@Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.: guess he's never heard of friction.

ShaggyB

@aspasticninja: "what sport? turning left? "

hahaha
BURN

ShaggyB

@ShaggyB: likewise, if he had hit the hop button ad he hit that wall he may have been able to bounce over it and reach a secret part of the track... or perhaps even get ahead.

ShaggyB

you know if he had the select button it would have reset his car in the middle of the track... just dont hold down the throttle or you'll spin out....

ShaggyB

@Supergrass: "He's less uptight than a lot of drivers and really seems to enjoy the sport."

what sport? turning left?

aspasticninja

@Supergrass:

Could be that he realizes NASCAR driving isn't as "hard" as the old timers claim it is :P

zophiel

@fELIXADER: Oh, oh ,oh, I loled. Well done, sir, well done.

Shiryu

Hm, i thin we (and the other drivers) can be happy that he didn't try to 'snake' over the course. ^^

fELIXADER

Pshh, I bounce my car off the freeway divider daily to get around those slow A-Holes in the carpool lane! Works like a charm. I don't know why a professional NASCAR driver can't handle it.

ssoltero

They're slicing the NASCAR drivers extra-thick this year.

DaPress

It's his profession, why would he think that would work?
Next week - a soldier tries rocket-jumping

steerpike

Red shell... duh.

velvet396

Actually watching the vid of this move... he pulled it off pretty well. It was amazing he didn't hit the wall head on, after the insane move he did right before it. In motion, you can see how it could have worked. If the wall had a gloss finish instead of being just rough concrete, it might have :D

sakeido

A lot of down time traveling means these drivers spend a lot of time playing video games. A bunch of them, particularly younger drivers, get prepared for racing on the road courses by playing games. Especially now that they don't get a chance to test everywhere.

I've had the chance to sit in on some of Carl Edwards' interviews and he always seemed a bit odd, though in a really good way. He's less uptight than a lot of drivers and really seems to enjoy the sport. Anyway, I love the fact that he said what he did here, even if he was assuredly kidding a bit.

Supergrass

@Modus_Operandi: Pffftt... He didn't even consider the good old Konami code and yes, this one is as old and tired as they come...

EldonTLH

Word is Edwards only used this startegy after his pit crew informed him there was no "turbo" button in the car either.

Modus_Operandi

Everyone knows that if you are going to emulate video games on the racecourse, you should just done a U turn, drove a lap around the course the wrong way and done a head on collision with one of the other racers.

Sofox

He's a NASCAR driver.
IQ of a slice of lemon.

CanaryWundaboy

Carl Edwards wins in my book.

Shake n' Bake!

SnakesSolids

Stupid bastard. He should have just rewound time and tried something else.

Does Not Equal (ダズノット)

Just use the Blue Shell, it's easier... but be aware of the explosion!! And watch out the banana peels!!

Chopper_Mike

The way to improve Nascar? Add turtle shells and bananna peels... BAM!

Genose

Oooh...
NOW I get why that warning's on all the games.

It's not for us folk, who KNOW the games aren't like real life, it's for the "professionals" who seemingly ignore them!

Jayenkai

@Emiat: And How.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

I was listening to the race on my way home from work when I heard him say that. I just knew it was going to show up on a gaming blog somewhere.

I dunno, part of me thinks it could have worked.

Thassodar

Play Ferrari F355 Challenge

loempiavreter

@Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.: At least NASCAR would be fun if everyone driving did that.

Emiat

Oh NASCAR, The sport of turning left and now ignoring real life physics in favor of videogame logic.

What next, is he going to paint speed-boost arrows on the ground and can drive over them?

Maybe next time he'll try ricocheting himself off his opponent to clear a corner. Or how about driving recklessly to increase his boost gauge.

And lastly, I sure hope he doesn't try to go into Showtime Mode!

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

I played Gran Turismo as a youngin, and while the physics weren't exactly up to par with engines now, even at that time I understood bouncing a car off a wall would not have similar effects in real life. This astounds me.

Noble-Asthmatic

I doesn't take a very smart driver to run on NASCAR oval circuits.

moidsch

You wonder why kids act out video game scenes and we always chalk it up to bad parenting. But when you hear a grown man trying to do the same thing as a video game in real life, you kind of wonder, whats in the mind of people who actually act out these video games scenes. Can they not tell the difference between fiction and reality? I mean sometimes I feel like emulating a video game, but then I realize that I don't have the same abilities as the game so I stop.

pikpikjuice

if anyone watched the race, itvwas a phenominal finish! You just don't see stuff like that! I didn't see that coming, and if it would have worked, holy crap. One of the best finishes of the season.

Serantos

video of Carl Edwards attempt

+ Watch video

Plsk1n

Thank little baby Jesus he didn't get hurt.

Edge of Blade

That is awesome. It would have been even more awesome of course if it would have worked, but I have a lot of respect for him for trying such a thing.
It's these kind of crazy maneuvres that makes NASCAR fun, not the endless ovals.

Protector one

He should've saved first

Dresan

I'd like to propose a moratorium on Mario Kart-based jokes...sheesh......

dae_giovanni

@EldonTLH: Damn you for stealing my joke. Damn you!

dae_giovanni

@Supergrass: "if he was assuredly kidding a bit."

god I hope so.

Apocalypse15

@Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.: No speed arrows won't make him go faster but painting the car red will; cos we all know red ones go fasta!

aphexmalus

@zophiel:

Well it was a lot harder then, I mean they didn't have all the safety equipment like the big red letter L on their glove.

Weirdwolf

@crewwolfy:

Out of context?

Kotaku is reporting that a professional NASCAR racer admitted to intentionally hitting a wall because his experience with a video game led him to believe it would have a result that differs widely from what common sense and real world experience should have told him.

Desperate or not, the facts are not misrepresented.

Slothboy

Let this be a lesson to all of you.

Spray your car liberally with Pam Cooking Spray before every race.

Slothboy

Actually saw this on Sportscenter last night. Thought it was pretty funny. Though, if I might add in some 'useless' information..

-The track wasn't crowded, it was only those two for a good distance
-It was the last turn of the race, hence the desperation
-He did a really good job, I was impressed
-He failed to reproduce video game results; isn't that visual proof that video games are different than real life?

The media has made a living taking things out of context. Sometimes it's Fox News, this time it's Kotaku. Lighten up, and fact check.

crewwolfy

oh... my... god...

AuthenticM

@aspasticninja: technically they might be going left, but more often than not they are actually counter-steering to the right. It's also a lot more difficult than it looks, but don't ask me - go visit the graves of dead drivers.

Cigol

what a dumbass...i hope he's not serious.

theblob

@aphexmalus: You got that wrong, the black ones go faster!

(Let's see how often I can recycle that one)

Klappstuhl

@justhesh: Then it was either taken waaaaaay out of context or it was like that quiet girl in class who decided to convince everybody she had killed herself. At some point she just pops out, and we all wonder why the hell that was supposed to be funny.

Thorax

@Slothboy: No, he DIDN'T intentionally hit the wall. He just knew that the move he was trying to make, by going so deep into a turn, would probably make him hit the wall (when you go so hard down into a turn, you lost grip and start to ride back up the bank).

He wasn't TRYING to hit the wall, he was trying to get below the other driver with the off chance that he could keep the car from riding up too high.

It was taken out of context, and now there are a bunch of internet einsteins latching onto this when they're the ones that don't understand racing physics.

justhesh

@Slothboy: The thing is, had he not 'tried' that, he wouldn't have won the race anyway. He hit the wall because his speed was too high and he couldn't take the turn any sharper. Had he slowed down, he may have made the turn, but the other driver would have passed him anyway. I'm no NASCAR fan, but after watching the clip above it seemed pretty clear what his intentions were. It even almost worked.

Zugdaga

It was a joke, you fucking geniuses.

justhesh

@Genose:
[fanboys-online.com]

Mainman

@moidsch: I'd love to see you run at Talladega next week... sheesh...

twinturbo2

@justhesh: so what, he took all the fine science youve described and through it out the window when he said it worked in a game.... That indicates hes an idiot. All intentions aside unless he laughed and winked at the camera to show he was kidding the comment stands as a firm bit of stupidity.

ShaggyB

@Plsk1n: Which part. I didnt actually see a bounce I might of dozed of in some parts.

Cue2

@Thorax: It was Kotaku being headline jockeys and not actually caring enough to understand the substance of the stories they post.

justhesh

Everyone rips NASCAR racers and their fans as being retarded but all of you dopes actually thought he was being serious. Good grief.

Sollus

I predict a lawsuit against Havok and other physics engine developers for not being good enough.

Shak_0

Driving around in a circles is serious business.

Patient

""I kind of bonzaied in there. I wanted to make sure I cleared Jimmy, and I probably went just a little bit too far, and hit the wall a little harder than I planned on hitting it, and he got back behind me. It was fun. I have always wanted to try something like that. Now I know it doesn't quite work the same as it does in video games, but it was fun."
-[www.komu.com]

"Now I know...."
It is one thing to think a technique that works in a video game might net the same results in the 'real' world, but saying it out loud, in public with the cameras rolling, is another thing.

I wonder if he thinks he can take numerous bullets and, not only live but keep on fighting, if he just stops and rests for a few seconds. It works in the video games.

coalhalo

I jumped off the Empire State building. It didn't quite work the sameway as it does in GTAIV. I haz the smarts.

Orionsaint

what a dumbass

Radioactive_Nachos

Mind-blowing....

Did this guy skip racing school?

Admittedly, the flubbed maneuver was executed pretty damn precisely....it would have been a beautiful takeover.

MAConcep00

This is why you do not use Gran Turismo as a simulator. You cannot just bounce off walls and use cars as shields without consequence...

onlysublime

Dude has balls.

StartingAces

@justhesh:

Well, ok that makes a bit more sense, but honestly reading that comment, even in the context of the original article, it doesn't seem like he's making a joke. "hey it worked in video games, hahaha."

If he meant it as a joke it isn't very clear in the quote. So much that it didn't cross my mind that he wasn't serious. And I usually assume everything is a joke until proven otherwise.

Slothboy

@Genose: "i dont like the idea of driving into that banana peel!!! looks awfully slippy, i'll slam straight into that concrete wall to pass by everyone and win! oh wait where am i?"

adas1023

Ah... Nascar...

The sport where, in spite of rising gas prices and a bit of an oil crisis, they still drive hundreds of laps in circles at high, inefficient speeds.

I seriously wonder how many gallons they burn every race. It must be ludicrous.

While I realize it's no piece of cake controlling a vehicle at such speeds, I still don't get the fascination. Sure. That'd be fun as hell if it were me in the seat, but watching it... no way.

Mact

@Mact:
I've always thought about that. There's some motor racing I don't mind, rally for instance takes a lot of skill, but NASCAR has always seemed stupid to me.

Karl Marx Vladimirs Linens

@Klappstuhl: Was that meant to be somewhat racist?

tdreher

to his defene, i think he was playing auto modelista.

the one game i know where you can use the wall to bounce off making a turn at max speed in dime without skipping a heartbeat.

pnoy.otaku

How many times does it have to be explained that he didn't hit the wall on purpose, that it happened due to a risky move to the bottom of the track, and that HE WASN'T BEING SERIOUS when he was talking about games? Stop commenting on headlines and actually know what you're talking about.

I don't know what irritates me more: the people that don't have the slightest understanding of what actually happened and comment anyway, or Kotaku for encouraging that by having the same level of misunderstanding and just plain not caring.

justhesh

@Genose: Anybody else have a horrible tendency of calling them "banana shells"? My mates and I seem to have gotten into the habit of doing so subconsciously, and now that we've noticed and started trying to correct ourselves it sounds just flat out wrong to call them by their proper name.

reno84

He should have tried to blow up the other car by tapping Z twice, or pressing Z,R,Z,R. Do that five times and you get an extra life, so you can just restart the course when you don't win.

Takuthehedgehog

If you one close-to-realistic physics, play the GTR games or Grand Prix Legends. Otherwise, DON'T.

syafiqjabar

@Karl Marx Vladimirs Linens:

the sport is harder than it looks. also, since the cars get about 4 miles to the gallon and it takes about 17 gallons to fill up the cars, take the number of laps, multiply that by the track length, do some other ciphering and you will get the amount of gallons used per race.

some folks enjoy nascar, but i guess some don't and it would probably compare to sitting down and watching someone play through mgs4, just not the same experience.

kneehighspy

Role models...? Sir, these are NASCAR drivers.

Do Kesubei

IQ of a sliced lemon because he is a NASCAR driver? Oh really, what a dumb comment.

Anywho, a lot of NASCAR drivers get that extra seat time on tracks using sims and NASCAR games. Some like Dale JR even played some of the more popular pc NASCAR games with a league of other players. Its a good way to learn a track youve never raced on when its a good game your doing it with. As Joey Lagono has said he has done.

Now onto Carl's comment. I laughed when I heard it and wondered what game he was talking about in which he could do that.

Just2Fresh

@justhesh: That or maybe people just don't care or respect NASCAR. The fact that he could liken his move to a driving game further exemplifies how ridiculous the technical driving aspect of NASCAR really isc

I'm sorry to say this, but NASCAR is so boring and void of actual driving skill that I think the problem is most people couldn't actually tell if hitting the wall was done on purpose or not. Personally I thought he just wanted to know what taking a hard right turn would feel like after driving around in circles for hundreds of laps.

You seem rather passionate about the sport, if you really appreciate automotive racing why not broaden your horizons to what the real drivers do:

+ Watch video

Patient

Well, we always knew NASCAR was the special-ed of racing.

Say something stupid about my name, you know you want to.

TheBakachan

I find it really hilarious how many people are calling him stupid when they're the ones who don't realise he was joking. Oh, internet. Never change.

Chagrin

damn it I wonder if the health pack I sent to my friend in Iraq may not be effective either.

onepoker

@steerpike: sad but true! XD

Hiero

@Patient: A-fucking-men to that. The ridiculous amount of cornering skill rally drivers have aside, the environments are just plain more interesting to watch. A tiny compact car (which is, by the way, closer to stock than the "stock" cars of NASCAR ever will be) hurtling through the mountains of Spain is an endlessly more rewarding experience to watch than the same pile of junk outdated pushrod car circling the same track over and over again.

Lightman

NASCAR

Proof that motorsport can indeed be made even more boring then F1.

Except it doesn't have state of the art cutting edge cars and laughably and obviously bias governing body called the FIA(rari) which at leased makes up 1/2 of the entertainment.

:Rolleyes:

Onizuka-GTO

@Chagrin: Well, Kotaku's encouraging the ignorance that these people are displaying.

Show some dignity, Kotaku, and admit that you're as clueless as most of these commenters are. Admit to your tabloid journalism tactics with this topic.

justhesh

That's what he gets for playing arcade racers instead of sims.

If he'd been practicing with something like rFactor or GTR2, then things might have been different.

Marlor

@Patient: How does you not liking the sport have anything to do with the fact that Kotaku and most of the readers are so blatantly ignorant about what actually took place?

Stop furthering this stupid flame bait bullshit.

justhesh

He'll be on iRacing soon.

JackB99

the video games he's most likely referring to are simulators like iracing that kotaku has talked about here, not need for speed underground. nice to see no one has predjudices about nascar though.... wonder how many people would flip out if someone said gaming was just pressing buttons for hours on end every day

UritDiomedes

You'd think Edwards's team could afford one of those race simulators that claims it isn't a game.

SupriyaLooney

I will guarantee that the game he was talking about is NASCAR Season 2003 by Papyrus.

Just for the record, if you look at the clip he almost made it work. Where he messed up was by overdriving it so hard that he guaranteed he wouldn't take out Johnson. If he had gone just a little less hard then he wouldn't have hit the wall as hard and probably won the race.

Fergie24

what the heck is this guy on? I saw this story on like 3 different sites and all of them featured different pictures of him mid-backflip... i'm stunned.

Swizzler121

@Orionsaint: Hey, as long as you land in water you'll be just fine. Trust me, I've seen it in countless video games.

Tiber

@Fergie24: Yeah, after seeing the clip, it actually doesn't seem like it was that bad of an idea. He almost pulled it off. I can't blame him for not executing a move perfectly that no one ever tried either.

As to the whole video games aren't real life, consider that most driving games really only has to focus on physics, AI, and car handling (which is partly physics as well). Nobody expects the physics to be identical to real life, but these games are expected to be somewhat representative of real life, especially if the drivers train on them.

Tiber

@steerpike: win

rustingmiller