Computer racing simulators not just fun and games

When he first raced at Watkins Glen International and especially when he won there, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a big deal out of how adept he had become at that sinuous road course by "driving it" on a video game.

	Dave Rodman

Junior's computer set-ups for gaming at his Mooresville home are the stuff of legends, and so are some of the online battles he's had.

In fact, longtime sidekick Hank Parker Jr. isn't gonna let Earnhardt forget any time soon the last lap pass Parker recently made for a Daytona victory over the defending Pepsi 400 champion. That online session included Busch Series drivers Lyndon Amick and Shane Hmiel.

If you think racing online is just for grins, Earnhardt's success at a variety of tracks should start pointing you in another direction -- if not toward your computer software supplier.

When you consider that Junior met T.J. Majors -- another participant in the Daytona video showdown and an aspiring Busch North driver from Pennsylvania that he subsequently helped in his racing efforts after getting to know him online -- you can tell it can be a little more than just a game.

But how do you feel when being a consultant for a gaming company is all you have to do for a while?

"It's fun -- it's really neat," Amick said of his consulting work with the game designers at Papyrus, based in Concord, Mass., who are currently working on the latest version of their NASCAR racing game that is due out next year. "They are really making a very strong effort to be very realistic about that game, right down to the intricate details like the bumps on the race track and how each track drives."

Amick had no idea when he scheduled a session, with Parker, in Concord for May 9 that he would be unemployed. He was released from his ride in the Busch Series after a tough 10-race opening in which bad luck and accidents marred his results sheet.

So on his way to New Hampshire, where he strolled the garage area meeting and greeting fans, owners and peers, Amick went to Concord and tried his hand at six different tracks that will be in the 2003 version of the game that has been in a constant refinement process since it was introduced in 1993.

	A fan tests out a driving game at a Busch Series event this year. Credit: ASP

Apparently, if you get the proper accessories, the game can be the next best thing to being there, Amick said.

"It's fun, more than anything," he said. "But as a driver, I'm telling you -- when you get in there the things are the same, like where you let off and the way the track drives. You can actually get a feel for that track with the video game and it really makes a difference."

You could come back and ask why that couldn't change any of the sour occurrences that happened to the likeable former Goody's Dash Series champion, but what difference would that have made?

"This is the basics of learning and paying your dues," Amick said -- but was he talking about the hard knocks or the computerized laps? "I feel like I’ve paid my dues. I’ve worked hard and I’m willing to do anything it takes to become a good and competitive race driver and I think I’ve taken the steps to do that.

"Man, everything happens for a reason. I believe that, and I believe God is in control and I have to put my faith in that -- in that the right situation is going to come along and I’ll be able to hopefully show that I am capable of doing it."

Until then, Amick is stuck in the position of making laps on the computer and in the garage. He's got the demeanor to make either work.

“I am in a position now where my next move needs to be a very good one," he said. "I need to really think about it and try to get in the best situation that I can. It’s so much a group of the haves and the have-nots. It’s pretty interesting and I need to get with a have."

Amick's proven he can win a NASCAR championship, but at this level he's still in the phase of making laps -- and impressions.

And when it comes to career building that is definitely no game.

Dave Rodman is a staff writer for NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are those solely of the writer. To provide feedback to Dave, email him at dave.rodman@turner.com