I just won my first league race.

[wgjones3]

I can't believe it. I had a terrible car but everyone else had worse luck than me for a change. I've been racing with these guys since February and this is the first time I've even been in contetion to win, much less won a race. !thumbsup!

Attached is an image of my Sonic Chevrolet taking the checkers at Fontana.

[DrRita]

Congrats WG! Way To Go.http://bestsmileys.com/cars/8.gif

[Merry]

YAY! !thumbsup! !thumbsup! !thumbsup! !thumbsup!

[Merry]

I liked the wallpaper on your blog.....if Tim see's it he'll annoy me to death until he gets to do something like that...

[wgjones3]

I tell you, driving one of those sim cars is so wierd. You don't have a seat of the pants feeling, you know you won't get hurt if you crash, but you still get that hesitation to stand on the gas when the back tires aren't gripping just right... and you still get the palm sweats and racing heart when it's 10 to go and you've got a comfortable lead but the handle is starting to go away.

And hey, I use to think this was an expensive hobby... but now all the money I've got tied up in this would be just about enough for TWO tanks of gas.

[David Meigs]

Cool news! Cool sim car! !thumbsup!

[whitehawke]

Go Mr Jones.
Cool set of wheels. :cool: !thumbsup!
http://bestsmileys.com/cars/2.gif
http://bestsmileys.com/cars/6.gif
The closet I'd get to doing something like that would be X Box racing. But, my daughter beats me hands down. I can't get used to not being behind the wheel and keep crashing. Oh, and I tend to enjoy crashing up the other cars far too much. :rolleyes:
Muahahaha :rolleyes: :cool: :p

[wgjones3]

Cool news! Cool sim car! !thumbsup!

Thanks. I made that design in 2001... started on it just before 9/11 (I had tweaked a Pontiac template for NASCAR Racing 4 and was testing my tweaks out--I remember the timeframe because I ended up using it as a base for a tribute car just after the attacks). There use to be whole sim racing communities where you could paint cars and post them for critique--kind of like CW for video games. Anyway, that was the first car I did that people actually liked. I've updated it every year with current contengency decals and so forth.

The game I use now is NASCAR Racing 2003 by Papyrus. Papyrus is gone, the game is out of print--I heard a new copy of the game recently went for $150 on ebay. It's so high because real NASCAR drivers use it to practice. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex were quite vocal about using the game to prepare for a race at Talladega once--unfortunately this wasn't until after the company had dried up and blown away. The game has got its quirks, but for the most part, it's fun and challenging and it's a pretty good approximation of racing a real car. But with Papyrus gone, EA has the rights to NASCAR, and they put out a game that was years behind the Papyrus product... it's killing the sim racing hobby. The circle track part of it, anyway.

And, while I'm in the realm of needless information, I just thought I'd share a Christian-oriented site for sim-racing: http://www.racingforjesus.com/

There's a new sim out called rFactor (http://www.rfactor.net/). The demo provided and unbelievable feeling of driving a real street car. They've set it up so you can make mods--essentially you can create new cars, tracks, etc... if you have the tools, the time, the patience, and the talent. Word is there's a stock-car mod in the works. So hopefully interest in sim racing will pick up again if everything works out.

[wgjones3]

Oh, and one last note on the subject while I'm ranting psychotically, I have a steering wheel and pedals I use to race with. The steering wheel has a little motor in it that simulates driving forces--in fact, sometimes I think something's broken in my real car because the steering is so much lighter and easier than my computer racing wheel.

[whitehawke]

Having a steering wheel etc sounds like too much fun.
I have a demo version of Trackmania:Sunrise where you can customise the tracks and play online. I've never loaded it because I might get hooked. I'd best stay away. It would take too much time out of my writing. And hey, girls aren't supposed to like that sort of thing, are they? :D :rolleyes: