These days in the sporting world eSports are becoming just as big of a deal as there real world counterparts. Even just standard competitive games have turned into big eSports leagues. NASCAR in particular has seen a big push in both the Peak iRacing series and the new NASCAR Heat Pro Series with the Peak series even gaining some live TV broadcast exposure. There has been a lot of debate recently on just how viable these series are and if the participants have any kind of skill that can translate into a real world driving career on a consistent basis.
Isn’t it just a game?
For a lot of people these leagues are dismissed right out of the gate because no real driving is involved. Since it is a game on the computer it is dismissed as not offering anything of value. However unlike other eSports leagues racing leagues are way more valuable. Formula One has started a successful eSports league of it’s own and it seems like more series are following suit every day. Why? Because what you are doing in a racing simulator is more real to the activity then any other eSports league. FIFA, Madden and other sports game have huge eSports leagues but all those players are doing is playing the game with a controller. Are they great at the game? Absolutely, but when put in there real world sport nothing would relate.
With racing however the use of a steering wheel and the pedals gives a sense of doing the actual thing. Does it completely relate? No, but how often do you hear NASCAR drives talk about going to the simulator to log laps before a big race or to get more practice at a place they may have struggled. Now a lot of these simulators are a little more in depth then iRacing and NASCAR Heat, but it still relates. A driver that has run on iRacing around Charlotte for example. If they have raced multiple times on iRacing may not go out and win the race. They at least are going to have a good idea of where to turn into the corner and when to get back in the gas and things of that nature
Real World Success
Likely the biggest defender of the worth of eSports in racing are the drivers themselves. Most notably in the NASCAR world William Byron. Starting at the age of 13 Bryon started in iRacing winning races and showing his family that he was good at it without having spent a huge amount of money or time at a real track. They started him in Legends cars and now the 21 year old is driving for arguably the most successful team in the last 2 decades. With a major series championship under his belt also might I add.
While success in the Cup series hasn’t fully come to fruition he has one races in both of the lower series along with an Xfinity series championship in 2017. With the leagues and team involvement getting bigger and bigger as we seen this previous year. I don’t think he will be the last driver to make a name for themselves by starting to race in eSports.
Final thoughts
There are a lot of different things to consider when it comes to the validity of eSports in the NASCAR. While the platform doesn’t mean instant success and a ride in NASCAR, there is no question that it has become a good stepping stone to get into the sport. While it isn’t exactly like racing a real car, the simulations have gotten so good that the experience is valuable.
As mentioned above someone who has turned multiple laps on individual tracks on a eSports platform. They may not go out and lead every lap of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte, but the previous experience due to the reality of eSports does give them a valuable experience of sorts. The progress that iRacing and even NASCAR heat are making toward integrating tracks into the virtual world show drivers, grooves to run, and even things like acceleration and braking points. It is for sure going to be interesting the next few years to see the heights NASCAR eSports can reach.
