Well, with the official end of the NASCAR season (congrats to Jimmie J.) , what is a person to do until Daytona in February??? Well, in my own case, it is time to dust off the trusty wheel and go gaming for the winter. I know that many of you don't understand that need, and that is okay. I have worked on and around simulators for close to 20 years now. I mean the real professional ones that cost millions to build and maintain. I also know that some of you won't understand (or care for that matter) just how good the pc-based simulations are that are now available for John and Jane Q. Public to play on their pc at home... And that is okay, because I do understand that and I will play for all of you :)
Anyway, this has been a GREAT year in the simulated racing communnity. New, games, new cars and new tracks have all come out. Each one better than the rest. The community that I am mostly involved with has been interested in reviving all of the cars and tracks of the old Trans Am racing series that I talked about in an earlier blog. So this year, we have had new Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers and Cudas released. And each of these simulate their real counterparts down to very minute details. I have decided to retire the Mustang Shelby that I used last year and will replace it with a 1970 Cuda that was just released about 2 weeks ago. This thing looks bad, drives very close to the real car (I owned a Challenger way back in my youth, so I know the feel is very close) and even sounds bad. I'll try to figure out how to post short video clips here...
Once again, I will be creating a fictional paint scheme to promote our farm and the other things that we do the rest of the year. I started photoshopping a new skin yesterday. I didn't get too far, but it has the Everranch green / Gotland grey two tone that I created last year... Yippee, I can't wait, I started driving again last week and am amazed at how rusty I have become in the last 7 or 8 months. I have probably lost 2 to 3 seconds per lap on my favorite tracks. Gotta get lots of practice in to get that edge back (sorry Dear :)... Now to ask Santa for that racing seat setup I have been drooling over all year :)
-Dave
