ARCA Sim Racing, the future of ASRS?

Earlier this year, The Sim Factory released it's ARCA Sim Racing title. The title was called "The Most Realistic Stock Car Sim To Date" by Sim Racing Tonight, a sim racing based webcast show. Even the sim's package touts it as "as real as it gets". When it first came out the track selection was very limited. But as the year has gone on, The Sim Factory has released numerous patches that have included more tracks and seemingly have increased the following of the title.

At first glance one would be in awe over the mass selection of cars, but would lose that feeling when they saw the limited selection of tracks. However, each track is highly detailed and nearly an exact replica of it's real life counterpart. The cars are even more impressive with the bodies and paint schemes life-like. The net code is the greatest ever offered and the physics surpass many other sims offered.

Just recently ARCA's home track, Toledo Speedway, was released by The Sim Factory. The track has become a popular stop on the ARCA schedule and packs in many fans for it's weekly offering of Late Models, Stock Cars and Figure 8. The Sim Factory's version is so close to it's real world couterpart that you have to scrape the wall just to make sure you are still driving a simulation. Toledo has changed many people's outlooks on ARCA Sim Racing and The Sim Factory and has brought the fun level of ARCA Sim Racing to a new high.

So, what does this have to do with ASRS? Well, you will be the first to know. The plan is to begin testing ARCA Sim Racing online with our league sometime early in 2009 with plans to move to the sim sometime around the midpoint of 2009. What we will look for during testing is the little details that will make it even more life-like for ASRS and we will also be learning the interface and options available to league adminstrators within ARCA Sim Racing. Our plan is to allow a few more tracks to be released before fully commiting to running a divison, but we fully expect The Sim Factory to have most of the tracks for 2009 out by the season's midpoint. We will start out on short tracks and slowly work our way up to the superspeedways. Eventually running a full ARCA season here at ASRS.

We encourage everyone to give ARCA Sim Racing a try and give The Sim Factory a chance to improve on it's maiden voyage into racing simulations. It will only get better! Despite some early issues, The Sim Factory has acted quickly and addressed many concerns from the sim racing community and along the way has improved ARCA Sim Racing greatly. You can pick up a copy of ARCA Sim Racing at http://www.arcasimracing.com

A look towards 2009

With the 2008 season just about behind us, the time is now to move on to 2009. The ASRS Officials are busying working on many things we hope will not only attract more drivers, but also imprive competition throughout the league. Among some things to be addressed this winter:

1) Regaining the loyalty of our longtime members and ensuring lengthy stays at ASRS. Not only are we going back to our roots, we are also looking at ways to build stronger, longer lasting friendships with all of the drivers here.

2) Improving championship battles, which will include a rules change in the Camping World Truck Series that will allow drivers to miss two races before being excluded from the Chase for the Championship. (The current rule allows one missed race before a driver is excluded from the championship chase).

3) Working partnerships with other leagues, whether it be through a strategic merger or just a strategic alliance. Our goal is to not only strengthen our league, but also the online short track racing community. We are in the process of debuting an "Official Partner" program that will allow supporting sites to display the ASRS logo and show their support of the league. The Official Partner program will also allow ASRS to be seen in more places by more drivers.

4) Addition of select "just for fun" events, such as a Crash O Rama and a Street Stock World National event throughout the season. These events will allow some drivers to test drive ASRS and enjoy a night of fun simulated stock car racing.

5) A few tweaks to the rulebook will be made over the offseason, allowing closer competition and higher quality racing while opening the door to even more drivers. The changes will be mostly minor updates.

6) There is talk of charging a "team ownership fee" in 2008 instead of a General Membership fee per driver. Anyone wishing to own a team within ASRS will have to have a "Team Owner's license" that will be sold at the beginning to the year. Under the proposed program, teams will be strictly limited to four teams. The license is expected to cost $10 if the proposed rule is put in place for 2009. But, nothing has been decided on in regards to that proposal.

7) Work is ongoing with the "Realignment 2009 and beyond" plan, while it appears we will continue to utilize NASCAR Racing 2003 Season by Papyrus, there is an outside chance we may switch to ARCA Sim Racing by The Sim Factory at some point in 2009. Again, plans are unclear at this time and no final decision has been reached regarding ARCA Sim Racing or rFactor. We have been very impressed by the ARCA Sim Racing sim and the quality of support the folks at The Sim Factory have given everyone in that community. With more and more tracks coming out and updates being released frequently, ARCA Sim Racing could hold the keys to the future of ASRS.

On behalf of everyone at ASRS, I want to say thank you for your support in 2008, I hope you will continue to support us through the Winter Heat program and the 3rd Annual Snowball Derby. I hope to see each and every one of you again in 2009. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season. If over the winter you come up with a suggestion or have a comment or a concern I urge you to email me at jim@americansimracing.com and I will be glad to take a look at what you would like to discuss.

Best Regards,


Jim Foose
President & General Manager
American Sim Racing Series
http://www.americansimracing.com
Email: racerfoose42@cox.net
AOL IM: FOOSERACING42

2008 Season winds down

It's November and the temperatures are dropping nationwide, snow is falling in some places and people are hurrying out to get the latest and greatest gift for the holidays. November also marks the official end of the 2008 season for the American Sim Racing Series.

With the ASRS Craftsman Truck Series 2008 season in the books, and the 100th ASRS Craftsman Truck Series event, also the final race run under the Craftsman banner comes the long, cold winter months. But that will not be the case this winter, with ASRS Winter Heat warming up your competitiveness and keeping the racing going year-round.

Before we close the chapter on 2008, lets take a look back at the season that was:

Craftsman Truck Series:
38 drivers scored points over the 25 race schedule. 13 drivers scored a win in the ultra-competitive series that prides itself on Tough Trucks, Tough Racing. The season also marked the first time that a driver has won back to back to back to back championships in the American Sim Racing Series. Although the season had its rough spots, 2009 looks to have a great field of trucks competing for the championship.

BozPC National Series:
23 drivers scored points over the 8 race schedule. 5 made it to Victory Lane. The series was dropped from the American Sim Racing Series lineup for 2009 after a dismal year in 2008. The 2009 schedule had called for a more "premier" type schedule dominated by intermediate tracks. Unless something changes for the good, that will not happen in 2009.

Modified Series:
28 drivers made races, but only 6 reached victory lane. The Modified Series had a transition year, as it was dropped from the lineup early in the year, only to be brought back. The experiment appeared to be working successfully early on, but interest and support fell off and before the season concluded, it was announced the modifieds would not be back in 2009.

Outlaw Paintshop All American Series:
The Outlaw Paintshop All American Series saw some of the most competitive fields in online short track racing. Each season presented it own challenges to the drivers as nobody knew what to expect around the next turn. The season finale at Rockingham Speedway showcased the drivers on the largest track the series has ever competed on, and the race was exciting and had its own suspense all the way to the checkered flag. The Outlaw Paintshop All American Series is on the slate for 2009, and some changes have been considered, but it appears the series will return with a similar gameplan in 2009. It was also announced that the Outlaw Paintshop All American Series will take part in the Winter Heat program this winter, that will take the green flag Tuesday, November 25th.

2009 holds alot of promise and looks to be an exciting year for ASRS. We appreciate your support through 2008 and hope you will continue to call ASRS your home. We will have many exciting announcements this winter and really hope you will join us for Winter Heat and theupcoming 3rd Annual Snowball Derby.