William Byron & iRacing

Competitive eating is another sport that the dasturdly evil computer gurus can't ruin. You just cant sim out the amount of guts one needs to have to survive that war.

But they willl try, once some corporate suit figures out that their superstars can do some post contest eating selfies inside of a corporate sponsored Nathans port a john.
But that will not be the fix for real people that understand the demands of competive eating. They will not be satisfied, with the superficial simulations that would ruin the runs.
 
In my opinion, the iRacing and LSRTV YouTube channels are perfect during the nascar offseason. Opinions may vary.

And if you find a driver you like, they may have their own in-car livestream
on youtube. You can watch the race live from both the TV perspective and in-car perspective. Jeff Favignano is a popular one.

 
Last edited:
ChexOrWrex said:
In my opinion, the iRacing and LSRTV YouTube channels are perfect during the nascar offseason. Opinions may vary.

And if you find a driver you like, they may have their own in-car livestream
on youtube. You can watch the race live from both the TV perspective and in-car perspective. Jeff Favignano is a popular one.

Click to expand...

They had a truck race with a crazy finish at Phoenix the other day.
 
This guy never dominated anything. In iracing he wrecked the whole field if he couldnt get win or he got taken out. I raced with him numerous times and all his accounts and this was the biggest baby on iracing.
Click to expand...

LOL
 
I doubt anything can compete against real seat time but this has to be a great alternative for racers on a budget or for just honing your skills in your free time. Not sure I see the downside. If it uncovers some diamonds in the rough, awesome.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I doubt anything can compete against real seat time but this has to be a great alternative for racers on a budget or for just honing your skills in your free time. Not sure I see the downside. If it uncovers some diamonds in the rough, awesome.
Click to expand...
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Four years of preparation? That's a gross understatement. Try a 'lifetime'. That's what makes the Olympics great IMO. Most people don't understand or appreciate the dedication that many of these athletes have and the work behind it.
Click to expand...

A lifetime and more. But the second one Olympiad ends, they're already preparing for the next.

I love the Summer Olympics more than I love racing, to be honest.

On this eSports thing, the idea that people playing videogames can, in any way, be compared to Olympic athletes or professional ball players is insulting to sports in general.

And iRacing won't "change the sport for the better". If anything, it's going to allow even more rich, unqualified kids buy rides in K&N and Trucks because they played a video game.

I like William Byron, but this isn't a deal where he was "discovered" on iRacing, "given an opportunity" and came in and lit the world on fire in Late Models.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
On this eSports thing, the idea that people playing videogames can, in any way, be compared to Olympic athletes or professional ball players is insulting to sports in general.
Click to expand...
To be fair, racers are not athletic in the same way that other pro sports & olympians are. I love auto racing as much as the next guy but I'll be the first to admit that pro stick & ball players are in a league of their own when it comes to physical training. Hell Im positive the training I did in my collegiate soccer career would leave 75% of pro nascar drivers puking & cramping.

So, the idea that nascar drivers can, in any way, be compared to Olympic athletes or professional ball players is insulting to physical training in general.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Tell that to Jimmie Johnson.
Click to expand...
All nascar drivers are not Johnson, Kahne & Edwards. They participate in elite athletic events as a hobby.

Every NFL, NBA, MLS, etc... player & olympian is in elite athletic shape because of the sport they play & train for. They need to be at elite peak physical condition to keep up on a weekly basis.

We all know its not the same way in auto racing. This sport is more about mental fitness, reaction times & innate skill, not physical fitness.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
All nascar drivers are not Johnson, Kahne & Edwards. They participate in elite athletic events as a hobby.

Every NFL, NBA, MLS, etc... player & olympian is in elite athletic shape because of the sport they play & train for. They need to be at elite peak physical condition to keep up on a weekly basis.

We all know its not the same way in auto racing. This sport is more about mental fitness, reaction times & innate skill, not physical fitness.
Click to expand...

Don't kid yourself, it takes physical fitness. Maybe not on the scale of the NFL.

You've bought 110% into the "NASCAR drivers aren't athletes" and "all they do is drive in circles" shtick... all because you're cool with videogames replacing real racing.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Don't kid yourself, it takes physical fitness. Maybe not on the scale of the NFL.

You've bought 110% into the "NASCAR drivers aren't athletes" and "all they do is drive in circles" shtick... all because you're cool with videogames replacing real racing.
Click to expand...
To be fair, I think Chex is saying they're not athletes "in the same way" as NFL, NBA, etc., not that they're not athletes. Being in top physical shape helps in NASCAR, but guys like Tony Stewart and Jimmy Spencer prove that you don't have to be.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Don't kid yourself, it takes physical fitness. Maybe not on the scale of the NFL.

You've bought 110% into the "NASCAR drivers aren't athletes" and "all they do is drive in circles" shtick... all because you're cool with videogames replacing real racing.
Click to expand...
Go ahead, point out where I said race car drivers are not athletes.

Being an athlete myself I am well aware that drivers are indeed athletes, but also comprehend that the physical exertion levels & body beatings other pro athletes take day by day is leagues above race car drivers. Its hardly comparable. Its an apples to oranges athletic comparison.

For this exact reason is why someone who is successfull in iRacing has a much better shot at a racing career than a kid playing FIFA or Madden does at a career in their prefered digital sport.
 
ToyYoda said:
To be fair, I think Chex is saying they're not athletes "in the same way" as NFL, NBA, etc., not that they're not athletes. Being in top physical shape helps in NASCAR, but guys like Tony Stewart and Jimmy Spencer prove that you don't have to be.
Click to expand...
Youre not gonna see Terry Bradshaw or Dan Marino back playing in the NFL, but NASCAR has Morgan McClure & Derick Cope :idunno:
 
ToyYoda said:
I take it you meant Morgan Shepherd, but yeah, I don't think you'll see any 75-year old running backs in an NFL backfield.
Click to expand...
Yeah him. Its been a long weekend lol.

To put it in a TLDR

Im positive any defensive lineman can outrun most NASCAR drivers in the 40.

But you put a NFL guy in a 1 on 1 race in a stock car with a pro driver & its no contest.
 
Football players can't even run in a straight line, how the heck could they learn to make constant left turns?
 
ChexOrWrex said:
For this exact reason is why someone who is successfull in iRacing has a much better shot at a racing career than a kid playing FIFA or Madden does at a career in their prefered digital sport.
Click to expand...

Only because of money in this sport.

There are ways iRacing can contribute to driver development. Though, like I said, I think we're gonna see a day when it REPLACES on track experience.

William Byron's "driver development" wasn't any different than anyone else. Yeah, he raced on iRacing and picked up on things in it. But he still stroked a check, bought an elite (and I do mean elite) ride in Late Models and then in Trucks. That's literally no different from Austin Dillon, Ben Rhodes, Brandon Jones and all the other "rich kids" everyone complains about.

Byron has talent. That's something you're either born with or you're not. You can only learn so much.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Being an athlete myself I am well aware that drivers are indeed athletes, but also comprehend that the physical exertion levels & body beatings other pro athletes take day by day is leagues above race car drivers. Its hardly comparable. Its an apples to oranges athletic comparison.

For this exact reason is why someone who is successfull in iRacing has a much better shot at a racing career than a kid playing FIFA or Madden does at a career in their prefered digital sport.
Click to expand...

I agree with the vast majority of what you've written on this page. You're correct right down the line. MLB players are athletes, but it plainly does not require the same level of conditioning and athleticism to play most positions as it does to take the court in the NBA. It's all relative. Conditioning is helpful in racing, and more important and semi-essential in something like F1 or anything on a motorcycle. It is not in NASCAR, and the fact that Tony Stewart could ever race competitively with Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson is all the proof needed.

One exception I'll take is that iRacing is not comparable to FIFA or Madden, which are entertainment products. Nobody is becoming a better race car driver playing NASCAR Heat. iRacing is an actual simulation in the same way that flying simulators can teach and assist aircraft pilots. To my knowledge, it is not possible with current technology to build a useful 'simulator' for soccer, basketball, football, etc. It will be, but will require a much more physically immersive experience. The very fact that it's currently possible to create a racing simulator one can sit and play in their bedroom is evidence of what you're stating about the differences in physical exertion. Eventually iRacing will probably become more physically immersive to simulate the effects and forces drivers feel. It will never be the real thing, because that concrete wall will never be real, which Byron mentions in the article. For me that's why I just can't get into it on anywhere near the same level. There is no reset button in real life, that's why big events are big.
 
iRacing.

CTUfgB-UYAAZNI7.jpg:large
 
I don't know where you guys came up with the idea that Olympic athletes only compete once every four years. That is truly ridiculous.
 
Just one example..
AndyMarquisLive said:
Biggest reason I love the Olympics so much. The amount of work those athletes put in is incredible. Four years of preparation. Four years of repetitive routine to perfect themselves for two weeks. When you win, it's the greatest moment of joy. When you lose, it's the worst feeling of agony.
Click to expand...

dpkimmel2001 said:
Four years of preparation? That's a gross understatement. Try a 'lifetime'. That's what makes the Olympics great IMO. Most people don't understand or appreciate the dedication that many of these athletes have and the work behind it.
Click to expand...
 
LewTheShoe said:
Just one example..
Click to expand...
That's not what either of those quotes say. @AndyMarquisLive said four years of preparing. He didn't say they don't compete.

I didn't either. I simply said it's more than a four year commitment.

These athletes compete at almost every opportunity in preparation for an Olympic bid. Their competing now for a chance at the 2020 games and beyond.
 
Never seen a ball player work with G forces for 3 hours.
baseball= 5 minutes of excitement crammed into 3 hours.
Football= 2 minutes of exertion and 5 minutes of rest then 15 minutes of rest.
 
The more nascar has been made easier on the drivers, the more possible it is for it to be simulated on a computer. One innovation most symbolic of this is the air flow that goes into most drivers helmets nowadays. It will clearly make casual fans think these 'athletes' are cruising in circles for three hours in cool comfort (I know it's not real AC). Those should absolutely be banned for the optics alone. The other is power steering. Wheeling 3,000 pound race cars used to take some strength. Now it looks like these cars could be driven with a finger on all but the roughest tracks.
 
29-4 said:
The more nascar has been made easier on the drivers, the more possible it is for it to be simulated on a computer. One innovation most symbolic of this is the air flow that goes into most drivers helmets nowadays. It will clearly make casual fans think these 'athletes' are cruising in circles for three hours in cool comfort (I know it's not real AC). Those should absolutely be banned for the optics alone. The other is power steering. Wheeling 3,000 pound race cars used to take some strength. Now it looks like these cars could be driven with a finger on all but the roughest tracks.
Click to expand...
On a hot day, it's 140 degrees in the cars. Please don't reference the old days. ****pit heat is mostly a function of horsepower. Driver cooling now is essential.

Another power steering reference to the good old days ... an "urban myth" and completely wrong. It took no more strength to turn with a 36:1 steering box and no ps than it does to turn a 14:1 ratio WITH ps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom