Winter Thunder

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

Car Guy

I am a car guy. As much as my darling wife is addicted to fibery things, I am addicted to cars and all things that roll on four wheels. Two wheels don't do it for me, but anything with four wheels on TV or where ever and I am there... When I was a kid, my uncle, with some help from my dad, campaigned a drag '55 Chevy in Ohio and even once went to Indy for the National event. Naturally, I wanted to be included in that, but I didn't get to do too much as I was a pretty little dude at that time. I think that probably the high point for my over-stimulated car genes was when I was 12 (1970) which happened to be the best year (ever IMHO) for the Sports Car Club of America's Trans American Sedan Racing series. Shorted to just Trans Am by the fans, this was probably the best raw racing seen in the US EVER. Mustangs versus Camaros versus Firebirds versus Cudas versus Challengers versus Javelins with a few old Cougars, Falcons, Darts and even a Le Mans thrown in just for good measure. My favorite car was (and still is) the #77 Dodge Challenger driven by Sam Posey. That one year of racing affected me so much as a kid that my first car was a Challenger, and of all the cars that I have ever owned and sold, that is the one that I wish I still had. Anyway, the point of this blog, is what does a nearly 50, fat, bald shepherd do when he needs a car fix. Given the choice between buying alfalfa pellets or after market parts for my truck, alfalfa pellets will usually win, (but not always, right dear?) :) About six months ago, I discovered a video game called "GT Legends" or GTL as it is known to the folks who play it. It harkens one back to the great racing cars of the 60's and 70's. It is much more than just an arcade game as each car is carefully modeled, both in appearance and (more importantly) in the handling characteristics amd engine dynamics of that car. A person can play it either against the computer or online against other players. I have been playing it almost every day and this is one of a very short list of games that my wife complains that I play too much :) I have been playing lately with car skins (what they look like). One thing that you can say about racing, there is never a lot of agricultural sponsors with their names plastered all over a car, but I thought that for a game, why not have a farm-sponsored car. Heck, why not my own farm :) So here are a couple of screen shots of cars that I designed the paint scheme and use from time to time as my own cars when racing. The first one is the EverRanch Mini Cooper. For those of you who do not know, EverRanch Farm is the name of the small sheep farm that I run with my wife. I thought that our logo would look great on the hood of a car, and I have seen nothing to dissuade me of that so far... The second car skin is my favorite to this point. It is of the EverRanch Mustang. Even though I am not really a Ford guy, it still looks pretty cool :) There is also a Challenger that several of us have added into the game as it did not come with one. I have made a skin with the #77 paint scheme that I mentioned briefly above, but I have not made an EVR Challenger skin yet. There is also going to be a Camaro that I have been working on, but it is not in the game at all yet. Anyone want their farm or business added to a virtual car that could be raced anywhere in the world??? Let me know :)