William Byron & iRacing

iRacing is going to be the thing that kills short track racing off.

Bad for the sport.

You're talking about a few kids whose families have NASCAR aspirations turning to simulators instead of pavement late models. "Short track racing" is a little bigger and broader than that. I attend short track weekly and touring series races in the midwest and west coast that have never and will never be touched by NASCAR driver development money. It's the same everywhere else.
 
Could be a good thing at the same time, iRacing is way cheaper than short track racing.

It's no longer about car and driver then. I mean, the days of drivers who work on their cars are already going away pretty quickly. This would just accelerate that process.

Furthermore, the fans no longer get the chance to attend these races and meet these rising stars.

The idea of local hero at a short track somewhere making it big is dying off too.

This would hurt racing in the long run.

You're talking about a few kids whose families have NASCAR aspirations turning to simulators instead of pavement late models. "Short track racing" is a little bigger and broader than that. I attend short track weekly and touring series races in the midwest and west coast that have never and will never be touched by NASCAR driver development money. It's the same everywhere else.

Look down the road though. What happens when racing isn't about car and driver, just driver?
 
It's an excellent learning tool.

It does not supplant reality. Ask young Master Byron.
 
Look down the road though. What happens when racing isn't about car and driver, just driver?

Yeah, there are a lot of eventualities with simulated reality and artificial intelligence that are unpleasant to think about. We can build physical cars that can drive themselves better than humans, so why will the driver be needed? Humans won't need the actual physical cars to experience the pleasure of driving or racing. I caught a few minutes of "drone racing" one night on ESPN2, rolled my eyes, but then started to wonder how much longer race car drivers will need to be inside the cars to drive them. For me, that's the whole appeal. As soon as the driver isn't in an actual vehicle, I feel like I'm just watching a video game and don't care to spectate. But future generations will see it differently.

I'm just glad life is finite and I'll only have to concern myself with it for X number of decades. There's really no fighting or suppressing it. For as long as we're alive, enough people will still prefer to experience the actual physical thing live in person to keep it going.
 
Yeah, there are a lot of eventualities with simulated reality and artificial intelligence that are unpleasant to think about. We can build physical cars that can drive themselves better than humans, so why will the driver be needed? Humans won't need the actual physical cars to experience the pleasure of driving or racing. I caught a few minutes of "drone racing" one night on ESPN2, rolled my eyes, but then started to wonder how much longer race car drivers will need to be inside the cars to drive them. For me, that's the whole appeal. As soon as the driver isn't in an actual vehicle, I feel like I'm just watching a video game and don't care to spectate. But future generations will see it differently.

I'm just glad life is finite and I'll only have to concern myself with it for X number of decades. There's really no fighting or suppressing it. For as long as we're alive, enough people will still prefer to experience the actual physical thing live in person to keep it going.

Ever seen the movie "The Surrogates"?

Sometimes I feel like that's where we're headed in general. A "Virtual World".
 
Furthermore, the fans no longer get the chance to attend these races and meet these rising stars.
True, but nowadays with outlets such as Twitch and YouTube live streams, fans still get the chance to watch their favorite drivers (even if it is an eSports situation) and "meet" them via a chat/message board system. Don't get me wrong...I would love nothing more than to attend races in person and physically talk to the drivers, but those days are going by the wayside. Not to mention eSports are MUCH more affordable and less of a hassle (traveling, scheduling, braving the outdoor elements, etc) for drivers and fans.
 
True, but nowadays with outlets such as Twitch and YouTube live streams, fans still get the chance to watch their favorite drivers (even if it is an eSports situation) and "meet" them via a chat/message board system. Don't get me wrong...I would love nothing more than to attend races in person and physically talk to the drivers, but those days are going by the wayside. Not to mention eSports are MUCH more affordable and less of a hassle (traveling, scheduling, braving the outdoor elements, etc) for drivers and fans.

The thing that disturbs me about eSports is that it takes the physical factor out of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't like seeing people get hurt, but I still like the physical factor of it. In racing, it's not just staying sharp enough to handle the car and tracks, but also the amount of work that's done at the shop during the week before the race. Other sports, it's the training camps and preseason.

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.

**** eSports.







These are so awesome.

I don't have a problem with video games and "eSports", but don't ask me to take it seriously.

I'll echo Colin Cowherd, even if he is an ass and a heel... if I am ever asked to cover iRacing, I will quit.
 
Me: "So, how have you prepared for tonight's 10 hour e-race?"
iRacer: "I bought a case of Mountain Dew Game Fuel and stopped by Taco Bell and got a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco Supreme".

I will quit.
 
Me: "So, how have you prepared for tonight's 10 hour e-race?"
iRacer: "I bought a case of Mountain Dew Game Fuel and stopped by Taco Bell and got a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco Supreme".

I will quit.
How do you think Gordon prepared for Indy in sub for Jr?
 
"Well, I thought I had the race won but I accidentally hit the triangle button on my PS4 controller instead of the square button. I let down all my guys at the shop today. We had just worked hard to get a new Samsung HDTV and a new controller for my Playstation."

"I had a fast car and was leading until that thunderstorm rolled through and knocked my DSL connection offline. It was unfortunate. My Pepsi/nVidia/Reddit Camry was really fast and I had just upgraded the RAM on my ASUS laptop before tonight's race."
 
How old is the boy-child who won the Derby on Tuesday night?
 
Maybe they can hold the iRacing 500 at Texas Motor Speedway so fans can watch on Big Hoss. That way, when Oracle wrecks Alphashock, Alphashock can walk over to Oracle's computer and unplug his steering wheel before punching him in the face.

:)

The race was running smooth until lap 97, when the iRacing server became overloaded, promoting the race to end. Because the server just crashed, officials weren't able to determine the winner of the race immediately and had to go watch the conclusion on Facebook Live to determine the outcome.

After official reviewed the video, they awarded the victory to SurrenderDorothy, who beat I_Made_You_Read_This by two bytes.

How old is the boy-child who won the Derby on Tuesday night?

Christian Eckes? 16.

Dude hadn't won a race all year, then goes and wins the Myrtle Beach 400, the Accent Imaging 125 at the Thanksgiving Classic and the Snowball Derby in back-to-back-to-back weeks. Just incredible.

NOTE: These were all real events, held at real racetracks, with real people driving real racecars being cheered on by real people in real grandstands.
 
Heres the thing. Video games and especially VR is the future for tech entertainment and entertainment in general. How can you want Millenials to find auto racing attractive again but reject the one tool thats attracting millenials in droves?

Either have the cake or eat it.
 
Look down the road though. What happens when racing isn't about car and driver, just driver?
It hasn't been about the car for a while now, what with common templates, 'stock cars' with very little stock parts, and the NASCAR equivalent of balance of performance. It doesn't bother me much, but I was never a gear head anyway. I expect it will bother younger generations even less.


If Cowherd is opposed to them, I'll definitely have to give them a closer look just on general principles.

Cowherd is an idiot
No, I'm an idiot and I'd like an apology. :D
 
Heres the thing. Video games and especially VR is the future for tech entertainment and entertainment in general. How can you want Millenials to find auto racing attractive again but reject the one tool thats attracting millenials in droves?

Either have the cake or eat it.

If this is what millennials want, a fake, virtual world, then I want out. Stop the planet and let me off.

Millennials are getting such a bad rep and now I see why. Need "safe spaces" because we can't even live in the real world. Have to live in a virtual reality and then have a hard time accepting actual reality.
 
Christian Eckes? 16.

Dude hadn't won a race all year, then goes and wins the Myrtle Beach 400, the Accent Imaging 125 at the Thanksgiving Classic and the Snowball Derby in back-to-back-to-back weeks. Just incredible.

NOTE: These were all real events, held at real racetracks, with real people driving real racecars being cheered on by real people in real grandstands.
Over three decades ago, getting married during Thanksgiving week seemed like a great idea. Eventually, I would discover stock car racing. Now I wish we'd gotten married at almost any other time of year, because our anniversary usually conflicts with the Myrtle Beach 400. That's four days of some of the finest short track racing I've only been lucky enough to get to twice, thanks to the vagaries of the holiday calendar.
 
iracing-simulators-for-nascar-hall-of-fame-guests-12689_1.jpg


Lol look at this punk kid racing on a computer
 
If this is what millennials want, a fake, virtual world, then I want out. Stop the planet and let me off.

Millennials are getting such a bad rep and now I see why. Need "safe spaces" because we can't even live in the real world.
I encourage them. It cuts back on the competition. Eventually, evolution will cull them from the herd as they walk into traffic, fall off subway platforms, quit otherwise easy jobs because something offends them, etc.
 
If this is what millennials want, a fake, virtual world, then I want out. Stop the planet and let me off.

Millennials are getting such a bad rep and now I see why. Need "safe spaces" because we can't even live in the real world. Have to live in a virtual reality and then have a hard time accepting actual reality.
You watch way too much popular news man.

Nevermind the fact that their generation is the most higher educated & 35% of employed Millenials have started a side business alongside their current form of main income.
 
iracing-simulators-for-nascar-hall-of-fame-guests-12689_1.jpg


Lol look at this punk kid racing on a computer

Oh cool, Jeff Gordon likes to play videogames.

Guess this means I should suddenly think iRacing is the greatest thing ever.

:sarcasm:

Over three decades ago, getting married during Thanksgiving week seemed like a great idea. Eventually, I would discover stock car racing. Now I wish we'd gotten married at almost any other time of year, because our anniversary usually conflicts with the Myrtle Beach 400. That's four days of some of the finest short track racing I've only been lucky enough to get to twice, thanks to the vagaries of the holiday calendar.

I enjoyed the Myrtle Beach 400 a lot more when it was just one weekend. This two weekend deal is exhausting. Two weekends of driving 3+ hours (depending on where I live) to the track, two weekends of being at the track for 8-12 hours... just tiring. This year, I only went down for race day on each weekend, I was out of damns to give.

Being at the beach doesn't excite me the way it excites everyone else either. Guess when you grow up at the beach and when you live there, it doesn't impress you anymore.
 
You can't complain about the Austin Dillons, Paul Menards, and Brian Scotts of the world and then not support a low cost driver development tool. If this gets more William Byrons to Cup then I'm for it.

I wouldn't watch iRacing but I think that it's an incredibly useful tool for developing young talent, who may not otherwise be able to afford equipment.
 
... I enjoyed the Myrtle Beach 400 a lot more when it was just one weekend. This two weekend deal is exhausting. Two weekends of driving 3+ hours (depending on where I live) to the track, two weekends of being at the track for 8-12 hours... just tiring. This year, I only went down for race day on each weekend, I was out of damns to give.

Being at the beach doesn't excite me the way it excites everyone else either. Guess when you grow up at the beach and when you live there, it doesn't impress you anymore.
See, I like the new two-weekend format. That gives me a much better chance that at least one of them won't conflict with our anniversary.

I enjoy the beach itself, but not the city of MB itself all that much. Tourist towns are all pretty much the same, other than size. If you've lived in one, you've pretty much seen them all. Fortunately, MB still has a reasonable off-season from mid-October on. Rooms for the 400 weekends can be downright affordable, even cheap.
 
You can't complain about the Austin Dillons, Paul Menards, and Brian Scotts of the world and then not support a low cost driver development tool. If this gets more William Byrons to Cup then I'm for it.

I wouldn't watch iRacing but I think that it's an incredibly useful tool for developing young talent, who may not otherwise be able to afford equipment.
Bingo. iRacing is a tool that will help naturally talented drivers be able to live their dreams as race car drivers in the real world. If they had to start on a real track in real life, 99.99999% chance they wouldn't be able to afford it.
 
Bingo. iRacing is a tool that will help naturally talented drivers be able to live their dreams as race car drivers in the real world. If they had to start on a real track in real life, 99.99999% chance they wouldn't be able to afford it.

I don't get the opposition.

I like going to the local short track but it's clear that the sport has become so expensive that people without deep pockets can't advance very far. You can complain about the death of guys working on their own cars and that's a legitimate complaint, but how many Cup drivers today even do that? I want a sport where the best drivers get attention.
 
See, I like the new two-weekend format. That gives me a much better chance that at least one of them won't conflict with our anniversary.

I enjoy the beach itself, but not the city of MB itself all that much. Tourist towns are all pretty much the same, other than size. If you've lived in one, you've pretty much seen them all. Fortunately, MB still has a reasonable off-season from mid-October on. Rooms for the 400 weekends can be downright affordable, even cheap.

Rooms aren't too bad in the winter.

You can't complain about the Austin Dillons, Paul Menards, and Brian Scotts of the world and then not support a low cost driver development tool. If this gets more William Byrons to Cup then I'm for it.

I wouldn't watch iRacing but I think that it's an incredibly useful tool for developing young talent, who may not otherwise be able to afford equipment.

LOL, don't kid yourself, money will still talk. I like William Byron. He's a nice, well mannered kid and a talented racer who did benefit from racing simulators. Still took money to get where he is.

See, I like the new two-weekend format. That gives me a much better chance that at least one of them won't conflict with our anniversary.

I enjoy the beach itself, but not the city of MB itself all that much. Tourist towns are all pretty much the same, other than size. If you've lived in one, you've pretty much seen them all. Fortunately, MB still has a reasonable off-season from mid-October on. Rooms for the 400 weekends can be downright affordable, even cheap.

I thought about skipping out on the Limited race this year, especially after last year's spectacle.

When you do this close to every week for 8-9 months leading into the two week Myrtle Beach 400, that one wears you out. Then, it's followed by the Thanksgiving Classic and then the Snowball Derby -- which I would've gone to if I wasn't flat ass broke because of the other races.
 
@AndyMarquisLive it will alright

All of this aint nothing that can't be fixed with the long awaited release of the i-smoking-hawt fembots, and a bag of cheetos.
 
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.
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.
 
Rooms aren't too bad in the winter.



LOL, don't kid yourself, money will still talk. I like William Byron. He's a nice, well mannered kid and a talented racer who did benefit from racing simulators. Still took money to get where he is.



I thought about skipping out on the Limited race this year, especially after last year's spectacle.

When you do this close to every week for 8-9 months leading into the two week Myrtle Beach 400, that one wears you out. Then, it's followed by the Thanksgiving Classic and then the Snowball Derby -- which I would've gone to if I wasn't flat ass broke because of the other races.

Except that iRacing helped Byron break through that initial barrier and receive the attention he needed to get dollars.
 
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