With the Indy 500 and the a prime-time NASCAR race, it's the perfect weekend to play a racing game. The long weekend provided a great opportunity to stretch the game over several sessions. I played the firsts section Saturday morning before the kids got up, then Saturday evening after the kids fell asleep, and concluded Sunday morning, writing this post along the way.
The rules are inspired by Charioteer by Two Hour Wargames, but have been drastically altered to suit something like stock car racing. In total, I probably spent two hours playing as all six cars. The AI I developed for the cars is tolerable, but makes too many bad decisions for it to be running loose on its own. I'll keep tweaking the rules and if I ever get them to a shareable quality, I'll post them here.
Pre-Race
A beautiful day here at the track. Bud Busch’s engineer must have gotten something right because he aced the qualifying laps and will find himself in pole position. The rest of the field’s times were much closer with Ronny McDonald and "Bull" Dozier separated by less than one second.
Lap 7 of 50
The first excitement came on the 8th lap when Arnold challenged Busch in the first turn. Arnold unsuccessfully attempted a bump and run to gain the inside advantage but was blocked. Undeterred, Arnold completed the pass on the outside. McDonald saw an opening and pushed his luck on the now 2nd place Busch. Busch blocked the pass, but in doing temporarily losing control and falling back to 3rd.
Laps 8 through 36
The middle portion of the race saw a few minor lead changes after Bud Busch's fall from the front. The #50, driven by E. Pluribus, has been struggling to complete passes at the back of the field despite using all his focus. Lap 24 looked like it was going to be a critical lap, but at the last minute, all spotters directed their drivers to draft the car in front of them.
Lap 36 of 50
Busch's #13 took serious damage early in the race, forcing him to pit early. He returned to the field with fresh tires and rekindled optimism for lap 36. Ronny McDonald has led the pack since Busch's fall from the front. In the middle of the pack "Bull" Dozier's #25 bumped the #45 of Jimmy Arnold, causing him to touch the wall and letting "Bull" push his way to the #67's bumper. By some great luck, Arnold held off E. Pluribus's outside pass attempt despite the #50 having one of the fastest straight-line speed cars in the race.
Lap 41 of 50
Knowing he's better in the turns "Bull" Dozier, tried an outside pass on Rob Grainger's #67, but he didn't back down. After trading paint, Grainger holds off the pass but loses temporary loses control, before pulling his car back on the racing line. Bud Busch takes advantage of his new tires and passes E. Pluribus in a wide turn and sets himself on the #25's bumper and gave him a nudge. They switched lanes but Dozier was able to hold off the pass. Can anyone catch the #39?
Lap 50 of 50
The last lap! Everyone pushed their cars to the limit. Rob Grainger pushed his #67 and took the lead in the final straightaway. Seeing McDonald's lead falter, "Bull" Dozier attempted to pass by bumping McDonald's bumper. The pass was ultimately unacceptable and further damaged Dozier's already crippled car. Busch took advantage of Dozier's weakness and passed on the inside but got himself stuck behind the now second-place #39. E. Pluribus pulled up to the side of Dozier, traded paint for several hundred feet and ultimately surrendered. Jimmy Arnold, with fresh tires, pushed to the outside and made an easy pass on E. Pluribus. He then pulled up alongside the battered #25. After trading paint again, Dozier surrendered 4th place to Arnold who now had his eyes set on the red #13. Despite his recent pitting, Arnold could not overtake Busch before running out of track.
Final Results
1st Place #67 Rob Grainger - 2nd Place #39 Ronny McDonald - 3rd Place #13 Bud Busch - 4th Place #45 Jimmy Arnold - 5th Place #25 "Bull" Dozier - 6th Place #50 E. Pluribus.
Possible Changes to Rules
Increase likelihood of incurring wear points. Not enough pitstops.
Rework AI logic for Bump & Run. As written it happens too much.
Cap Focus Expenditures at final value +3.
Reduce passing in Random Events Table.
