HFRL Invitational League: Season 2 Starting Soon!
- NR2k2
- Published ()
- Hurricane Force Racing League
Hello online-racing fans! We would like to take a moment to introduce you to what might become one of your favorite venues for online racing. Near the beginning of 2002, with the release of the latest version of Papyrus' NASCAR simulator, Nascar Racing 2002, David Stickney and Jim Russell teamed up to create a new online racing league. Originally, the league was called STXRacing, after David's team name. Shortly thereafter, David decided to separate the league and team name and renewed it to "Hurricane Force Racing League".
Since the beginning, HFRL was conceived as an "invitational" league. David wanted to run a league that would consist of drivers that would not require a lot of rules and guidance. The idea was to hit the track with a lot of great drivers that already have an established level of driving etiquette, competency, and skill-ability, (yes, "skill-ability").
As the season started, we got to know each other quickly, on and off the track. David and Jim continued to provide methods for us to keep in contact and have fun together. The message board stays busy and it can get really funny. Within the second race of the real Winston Cup season, several of the guys met at Rockingham. Since then, many of the drivers attended other races and posted pictures of the events. Come May 18th, eight people from the league will be in Charlotte, NC enjoying the Winston together!
The league has enjoyed seven races online together so far. Martinsville was cancelled because of the killer pace car though. At each race, competition was solid. Levels of skill were increasing rapidly. People were learning several advanced concepts and approaches to racing, such as "appropriate aggressiveness". It became apparent that there was a fine line between "aggressively successful" and "aggressively failing". Once drivers reach a certain level of skill on the track and get a taste of victory, a new difficulty rears its ugly head; how to be fast, yet patient, in a strong field. What does it take to be fast up front while knowing when to back off? The split-second decisions that accompany this mind-set can be the difference between blissful accomplishments or utter frustration. There is no doubt that a driver must be aggressive to be victorious, but how and when are the keys. The more that HFRL races together, the more we learn how not to be overly aggressive and what it means to control disastrous tendencies.
One of the stronger qualities about the league is the level of activity. Participation in the races is excellent and someone can always be found online to chat with. David continued to gain exposure to the league by signing up with SimAutoRacer (SAR) where each race is recapped and posted for all to see, just like this article. David Stickney picked up the project lead on getting the write-ups turned into Dan Riffero, SAR's admin, every week after each race. Some examples can be viewed here: HFRL at Atlanta and HFRL at Las Vegas. Within a few weeks, 4 members of HFRL have been signed up for rides in, what is considered the best online racing league ever, Virtual Racing World. Dan personally hired two of us himself, but that's a whole other story.
As we get closer to the end of our first season, everyone is starting to think about what next season will bring. So much has already been learned and we are ready to expand the field soon to accommodate more intense competition. Since we are firm believers that success is achieved through superior mind-set towards racing, HFRL will run the next season with open setups. HFRL hopes to offer an enjoyable setting of memorable online racing. In just this short time, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the greatest success of the league has been the people. The friendships gained and the fun experienced are an important part also, as well as improved racing capabilities. We welcome everyone who might be interested in becoming part of much more than just a racing league. If you want and can display enough skill-ability in preseason trial races, you can be part of HFRL, guaranteed to make dozens of friends immediately. Sign-ups have already begun and the season starts on June 6th, 2002.
At your leisure, HFRL invites you to check out what we have for you. Please visit the site that Jim Russell hosts and maintains and feel free to contact anyone within the league. We are always happy to sponsor new and potential competition into the group. Hope to see you on the track soon race fans!