Driving Lightning McQueen in NASCAR Sim Racing

Pixar's Feature Films Cars
#1

One of the things I do to relax is play a game on my computer that may be dated, but it is still a lot of fun - NASCAR Sim Racing. Fortunately it is a game that is easily modable so it is easy to paint your own cars and insert them into the game so you can drive them. There is also a mod available so that you can drive the COT just like the Sprint Cup drivers do. I have most of the current drivers and paintjobs that I run against in an offline career season that I am running. I’ve also recapped my results at a different site, but I also wanted to share these stories with you guys here at Pixar Planet - and maybe share some photos with you as well if I can manage it.

So, here is my offline 2009 Sprint Cup Season…

I’m running the #95 Chevy for JR Motorsports using the COT 1.1 mod with some of the newer paint jobs integrated into the game. I have both Brad Keselowski (#25 GoDaddy.com) and Danica Patrick (#7 Motorola/Boost Mobile) as teammates, and Tony Eury Sr. as crew chief. I’m running this season in full career mode so everyone is locked in for the duration.

As for sponsorship I got lucky enough to have one main sponsor with deep enough pockets for the entire year and beyond if things go well…Pixar Studios with additional backing from the Walt Disney Company. So yeah, I’m driving the Lightning McQueen car as my main paintjob, but there are other Pixar movies that will be on the car as well like The Incredibles, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. I’ll take some screenshots of my cars on the track soon.

Instead of running all of the races at 100% for the AI I’m going a different route – I’m matching AI strength to whatever level is accurately reflected in qualifying times for the actual Sprint Cup. In other words say that I want to match the pole time for the Auto Club 500 which is in California, I test to see what level matches most closely the 39.25 seconds for this year’s pole. In this case the AI strength which matches that qualifying time is 96%. There are some times when I back the AI down a bit so that I can at least match speed because sometimes they just run away. I could just hold the throttle open all the way around the track but then it becomes a safety issue. But at most tracks I can match the actual speeds.

So far I’ve run up through New Hampshire and I’m about to run the Coke Zero 400. Just a recap on my season so far:

[u]Speedweeks[/u]:

Budweiser Shootout – The debut of the #95 Pixar/Disney Chevy had everyone in the garage area talking and was the most popular car on the track – at least for the little kids who were there with their parents. The last couple of laps it was me and Danica trying to help each other stay away from everyone else, and it worked as we were able to put some distance between ourselves and the field. Last lap I made a run at her coming out of turn 4 but I just didn’t have quite enough to catch her. Danica Patrick wins the Budweiser Shootout.

Gatorade Duel – Did pretty mush the same as I did for the Shootout, just stay patient, stay up near the front then make a move at the end. It worked this time as I won my half of the Duel.

Daytona 500 – Most of the race I was a lap down. I was jostling for position with Micheal Waltrip coming out of the first pit stop when I blew the front right tire. So back into the pits I go to get the right side changed and by the time I got back out there I was a lap down. So new strategy, just keep going and try to get the lucky dog as soon as possible. Well by Lap 100 it looked like it wasn’t going to happen and I would finish back in the pack when…what do you know, we got a yellow! I went in to top off the tank and get fresh rubber and I GOT THE LUCKY DOG! Back on the lead lap! When we go green there are 15 laps to go. I worked my up through the field and re-took the lead with 4 to go. I held onto that with David Stremme on my back the entire time and won.

#2

cont:

Daytona Recap:
Bud Shootout, started 1st, finished second. Winner – Danica Patrick. AI – 92%
Gatorade Duel, started 1st, finished 1st. Winner – Joe Gandolfo (me). AI – 92%
Daytona 500, started 2nd, finished 1st. Winner – Joe Gandolfo. AI – 92%

The target AI for Daytona should be 100% but I haven’t been able to get a setup where I can run at 100%, still have the speed and not overheat the engine. Still working on it though.

OK, now to recap the rest of the schedule…

Auto Club 500 – Home territory since I was born and raised in SoCal. AI is 96% - right on target. I qualified 28th in my homecoming race. Didn’t take me long to get to the front and since Fontana is so wide it’s easier than at other tracks. As usual I can put some distance between myself and the field in turns one and two but usually lose some ground on the straightaways and in turn 3. I’m leading going into the final turn and coming out of turn 4 I get clipped by Paul Menard and get loose. I wind up saving it (even after watching the replay I don’t know how) and beat Jimmy Johnson to the line.

Shelby 427 – AI is 102, but should be 111 to math actual qualifying times.
During the Auto Club 500 the week before, Wall-E won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, so I made up a special car just for this race to celebrate.
I won the pole for this one, but late in the race fuel became an issue. No matter how hard I tried saving it I didn’t have enough to make it to the end. With ten laps to go I’m trying to get past Elliott Sadler when we make contact and I lose my front right, just like at Daytona. I have to get in and out of the pits fast but by the time I get back on the track I’ve lost the lead and there’s no getting it back. I finished 27th and Juan Pablo Montoya wound up winning.

Kobalt Tools 500 – AI is 94, right where it should be.
Pretty uneventful. I got out front and stayed there the whole time.

Food City 500 – AI is where it needs to be at 98.
I was doing well up until lap 223 when I got a penalty for speeding in the pits. I almost had it back when I got bumped and lost a tire on lap 282. I had to serve another penalty for coming into the pits when they were closed – they were open when I entered them!. Finished in 39th.

Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – AI is on the money at 99 (based off of last years times as this year’s qualifying was rained out.)
I start 12th and take my time making my way to the front. I’m running up front for most of the day, and that’s where I finish for my first ever Martinsville win.

Samsung 500 – AI should be at 93 but I run at 92 for safety reasons.
Texas is always fun. I love running at the D-ovals. Now my teammate loves running at them too. Danica Patrick gets her first win of the year. I tried holding off Montoya and Stremme over the last 10 laps, but on the last lap Juan got past me and made a run at Dani. He didn’t catch her though. I was able to watch her win from a third place finish.

Subway fresh Fit 500 – AI is at 96 – perfect.
I still can’t believe what happened at Phoenix. I’m near the front with about 10 laps left in the race. I’m biding my time, just stalking the leaders and waiting to make my…wait…what…why am I sliding? DAMN YOU KVAPIL!!! I get back in line and I can only manage a 25th place finish.

[b]Aaron’s 499[b] – AI is right on the money at 94.
I help Richard Childress celebrate the anniversary of RCR’s first win as an organization by driving for him in the Nationwide race. I’m a little hesitant getting into that Black and Silver Van Halen striped #3 Coca-Cola car. I don’t care who you are, only one man should ever drive that number, but since Richard, Theresa and Junior all asked me to do it I pilot the car to a 4th place finish. In the 499 I wasn’t as lucky. We got a yellow late in the race and we had quick yellows twice in a row. There were cars spinning out behind me as we were getting ready to go green again so I figured we would get another quickie yellow, right? Wrong! We stayed at yellow and I lose the lead pack and come in 27th.

Crown Royal 400 – AI is good at 91.
Until tonight I have never won Richmond. Well I had some good luck, some good pit stops and a great crew behind me.

#3

So my finishes for the year:
Budweiser Shootout – 2nd
Gatorade Duel – 1st
Daytona 500 – 1st
Auto Club 500 – 1st
Shelby 427 – 27th
Kobalt Tools 500 – 1st
Food City 500 – 39th
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – 1st
Samsung 500 – 3rd
Subway Fresh Fit 500 – 25th
Aaron’s 499 – 27th
Crown Royal 400 – 1st

Paint schemes I’ve used this year:
Budweiser Shootout – Lightning McQueen
Gatorade Duel – Lightning McQueen
Daytona 500 – Lightning McQueen
Auto Club 500 – Lightning McQueen
Shelby 427 – Wall-E (special car to celebrate the Oscar win the week before)
Kobalt Tools 500 – Lightning McQueen
Food City 500 – Lightning McQueen
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – The Incredibles
Samsung 500 – Lightning McQueen
Subway Fresh Fit 500 – The Incredibles
Aaron’s 499 – Lightning McQueen
Crown Royal 400 – Monsters Inc.

Race winners for the year:
Budweiser Shootout – Danica Patrick
Gatorade Duel 1 – Joe Gandolfo
Gatorade Duel 2 – Jimmy Johnson
Daytona 500 – Joe Gandolfo
Auto Club 500 – Joe Gandolfo
Shelby 427 – Juan Pablo Montoya
Kobalt Tools 500 – Joe Gandolfo
Food City 500 – Denny Hamlin
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – Joe Gandolfo
Samsung 500 – Danica Patrick
Subway Fresh Fit 500 – Mark Martin (go figure)
Aaron’s 499 – Reed Sorensen
Crown Royal 400 – Joe Gandolfo

AI Strength:
Budweiser Shootout – 92% (should be 100%)
Gatorade Duel – 92% (100%)
Daytona 500 – 92% (100%)
Auto Club 500 – 96%
Shelby 427 – 102% (111%)
Kobalt Tools 500 – 94%
Food City 500 – 98%
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 – 99% (???)
Samsung 500 – 92% (93%)
Subway Fresh Fit 500 – 96%
Aaron’s 499 – 94%
Crown Royal 400 – 91%

Point Standings going into Darlington:

  1. Joe Gandolfo 1478
  2. Kyle Busch -35
  3. Clint Bowyer -125
  4. Jeff Gordon -159
  5. Bobby LaBonte -182
  6. Danica Patrick -184
  7. David Stremme -215
    :sunglasses: Juan Pablo Montoya -229
  8. Denny Hamlin -244
  9. Kurt Busch -274
  10. Joey Logano -313
  11. Sam Hornish Jr. -315

Points behind 12th place:
13) Jamie McMurray -26
14) Ryan Newman -53
15) Bill Elliott -61
16) Jimmy Johnson -62
17) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -85
18) Tony Stewart -103
19) Brad Keselowski -104
20) Jeff Burton -152

Now it’s on to the track “that’s too tough to tame…”

#4

My weekend at Darlington - (AI at 97, should be 105)

Nationwide - I did another favor for Richard Childress and got in that Coca-Cola #3 car again. I had a lot of fun actually going around Darlington in this car - well winning probably had something to do with it. Good practice for the Southern 500.

Southern 500 - Well at least I didn’t come in last!
I did everything I could to keep the car off of the wall early, well #$@! happens. As the race went along the handling got a little more difficult until I could get to the pits, we made some repairs and it would get better - until someone would plow into me! I swear I had never been as beaten up in a car as I was at Darlington. That thing had so many dents in it at the end I thought all we would have to do was crumple it into a ball and start over again! I got of easier than Bowyer and Brad though - Clint had some engine troubles and Brad’s engine blew up near the end of the race.

I started 23rd and made my way up to the front. The car seemed to do a lot better when it wasn’t in traffic and we were trying to stretch the field. After the first pit stop things started to go south. I was back in 10th trying to get ahead of the lead pack when I got rammed into and lost a tire on lap 53. Yup, had to pit and went down a lap. It wasn’t until lap 189 that I was able to get the Lucky Dog and get back on the lead lap. I was just setting myself up for a top 20 finish when Ryan Newman sends me spinning.

That’s when things got crazy…

NASCAR was telling me to get behind Bowyer who was back on the track. Problem was, I was behind him. Apparently NASCAR wanted me to let Bowyer go around and let him pass me which would have put me a lap down anyway. There was no point in letting that happen so I went ahead and pitted and took the penalty. I finished the race in 41st, 3 laps down.

Results:
1 - David Stremme
2 - Reed Sorenson
3 - Marcos Ambrose
4 - Juan Pablo Montoya
5 - Jeff Gordon
6 - Kyle Busch
7 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8 - Aric Almirola
9 - Jeff Burton
10 - Jeremy Mayfield (last race before his suspension)

Point standings going into the All-Star Weekend:
1 - Kyle Busch 1598
2 - Joe Gandolfo -70
3 - Jeff Gordon -119
4 - David Stremme -145
5 - Juan Pablo Montoya -184
6 - Danica Patrick -193
7 - Clint Bowyer -206
8 - Denny Hamlin -235
9 - Bobby laBonte -245
10 - Kurt Busch -289
11 - Sam hornish Jr. -300
12 - Joey Logano -316

Points behind 12th:
13 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. -53
14 - Jamie McMurray -69
15 - Ryan Newman -75
16 - Jimmie Johnson -88
17 - Bill Elliott -98
18 - Reed Sorensen -101
19 - Tony Stewart -123
20 - Jeff Burton -128

Now, it’s on to the Yellow walls of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. My All-Star lineup so far:

1 - Martin Truex Jr.
2 - Kurt Busch
5 - Mark Martin
7 - Danica Patrick
11 - Denny Hamlin
12 - David Stremme
14 - Tony Stewart
17 - Matt Kenseth
18 - Kyle Busch
24 - Jeff Gordon
29 - Kevin Harvick
33 - Clint Bowyer
39 - Ryan Newman
42 - Juan Pablo Montoya
43 - Reed Sorenson
48 - Jimmie Johnson
83 - Brian Vickers
88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
95 - Joe Gandolfo
96 - Bobby LaBonte

I’ll add three more after the All-Star Showdown and then we’ll have some fun!!!

#5

All-Star Challenge - (AI at 103, should be 108 for qualifying)

note I found something out about running at Lowe’s. I noticed that the cars were running at true racing speeds during the race with the AI strength at 103. But for qualifying they would have to be closer to 108? Strange.

All-Star Race - I qualified 6th so I put myself in a good position early. I ran the race at 100% distance (70 laps) but put fuel and tire wear at 2x to get more pit stops. The lineup for the All-Star Challenge was as follows:

1 - Martin Truex Jr.
2 - Kurt Busch
5 - Mark Martin
7 - Danica Patrick
11 - Denny Hamlin
12 - David Stremme
14 - Tony Stewart
17 - Matt Kenseth
18 - Kyle Busch
20 - Joey Lagano
24 - Jeff Gordon
26 - Jamie McMurray
29 - Kevin Harvick
33 - Clint Bowyer
39 - Ryan Newman
42 - Juan Pablo Montoya
43 - Reed Sorenson
48 - Jimmie Johnson
77 - Sam Hornish Jr.
83 - Brian Vickers
88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
95 - Joe Gandolfo
96 - Bobby LaBonte

The start of the race was nice and clean and it didn’t take me long to get up front and stay there for most of the race. I wanted to bide my time and just hang out up front with the leaders and only make my move late in the race. We only had a couple of cautions, around laps 23 and 28, but other than that it was green flag racing.

I got out front with about 10 laps to go and I made sure that I had enough fuel for the finish. To make it really interesting I had myself some company - my teammate Danica Patrick. We kept changing the lead every couple of laps until with about 4 to go I got out in front and managed to stay there for my second consecutive All-Star win.

I celebrated by doing a few burn-outs and then got myself a General Motors flag from my pit crew for a Polish Victory lap. (Hey I’m driving a Chevy so I may as well promote the parent company, right?)

Top 10:
1 - Joe Gandolfo
2 - Danica Patrick
3 - Reed Sorenson
4 - Clint Bowyer
5 - David Stremme
6 - Mark Martin
7 - Ryan Newman
8 - Kurt Busch
9 - Jamie McMurray
10 - Martin Truex Jr.

Notables:
11 - Tony Stewart
12 - Joey Logano
13 - Jimmy Johnson
22 - Jeff Gordon
23 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

#6

Coca-Cola 600 - (same as the All-Star Race, AI at 103)

NASCAR’s longest day of the year, and it takes place at a track that I love running on. I barely qualified on the pole as I almost lost it and spun out during qualifying. That didn’t do anything but wake me up so that I got to the front. We had a clean start (for the most part) but I found I had to bump Montoya out of my way so that I could get the lead.For the first few laps I was dueling it out with Ryan Newman and Jimmy Johnson for a while. JJ held on until about lap 28 when I was able to put some distance between myself and him and lap some traffic.

Most of the day I had to contend with Truex and Bowyer on my back, but I knew that I just had to be patient as this was a long night for all of us. Near the end of the race Regan, Montoya and Gordon were trying to come up and make a run at me. They each got the lead away from me a few times but I knew that my car was still the strongest in the field. I was able to get some distance on Gordon over the last 15 laps and took the checkered for my 5th consecutive win at Lowe’s. What was really amazing about this race is that we did not have one caution flag come out – not one!

Results:
1 – Joe Gandolfo
2 – Jeff Gordon
3 – Clint Bowyer
4 – Martin Truex Jr.
5 – David Regan
6 – Juan Pablo Montoya
7 – Ryan Newman
8 – Brad Keselowski
9 – Jeff Burton
10 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Notables:
12 – Jimmy Johnson
15 – Danica Patrick
17 – Tony Stewart
21 – Kyle Busch
22 – Carl Edwards

Points:
1 – Joe Gandolfo 1723
2 – Kyle Busch -25
3 – Jeff Gordon -69
4 – Juan Pablo Montoya -154
5 – Clint Bowyer -161
6 – David Stremme -185
7 – Danica Patrick -200
8 – Denny Hamlin -257
9 – Bobby LaBonte -261
10 – Sam Hornish Jr. -319
11 – Kurt Busch -323
12 – Joey Logano -329

Behind 12th:
13 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. -1
14 – Ryan Newman -6
15 – Jimmy Johnson -38
16 – Jeff Burton -72
17 – Jamie McMurray -87
18 – Reed Sorensen -89
19 – Tony Stewart -93
20 – Bill Elliott -101

Now it’s onto “The Monster Mile”, a track that I have never finished at!

#7

Autism Speaks 400 – (AI at 97, where it should be)

This weekend I had a special car on the track. To celebrate Pixar’s Up I painted a special Up car to promote the movie on the weekend of it’s release. My weekend in Dover started off okay as we had one of the fastest cars on the track during practice. Then I got a little cocky during qualifying and started 40th. Ooops. Anyway I figured that if I just stayed patient and wait for the field to stretch itself out I would be able to make my way through the field without a problem. The only thing is the CPU drivers stay bunched up through at least the first pit stop, and I wasn’t sure if I could stay out of trouble for that long. So I started making my way up through the field a little earlier than expected. I stayed up front for most of the day but that wasn’t what was important in the long run. Before this I had never been able to finish a race at Dover – I had always been wrecked coming out of turn two because someone did something stupid and got into my left-rear and spun me into the infield wall. Not today – not with the COT! I was able to stay out of trouble all day and not only finished the race, I won it.

Pocono 500 – (AI at 104, where it should be)

My first time at “The Triangle” and it was one I was looking forward to. For one thing I had never run here before, only tested, and second it was a race that I had to run under Black Flag rules to get it to run properly (I remember some of the difficulties some of you had with this before, so I set the rules before going to the track). I did everything right all weekend – I stayed out of trouble for the most part and qualified on the pole. That’s when Paul Menard got stupid during Happy Hour and wrecked my primary car. I had to go to a backup and start at the back of the field. I was able to make my way up front fairly quickly, but I had to do a lot of bumping and banging to do it. By the time we made our first pit stop there was a lot of sheet metal that had to be pounded out. I stayed near the front for most of the day and was in a position to win it – but then again so was my boss: Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was in front with a couple of laps left and I became a good employee and blocked for him so that he could get the win. I expect a hefty Christmas bonus for this boss!! :wink:

Life Lock 400 – (AI at 96, should be 98 for qualifying, 91 for race)

Michigan is a little strange in that the AI should be at 98 for qualifying, but to reflect actual race speeds it needs to be at 91! Not sure how to remedy that, so for now instead of putting it at 91 and winning in a cake-walk, I put it down to 96 so that the field didn’t run away from me.

There were a few times when the field did run away from me as the car got free in the dirty air, so I had to stay out in front as much as possible. It got very interesting near the end when we all had to pit with about 12 laps to go. I got in the pits in front and came out in 8th – I’m guessing that some of the ones who jumped out in front just did a gas-and-go without taking any tires. I took on a can of fuel and four tires for the end of the race. I was 8 seconds back with ten to go and I was partering with Tony Stewart to draft off of each other to make up some time. I can always make up a lot of time in the corners as I can hold my speed better there and catch up to cars quickly. By the last lap there was only one car in front of me – Sam Hornish Jr. I figured if I could get close to him I would shoot by him as we entered turn 3 since I get off the gas later than everybody else. Sure enough, Sam let off earlier than I did and I had the race won right there. It was my 8th win of the year and I was good to get it in front of all the people who work for GM, Ford and Chrysler.

Results:
1 – Joe Gandolfo
2 – Sam Hornish Jr.
3 – David Reutimann
4 – Jimmy Johnson
5 – Reed Sorenson
6 – Brad Keselowski
7 - Juan Pablo Montoya
8 – KevinHarvick
9 – Scott Speed
10 – Tony Stewart

Notables:
11 – Carl Edwards
13 – Danica Patrick
21 – Jeff Gordon
22 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Points:
1 – Joe Gandolfo 2293
2 – Jeff Gordon - 232
3 – Kyle Busch -313
4 – Juan Pablo Montoya -392
5 – Danica Patrick -420
6 – Denny Hamlin -426
7 – David Stremme -464
8 – Clint Bowyer -476
9 – Jimmy Johnson -505
10 – Sam Hornish Jr. -547
11 – Tony Stewart -566
12 – Kurt Busch -583

Behind 12th:
13 – Ryan Newman -6
14 – Reed Sorenson -12
15 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. -18
16 – Bobby LaBonte -32
17 – Joey Logano -49
18 – Martin Truex Jr. -96
19 – J.J. Yealy -139 (they’re actually Mayfield’s points but it was easier to plug Yealy in this slot than figuring out how to start him at zero)
20 – Jeff Burton -150

Next race will be at Infineon. Let’s just hope I don’t flip the car over like I did last year. Yeah, I landed on my wheels and went on to win the race but still – it was embarrassing!!!

Note I’ll be racing the Up car at Infineon instead of the Finding Nemo car as I had planned in memory of 10-year-old Colby Curtin of Huntington Beach, CA. She was a little girl dying of Vascular cancer, and her last wish was to see the movie Up. She was too sick to go to a theatre, so a family friend got in touch with Pixar and one of their employees arrived with a DVD-copy of the movie so that she could watch it at home. Colby was too sick to open her eyes so her mother described the movies’ scenes to her.

With her final wish fulfilled, Colby died later that night.

I know that this is just a computer game and not an actual Sprint Cup race, but I do this every September 11th to honor the Cops and Firefighters in Madden.

So Colby, wherever you are – this race is for you.

movies.msn.com/movies/article.as … &GT1=28101

#8

[u]Toyota/Save Mart 350[/u] – (AI at 98 where it should be)

This was a good news/bad news race. The good news was I had the fastest car on the track for both Practice and Happy Hour. The bad news is I screwed up qualifying – I started 42nd. I figured it would be no biggie, I could just take my time making my way up through the field and finish near the middle of the pack since it was a road course.

Oh how wrong I was!

The first caution was brought out before we had even done one lap – Junior. The second caution was brought out before we had done three laps – LaBonte. Once we were able to get going I was able to start making my way up through the field – and then things got weird. The entire field went into the pits on lap 6 save for Junior, LaBonte and myself. They were able to get back on the lead lap and I took the lead – big time.

I figured I would be fine if I could stretch my fuel to beyond halfway in the race. If I could pit after 33 laps then that would be the only pit stop of the day (remember, I run at 60% distance). I got to lap 33 before coming into the pits so I was golden. I stayed in the lead for the rest of the race and there was only one other time that I had to pit – when I spun out on lap 60 in turn 8. Fortunately I had a huge cushion of about 45 seconds, so I wasn’t in any huge trouble. I just got myself back onto the track and into the pits along with everyone else to top off the tank and get new tires. After that I was cruising to a win.

Top 10:
1 – Joe Gandolfo
2 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3 – Bobby LaBonte
4 – Tony Stewart
5 – Brian Vickers
6 – Kurt Busch
7 – J.J. Yealy
8 – Mark Martin
9 – David Regan
10 – Kasey Khane

Notables:
15 – Carl Edwards
18 – Danica Patrick
20 – Jimmy Johnson
23 – Jeff Gordon
29 – Kyle Busch

[u]Lenox Industrial Tools 301[/u] – (AI at 84 to simulate practice times since qualifying was rained out)

I’ve been having trouble with Loudon ever since I’ve been playing this game, so in order to get a full race in without 2/3rds of it under yellow I turned the rules to Black Flag only. To really make things interesting I turned up fuel usage and tire wear up to 2x.

I lead for most of the 1st half of the race until the field began shifting during the pit stops. I never got below 20th at one time coming out of the pits and I was always able to work my way back up. I had gotten back up to 3rd at one point when Carl Edwards got into me going into turn 1 and spun me around. I got back on the track quick with no major damage and started again from 20th place. By the last few laps it looked as if Jimmy Johnson was going to take the race, but he faded and Kyle Busch took the lead with two to go. There was no way I was going to let a Toyota win this race so I got myself up there and took the win for Chevy.

Top 10:
1 – Joe Gandolfo
2 – Aric Almirola
3 – Kyle Busch
4 – Bobby LaBonte
5 – Brad Keselowski
6 – Martin Truex Jr.
7 – Jimmy Johnson
8 – Reed Sorenson
9 – J.J. Yeley
10 – Jeff Burton

Notables:
14 – Tony Stewart
17 – Carl Edwards
20 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
29 – Jeff Gordon
32 – Danica Patrick

Points
1 – Joe Gandolfo 2683
2 – Jeff Gordon -447
3 – Kyle Busch -457
4 – Juan Pablo Montoya -538
5 – Denny Hamlin -577
6 – Clint Bowyer -601
7 – Danica Patrick -634
8 – Jimmy Johnson -641
9 – Tony Stewart -670
10 – Bobby LaBonte -675
11 – David Stremme -690
12 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. -713

Points behind 12th:
13 – Kurt Busch -10
14 – Reed Sorenson -19
15 – Sam Hornish Jr. -39
16 – Ryan Newman -42
17 – J.J. Yeley -90
18 - Martin Truex Jr. -122
19 – Joey Logano -139
20 – Jeff Burton -188

#9

Lets see if I can get some pictures in here:

My main ride:

Incredibles:

Finding Nemo:

Monsters Inc:

Radiator Springs Lightning (All-Star Race):

Wall-E:

Up:

Lightning USA:

Next I’ll post some race photos.

#10

Racing Danica in the Bud Shootout.

Juuuust missed it at the line!

Winning at Daytona:

A few burnouts along the backstretch:

Aaaaand some for the people in the tri-oval:

#11

Are you going to make a Toy Story one for the TS double feature/TS3?

#12

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated so here’s what’s been going on…

My wife and I have been in the midst of some financial difficulties that we have been trying to deal with. I have been looking for a new job for a long time with no success and our house is in foreclosure. We’re trying to sell the house before we lose it so that we can move to California to take care of my ailing father-in-law. So between packing up the house and getting it ready to show prospective buyers, I haven’t had a lot of time to do much racing.

I was able to get to the second race at Dover before I finally had to quit due to life getting in the way. However, all is not doom and gloom because I have since shifted to a different game…rFactor. Specifically the VHR Stockcar mod for rFactor which is the best NASCAR sim I have come across.

Painting for it is pretty fun too, as you’ll see in a new thread.

I’ve already made one for VHR, I’ll post the pics as soon as I can take them.