Northwest Racing

As many of you may already know there is a real life driving simulation that is growing by the minute and getting very popular real fast. Now that it is off season, this is something that can keep the gearheads and die hard racers busy in the winter time. It is IRacing.com, very easy to sign up and can start racing within 20 minutes. All you need is a newer decent computer, a steering wheel with pedals. It does cost $100 a year but it is well worth it. I know of a Craftsman Truck Series driver (James Buescher) that sits down with hes crew chief and uses this simulation for practice. I know of a few guys locally from yakima speedway that Race on here. What do you say, lets get a NorthWest Group going and have some fun!

Greg Gargett

Just to add a few things to this since I am a techie geek.

First, I don't do iRacing because my wife won't let me do anything that is basically a game that requires a subscription fee. So she put the kibosh on that right away.

Second, this is not realy a "game", it is a "simulator". So don't treat it as a game.

Third, it was built from the guts of the old Nascar 2003 computer game originally built by Papyrus. I still play that one since I own it and it fits within the wife's rules of gaming subscription fees. The only problem with the old game is that it was built before he days of bbss, so it wasn't modeled to work with those setups and you don't even have that kind of adjustment. Not sure if iRacing has fixed that since I have never run it.

Last, something I learned a long time ago when dealing with computer based racing simulators - The bigger and badder your PC, the faster your times will actually be. This digs into the techie geek side a bit, but the short of it is this, there is a lag between the server software and your computer software/hardware. Anything you can do to reduce that lag will speed up your times. Faster connection speeds, more powerful video processors (video lag is a huge issue when dealing with your times), all that stuff makes a difference. This one can get very expensive in a hurry as hardware isn't cheap and it gets outdated fairly quickly. But keep in mind that the faster your computer can recieve the data from the server, then your video processor can make the computations needed and then your computer can report those computations back to the server, the faster you lap times will be.

Enjoy!

Quote posted by TerribleTim68:...before he days..
Damn it. That should be *before the days".

I have an IRacing account and it is alot of fun. The legends are the starting point and you work your way up from legends latemodels modifieds midgets sprintcars camping world truck series nationwide series and cup series and there are many different tracks. The road course racing part of it is also alot of fun. The only down fall to it is you have to race against younger kids who go out there and wreck everyone on the first lap. But as soon as you move up a level it gets very competitive and is well worth it.

Quote posted by Coreyjr:...The only down fall to it is you have to race against younger kids who go out there and wreck everyone on the first lap...
That was always the part I hated back in the Nr2003 days. Good to see nothing changes.

But yea, I've heard if you get out of the bottom levels it gets better. Personally, I'm not sure I'd wanna go beyond Late Models. I just like them better than the "upper" level cars.

I have been using this simulator for just about a year now. I have a $400 computer that is not that special. With a wheel that was $50. I run minimal graphics and still run 60 fps. I have won several legend, street stock, late model and road races with this setup. Yes you can go all out but its not needed.

Just trying to get more people to know about it and join!

The only down fall to it is you have to race against younger kids who go out there and wreck everyone on the first lap.


Sounds like it must have up to date superlate software installed

LMAO lml29. Sometimes you come up with some real funny Stuff.

Check out( P.O.R.A.) MY SON RACES ON THERE ALL THE TIME,VERY PROFFESONAL.AND I BELIEVE ITS FREE

does it work on laptops? lol. and where do u get a wheel and pedals?

Ya it works on laptops that is what I use and if you go to the logitech site you can buy them off there site they have a few different options. I prefer the G27 its what I have and it works very well.

Well let me start off by saying i know very little about iracing. Just what other drivers have told me, it can get extremely expensive with memberships and u have to buy all the cars and tracks. My sugestion is check out ARCA 08. It is a very good sim and in my opinion is the best...it cost 50 buck and you own it forever no memberships no additional costs. You need a wheel,head set and a decent graphics card. I only have about 700 bucks into everything and that is including the cp. I race monday-friday and we average 20-35 drivers a night, races start about 9 est. And last about an hour and a half. You can check out Poraleague.com for more info on arca and what you need as far as cp requirements. I AM NOT DOWNING IRACING i just can't afford nor want to spend that much money on something that i don't own. Like i said the sim only cost 50 bucks and you own it, download it and everyone on there is very professional and take the racing very serious....I just ran against ty dillon on tuesday night.

You can pick up a logitech driving force
pro at game crazy or game stop for around 120-150 bucks that is what i have and alot of others also.
If anyone wants mor info on stuff you will need or info on arca you can email me at mckinneymotorsports@hotmail.com. This is a no bullshit league. We don't put up with wreckers or childish behavior...we all enjoy racing very much and take pride in this league. On our website there is alot of information about other leagues we support.. You can find a race all week long... And during the off season there might be some racing on the weekends. Alot of nascar drivers use arca as a testing tool. Like i said i have raced against ty dillon and many others that are very good....just something to check out. Travis McKinney

Is "pora" a simulator or game?
Does it feel real?
Does it punish bad driving and reward good driving?

Not comparing one to the other but Im intrested though because im close to signing up for iracing. and doesnt seem costly to download for like 7 bux and for a month. if you want to buy all these other kinds of cars than sure it may add up. but to get started and race it seems fairly cheap.
I really like iracing and only have actually played it one time for about 30mins tried different cars and thought it felt very realistic unlike most "racing games" from the past.

Quote posted by Junior48: You can find a race all week long... And during the off season there might be some racing on the weekends.
probally a great league...but im looking for something that has racing pretty much whenever.. not just during the season. and iracing seems to have many different races starting every day many times through-out the day

Poraleague.com is our group website. Arca 08 you can dowload it from arcasimracing.com and as far as real feel it is as close as it gets the only thing it lacks is the actual g forces.... You have to conserve your tires. You feel everything with the force feedback wheel from curbes to bumps in the track. You can feel it in the steering wheel when you break the tires loose. It is a simulator not a game....it is nothing like console racing that is where most of us from pora came from and once we tried it there is no going back to console.
You have to drive the car everywhere. You start out in the garage area and have complete control over making you way to the track from the garage, to practice,qualify, parade laps, racing and under caution, pits stops. Everything the computer never controls your car. If you spin and kill the motor you have to refire it and get going again. There are videos on you tube. Nothing against iracing we have guys that do both but arca is definately cheaper.

Arca to me is pretty much a league run sim. I mean by that is there are not alot of open lobbies to join. It favors the leagues more than the casual racer....there are usualy guys on practicing for upcoming races all week long at different times of the day. But nothing like console games that you just jump in a room full of kids and run a race. It favors the guys that run leagues and put in a bunch of practice and build setups.....i have logged over 40,000 laps in 5 months and i am just now getting to where i can run in the top 5-10 on a given night.....the competition level is insane it takes alot of practice to win in these leagues...some have fixed setups where everyone runs the same setup and others have open setups. It is like having a real car constantly tuning and chaging stuff..weather time of day air pressure every adjustment you do changes the way the car feels and drives. The differnce i guess would be what do u have time for occasional racing or serious racing. Check it out

Minimum Requirements:



2.0 GHz processor

Windows XP,VIsta, XP 64-bit (may run in Windows 98SE, WindowsMe & Windows 2000, but it is not supported.)

512 MB RAM

Geforce4 6800 or Radeon 9600, lower cards may work but at degraded performance

128 MB video RAM

DirectX 9.0c

2.0 GB of hard drive space for installation

Internet connection required for online play



Runs Best With:



Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 processor/AMD Equivalent

Windows XP/VISTA

2048 MB RAM

Geforce 8600GT/8800GT Optimal or Radeon X1900 GT and higher

256 MB video RAM

DirectX 9.0c

2.0 GB of hard drive space for installation

For online racing a DSL/CABLE Internet connection or greater is needed...preferrebly not on a low speed wireless connection.



** Testing has proven that a motherboard with the Nvidia NForce 680 SLi Chipsets, paired with the 8800 Series GeForce Video card by Nvidia provides the best HIGH-END results for users wishing to run everything on MAX settings and at high resolutions.



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Thanks for all the info I will be lookn into it.

I have raced arcasim racing and currently am an iracing member and can tell you there is no comparison between the two. Arca has one car and and I believe 8-10 track(it has been awhile since I raced there)Iracing has 23 cars and 47 tracks with over 40,000 current members to race against. Yes there is more cost involved but you get a very good starting package when you sign up and can race at any point in the day without have to buy a track or a car until you wish.Not going to say it does not have its flaws because every sim does but they work on the sim everyday to make it better. There is leagues for every type of racing you can think of from open short track streetstock leagues to fixed late night trucks as well as official races that run almost every hour. I started out with an 8 year old cpu and a logitech momo wheel and have now upgraded to a new cpu and a g25 wheel and can tell you that the biggest difference was having a brake pedal that has some feel to it so equipment is not the end of the world. If you do check it out besure to get involved with a league as it helps having guys to help you hone your skills.

like i said i am not bagging on iracing....i know arca is in the process of making a new game that is supposed to have everything from dirt cars to modified,trucks,nationwide,cup, but the reason i went with arca 08 is because i don't have to worry about memberships every month and the fact that if i don't have the money to spend that month i still get to play whenever i want...i have never been into something that you have to keep paying to race...i like the buy it and own it version....i understand why iracing requires membership because of all the technology involved with laser scanning the tracks...but arca is extremely acurate also...there is more degrees of rotation in the rearend with arca...making it easier to keep control of the car when you get it loose and try to recover...like i said iracing might be for some people but arca is very realistic and it is not going to break the bank....and your right it is only the arca series cars for right now....but there almost done with the trucks and nationwide and they already have the legends out....i don't like the fact that if someone wrecks you it effects your performance....no point in having 40,000 members if most of them treat it as a game instead of a simulator.....that is what i hear the most out of the people that have switched over....just something to keep in mind....if i had the extra money i would try out iracing just to compare it to arca myself...i just don't see it getting any better than this...

I can tell you that yes there are younger members that can cause some trouble but they are few and far between and that sort of stuff only happen in the official side. I personally spend 80% of my racing in leagues where they don't put up with people wrecking each other no matter what your age. They also have a license and safety rating system to help with some of that stuff as well as you have an option to protest a driver for his on track conduct which works pretty well. I really do suggest giving it a try. You can find deals where you get 3 months for $10 to try it. I really believe you would have a different outlook if you try it instead of just taking others word for it.. I also don't believe that there will be no extra charge for all these new cars and tracks that arcesimm racing is working on. It just does not make business sense to spend what is likely hundreds of thousands of dollar to give it away for free..

i probably would have a different outlook if i try it....but there is still the membership part of it that i don't like.....and it is not free..it is still 50 bucks. also they have been saying that Richard Childress is coming on board because alot of his drivers use arca sim as a refining tool for his up and coming drivers....most of them use Arca 08 and the new one is going to have more cars.....we had 26 drivers last night and it was a hell of a race at pocono.....80 lap race 18 lead changes..i think the field was seperated by 0.7 sec. There are ups and downs to both sims....it is all on personel preference...i know of at least 3 drivers that do both and they say the difference is night and day between the two as far as the way the cars drive....and they were saying that one is not better than the other there so different you can't compare the two....but they also said they couldn't count how many times they got wrecked for the win.....I just can't get over how often they keep saying they get wrecked.....in 5 months i can only remember one time the leader got wrecked for a win and that was a racing deal....we just don't race that way....there is alot of respect and give and take with our leagues.....in PORA we have had 5 races with 5 different winners and 4 different pole sitters.....36 people have taken points and the top 18 in points are seperated by 63 points. it is just good hard racing...i like knowing that if i practice all week for a race i am not going to get wrecked..

hey tim check out openspeedway.net if your interested in a league to run with...they have nr2003,Arca 08, and Rfactor leagues.... there a good bunch of guys and are fun to race with...they usually have a lot of guys on nr2003.