One of the most exciting things SEMA Auto Show had to offer was the Blue Tiger Full Motion Simulator. The picture shows John Gamble from RacingJunk.com driving Laguna Seca in a pretty fast LMP1 car. Apparently the simulator is so accurate at creating the feeling of driving that many teams are requiring drivers to spend a certain number of hours on the simulator practicing a certain track prior to racing at that track the next weekend - this is happening in Nascar primarily. The sim works for flight games, too, pretty much anything on a PC, even Dirt2, although Forza3 X Box players are out of luck - at least at the moment.

I loved the simulator and the rep from Blue Tiger was impressed at how quickly I got used to it and was able to drive fairly well. My secret? I imagined it was like a real car, unlike a video game where you'll still be alive after attempting a hairpin at 150mph. The result, if you use the brakes, slow down for the corners and accelerate smoothly, you stay on the track. Surprise, surprise. Still, regardless of the fun-factor, I wouldn't be able to handle 20 hours of oval time.