|
BEDFORD (14 December 2007) Attendees at the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando last week had a chance to see and try out the newest tool for driver development and race preparation, iRacing.com's motorsport simulation software.
"Top Formula One drivers know just how valuable simulation can be to a team looking for that extra advantage over the competition," said Scott McKee, the company's vice president of marketing. "We're offering that same advantage to the rest of the motorsport world and, based on the response we saw at the PRI show last week, drivers and teams from all over the sport are ready for this technology."
The crowd around the iRacing.com booth at the world's largest motorsport trade show often numbered in the dozens as racing drivers, from karters looking to make the jump to cars to championship-winning oval-track and road-racing veterans, lined up for a test drive.
Seventeen-year-old Joey Logano, 2007 NASCAR Busch East Champion in his rookie year and a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide (nee Busch) series in 2008, credits the use of race simulation as part of his meteoric rise in stock car racing. "I used to race NASCAR 2003, but it's not even close to this," he said following a familiarization drive in one of the iRacing.com simulators set up at PRI. "This is a whole different level. It's dead on I tell you. Jeez!"
Michael McDowell, who will be driving for Michael Waltrip Racing in the 2008 Nationwide series, is another simulation racing veteran. The 2004 Formula Mazda Champion and 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship runner-up and rookie of the year said that one of his primary reasons for coming to PRI was to check out simulation software. He drove iRacing's Formula Mazda at Virginia International Raceway and Lime Rock Park and came away very impressed.
"Lime Rock is really good," he said, noting that the simulation's accuracy was such that "the downshifts are better when you do a good job of the throttle blip."
McKee said he wasn't surprised at the response of the racers who drove at PRI. "When real-world racers sit down and drive our sim, that's when they really grasp that what we're offering isn't a video game, but a valuable tool for any driver who wants to get faster and win more. We provide real seat time and all the benefits that come with it, in a way that is both cost- and time-efficient."
It wasn't just the young lions who were impressed with iRacing.com's technology. 1970s Formula One legend Howden Ganley took a few laps around Silverstone's Grand Prix circuit, and then looked closely at recent changes he'd helped design for the home of the British Grand Prix. "It's fantastic! It's so realistic," he marveled.
Other well-known racers who tried out the iRacing.com software at PRI included NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' David Gilliland and David Stremme, Formula Atlantic and ALMS standout Joey Hand, 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year Willie Allen, USAC midget hotshoe and Lyn St. James protégé Caitlin Shaw, SPEED World Challenge and Grand-Am Rolex Series star Eric Curran, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series race winner Chase Pistone, two-time Legends national champion Casey Roderick, and SCCA Sports-Racing ace Nancy James.
In addition to simulation technology experts, iRacing.com was represented in the booth and around the show by more than 10 current and former oval-track and road-racing drivers, with a cumulative total of more than 150 years of racing experience. iRacing staff in Orlando included four-time SCCA national champion Don Knowles; Formula One and IMSA veteran Divina Galica; 2007 Grand Am KONI Challenge champion Adam Burrows; 2007 Team USA Scholarship winner Joel Miller; 10-year NASCAR Busch North veteran Brett Roubinek; Formula Mazda veteran, racing engineer, and driver coach Mikel Miller; Pro All-Star Super Late-Model Tour driver John-Michael Shenette; iRacing vehicle dynamics engineer and long-time Skip Barber instructor Ian Berwick; and veteran road racing instructors Rob Slonaker and Barry Waddell.
|
