The Best Thing About NASCAR’s Virtual Races Might Be the Real Competition
When Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota sped across the finish line at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida last month, the victory was unlike any he had experienced. Trailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the race’s final lap, Hamlin, the 2006 NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year, made a final push coming out of Turn 4 and surged past Earnhardt to win a race he had led for only 14 of the 150 laps.
Why so unusual? He was driving barefoot, for one, and was competing from a race simulator at his home outside Ch