Dale jr, has admitted way back he loves racing in iRacing, i think some of the indy car racers also have a dabble in iRacing every now and then.
I think Dale Jr is probably a gamer first and a racing driver second. His real world talent is mainstream rather than exceptional, and probably owes more to his father and the opportunities that gave him than anything else.
I'm not saying "I could do that!" because I wouldn't even want to try, but I do think he's a poor example to use. He'd be on iRacing even if he was digging ditches for a living, is what I mean.
Other examples on iRacing are harder to track down, and may well only be there -- intermittently -- because of free promotional accounts. And there is definitely plenty of debate about whether sim racing and real racing have any significant useful overlap. Sure, sim racing (particularly iRacing, obviously) can teach you tracks. But without the seat of the pants feel necessary to drive a real car really fast, the influence of sims is still dubious.
It's like the difference between masturbation and making love. Does one prepare you for the other?
And I say that as a real sim racing enthusiast. I just don't share the fantasy mindset which says it's a sport or useful for more than superficial real world training.
Huttu or Wyatt prove nothing really. And even if they do, GT Academy obviously proves that what matters is not the fidelity of the code or tracks, but the twitchiness of the drivers. Games can certainly be used to filter out those with the quickest reaction times... which may be "all" that's really required (along with desire, application, and low levels of seratonin) for success in the real world.
I will remain a desk-bound sim racing enthusiast until Fate wrests my wheel from my cold, dead hands. But I'm not sure I will ever see proof that this is anything more than posh, slightly anal retentive gaming. Mario Kart may be more intellectually honest.
Andrew McP
PS I once beat Dale Jr in an SRF race... if only because he spun on T2 at Lime Rock and took out half the field. I was once in a Dallara@Indy race with him and a massive field of four others. I nearly beat him then as well, but my re-fuelling tactics let me down with one to go. That was quite intense. But he's just another human being who enjoys sitting at a desk pretending to be a race driver. He just gets paid to not-pretend too, and I don't see him as special in any way. I'd be more impressed if he was a cancer or energy researcher. Those are people who should be the real heroes in life... not blokes who can kick a ball or press pedals and wave their hands at the same time. IMO obviously.
