TV... shells on the final laps!
i watched it- pretty dang cool- I also race online in iracing- it’s surprisingly ‘realistic’ - ie, tires wear, you will lose traction on corners- if set up is wrong, you will slide into walls- you alwaysh ave to tweak the car ot get best traction- car damage will affect aerodynamics, track temp affects traction on and on and on it goes- the developers have done a really good job
...
One of these days, maybe all of life will be a simulation.
My wife and I have been watching and love it. Clint Boyer steals the show; he’s hilarious.
Not that he would do it, but could they recreate the #3 car and have Dale Jr. drive it ??
Well, Dale Jr. has always been a booster of iRacing, and I think he may have provided money to help get them off the ground (not sure about that). A couple guys I know ran some special events with Tony Stewart once. I never ran any races with a big-time Cup driver, but some of the younger up-and-coming drivers, like K&N or Truck Series drivers, popped up from time to time. I think the Cup guys just don’t have time during the season. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they had arrangements to get accounts under assumed names to avoid the constant attention.
}:-)4
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