Sim Racing as a Legitimate Sport

SpeedPagan

SpeedPagan

The iRacing Guru
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So last night I watched NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship, which is a racing series sanctioned by NASCAR and is hosted by iRacing. It was their last race of the season at Homestead and I gotta say, it was 250 miles of intense racing between the drivers. Going into the race, you had Tyler Hudson and Ray Alfalla as the two top contenders with only two points separating them.

What I thought was interesting was not only did the winner of the Championship Series win $10,000 and a trophy from NASCAR, but for the first time, the Champion will go to the Hall of Fame and get to mingle with the other Champions in the other NASCAR racing series. Sprint Cup, K&N series, All American Whelen, etc. etc.

This has gotten me thinking about whether or not NASCAR is trying to make sim racing a legitimate sport and whether or not it should be a legitimate sport. After watching the race last night, I gotta say, it's a legitimate sport. I mean sure it doesn't involve real cars, or real pit crew etc. However watching the top five drivers as well as the two champion contenders as they make their move and use different strategy to win the race. Ray Alfalla was going for the long run game while Tyler Hudson was going for brute willpower. Pit stop strategy came into play as well as fuel mileage, etc.

All of this takes place on iRacing, which is bar none the top racing simulator in the world. There's a reason they're working with NASCAR in not only running the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship, but also laser scanning the Gen6 cars and the tracks. As someone who likes to race the "local track" races (Street Stock, Late Models etc.) I gotta say, the only way it can be even more real if you were physically in the car yourself.

Now what strikes me as interesting about this series is that you're not exactly guaranteed a spot in every race, you have to qualify your way in at every race In order to get into the 2014 season, the top 20 in points in the 2013 season will automatically get invited back to the Championship series. The other 23 drivers will have to race in iRacing Pro Series and finish well in that in order to make it into the Championship Series. So it's a little like baseball, where a baseball team can go up one league, or be demoted back down to a lower league. I think that's how baseball works.

It's very very interesting. Here's one of their 2013 races if you want to see what it's all about.

 
dpkimmel2001 said:
iRacing is very cool but I have a real hard time of thinking of a video game as a sport.
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Well I'm okay with considering anything iRacing puts out as a sport, NASCAR Inside Line is not a simulator, it is an arcade game so that I would not consider a sporting venue.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
iRacing is very cool but I have a real hard time of thinking of a video game as a sport.
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A sport is something you actually physically participate in, sitting on your couch flipping buttons on your controller does not take much muscle power or use very many calories. I would consider it a hobby if anything, cool as it is, it is not a sport.
 
Mopardh9 said:
A sport is something you actually physically participate in, sitting on your couch flipping buttons on your controller does not take much muscle power or use very many calories. I would consider it a hobby if anything, cool as it is, it is not a sport.
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You are forgetting that there are also pedals and a steering wheel involved. That may change your opinion. They may have a really cool race seat too.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
You are forgetting that there are also pedals and a steering wheel involved. That may change your opinion. They may have a really cool race seat too.
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Ok well then that changes everything.....not! Ok I've played just about every sport imaginable, tried it at least, and I consider myself a decent athlete, even at the age of 52. To say that playing a video game is a sport is just absurd. The Wii interactive stuff where you bowl, play ball, do cardio, much different, but sitting pushing a suedo pedal, steering wheel, and watching your simulated...key word simulated car, on a video screen, does not equate to a sport. Just my IMO of course....yours will differ I'm sure.:)
 
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Mopardh9 said:
Ok well then that changes everything.....not! Ok I've played just about every sport imaginable, tried it at least, and I consider myself a decent athlete, even at the age of 52. To say that playing a video game is a sport is just absurd. The Wii interactive stuff where you bowl, play ball, do cardio, much different, but sitting pushing a suedo pedal, steering wheel, and watching your simulated...key word simulated car, on a video screen, does not equate to a sport. Just my IMO of course....yours will differ I'm sure.:)
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You probably need to reread my posts. I get the feeling that you think that you and I are on different trains of thought here. We're not. I agree with you just like I said in post #2. I have a hard time thinking of this as being a sport. It's nothing more than a game. :cool:
 
Well as I've said, it's more than just a game, it's a simulator in every sense of the word. You cannot race in iRacing without a wheel and pedal set, that's just not going to happen. Also, some of these guys have their own version of a ****pit. Link to an example of an iRacing ****pit.

The iRacing team goes to great extent to simulate ever aspect of racing, from the tracks, to the tire, to the fuel, and to how the car handles. Hel, even a minor wreck will affect how your car handles. This isn't just racing against other online idiots in an XBox Live game, this is some hardcore stuff. Everything that goes into a real world race also goes into iRacing. IMHO, the only difference between iRacing and real world racing is the lack of a physical car and track, other than that it's exactly the same.
 
Sport? No. A game? Yes. I see nothing wrong with Nascar pushing sim racing as a game series. If ESPN and other sports networks will show Magic The Gathering tournaments and Pokers series/tournaments, or even Chess. Then I see nothing wrong with Nascar pushing Sim Racing as the same category as those other games.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Well as I've said, it's more than just a game, it's a simulator in every sense of the word. You cannot race in iRacing without a wheel and pedal set, that's just not going to happen. Also, some of these guys have their own version of a ****pit. Link to an example of an iRacing ****pit.

The iRacing team goes to great extent to simulate ever aspect of racing, from the tracks, to the tire, to the fuel, and to how the car handles. Hel, even a minor wreck will affect how your car handles. This isn't just racing against other online idiots in an XBox Live game, this is some hardcore stuff. Everything that goes into a real world race also goes into iRacing. IMHO, the only difference between iRacing and real world racing is the lack of a physical car and track, other than that it's exactly the same.
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yeah right.you should go to a nascar driving school..difference between walking and flying. Game/hobby. have fun, but get your head out of your you know what. I have played a few racing/ flying games simulators..nothing like the real thing, but it will increase

your knowledge about the real thing and I did learn various race tracks by "playing" the game. Your ass isn't on the line when you screw up a landing..just hit the reset button. Land a plane for the first time in the real world and your rushing for an hour after wards, same with driving something fast and on the edge.
 
I've always wanted to try iracing but you need a powerful pc and its pretty expensive. From what I know, it's a great simulator but it can't do everything even with laser tracks and feedback in the steering wheel. Plus, how does the pit crew work exactly?
 
Lazyking said:
I've always wanted to try iracing but you need a powerful pc and its pretty expensive. From what I know, it's a great simulator but it can't do everything even with laser tracks and feedback in the steering wheel. Plus, how does the pit crew work exactly?
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The Pit Crew is automatic, although iRacing do allow human spotters for the drivers, which is what many of the drivers in the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship have. They also allow private voice channels for drivers who are on the same team, it's really interesting.
 
I wouldn't call it a sport because there are no real G Forces. The rawness of the sheet metal echoing out the headers, the heat, the smell, and the feel of being slammed against the seat cant be matched with a pc simulation. Nothing is as electric or alive as setting in a real car, and feeling the sensory overload, and nothing is as sobering to me as hitting turn one on double file restart. You arent settled in with a few laps yet, and the initial shock has to be felt to be believed (as least thats my thought process). Nothing in a street car compares to the feel either.

But I agree that iracing is a good effort and more than just a game.
I am interested enough to try it ,but that will be in 2015. Thats when I get my degree and will be finished with full time work and college at the same time.
A seat and steering wheel and ****pit will be a nice graduation gift.

I would love to do the real thing again, but you need about $25k just to start up a small hobby or street stock type car, and at least a couple of friends to give you about 20 hours a week to work on the car.

The simulator is the best compromise for my situation.
 
Zerkfitting said:
Whether it is a sport or not, it can help generate interest in racing. There are some who don't consider driving a car a real sport. I'm not going to debate what is a sport and what is not - I don't care. I enjoy racing.
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Pretty much.

That said, if eating is a sport, I don't see why iRacing can't be one.
 
I tried collecting matchbook covers once when I was a kid . I even entered my collection in an exhibit . I didn't win. :(
 
iRacing is badass. I've sampled it at racetracks a few times and I have a lot of respect for people that can keep these simulated cars going straight. You can't feel a car under you, they have the same physics as real racecars, and it seems next to impossible to drive, from my experience anyways. I'd love to have the time and money to set up a badass rig and start to learn but that's far off.

As far as a sport or not, there's no g-load, fire, crashing, real risk.. I don't see it as a real sport, no.

It's a sports simulator that simulates a sport. Still fun as hell to watch. I'll watch leaves race down a gutter though so there's that.
 
I sure hope we find a way to ameliorate some peoples tendency to call any competitive endeavor a sport. ;)

I got me a calendar too!
 
FenderBumper said:
I sure hope we find a way to ameliorate some peoples tendency to call any competitive endeavor a sport. ;)

I got me a calendar too!
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:D

Like Hopscotch in the Olympics, oh sheet I shouldn't of said that, some knuckleheads will have a petition going to include it.o_O
 
I always liked synchronized swimming myself..it was the nose plugs that did it for me. Now THAT was a sport.
 
People spend A LOT of money on that iRacing stuff. An actual sport? I don't know. But the kind of money people spend on that, they could probably buy an actual racecar and compete in an actual race. iRacing is a waste.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
People spend A LOT of money on that iRacing stuff. An actual sport? I don't know. But the kind of money people spend on that, they could probably buy an actual racecar and compete in an actual race. iRacing is a waste.
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Dude, do you know how much it cost to run a real life stock car in the Hornet, Mini-Stock, Street stock class? It's bloody expensive, I can tell you that much. Not everyone has the mean to have the money to go race at the local track every Saturday night. If you get into a really bad wreck, then you're SOL if you're funding the operation out of your own pockets.

iRacing on the other hand only cost a few hundred dollars, It has a $12 per month subscription fee and they have deals going on all the time, the tracks and cars (aside from the starter package) are a one time purchase and so is the wheel/pedal set and ****pit. Some people go for the uber expensive expertly calibrated wheels and pedals, but a Logitech G27 wheel/pedal/shifter with a wheel stand is good enough for most people in the iRacing community. Hel, some of the drivers in the NiSWC don't even have a wheel stand, they just use their computer desk.

When it comes to cost, iRacing is def. much cheaper than real world racing.
 
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