With no auto racing of any kind happening across the nation since early March, many drivers in all levels and disciplines have turned to iRacing. iRacing is a simulated form of motorsports that puts the driver in a cockpit-like structure called a rig with monitors and realistic video that a driver can race at nearly any race track pavement or dirt in the world. Local sprint car driver Jamie Ball has been a part of several large iRacing events that have been on national TV recently and he says it is a good way for a driver to stay sharp even though there is no real-life racing.

Ball:
“You get situational awareness and muscle memory and kind of practice breathing and shaking the nerves off, I know I get more nervous iRacing than in a real sprint car, and getting to race with all the good guys and best of the World of Outlaws.”

Ball says one thing iRacing does not do is give a real-life feel for what the car is doing. He says many drivers like himself actually get more nervous doing the iRacing than real-life because you cannot feel the attitude of the car. Ball and many drivers who were planning to run this season at the Knoxville Raceway will have to wait a little longer as the raceway announced this week that they have postponed opening night to May 16th.