Before there was the internet and gaming websites I was playing racing games on my computer. Starting with the likes of World Circuit and Nascar 1 by Papyrus I spent a fair amount of time driving around on virtual tracks with an analog joystick. By the time Nascar 3 came along I was convinced I needed a steering wheel to fully emerse myself in my fantasy of being a stock car driver. Nascar 3 also provided the first really viable internet racing opportunity and it wasn't long before I had convinced a few friends to race together over our dial-up 14.4 modems.
In 2001 Nascar 4 was revealed and really upped the ante on car physics and internet racing. My step-cousin and I decided to dive in full bore and organize a NASCAR league. In February 2001 we opened try puts for what was to become a well attended NASCAR racing league we called MNRL. For the next 6 years I raced at least once a week in this league and created some very long lasting friendships. Over the years we added voice communications (which was still an evolving technology at the time) and some of the members even offered up video replays and radio shows for the league. At it's peak it was one of the best times on I've had online.
Sometime in early 2007 the league faded out as interest finally waned three NASCAR games and countless races later. I guess many of us just burnt ourselves out on racing. Most of us are not racing today and some have even sold their steering wheels and equipment. Deep inside however I can't shake that feeling that it's in my blood and it's a genre I'll always come back to. In fact, just recently I've purchased the steering wheel (making me the owner of 3 wheels now) to try out some of the solid racing games on the Xbox360. Almost 99% of my time racing on the PC was spent online. Now I'm enjoying some of the cool career modes in games like Forza 2 and soon DiRT and NASCAR 09.
The old Xbox continues to impress me at every turn. I was skeptical that it could hold a candle to the extremely realistic PC simulations but the Forza 2 game has impressed me as being very realistic and a ton of fun. With the steering wheel, my old racing skills came right back to me and I'm enjoying tearing up the track at full simulation (no driving aids) and AI skill at Hard ... just like the old days.