And what does the future hold for eNASCAR and the sport's overall sim racing ambitions? Officials like Clark and Myers suggest that a host of options are on the table: increased prize pools, additional TV coverage and more involvement from real-life, professional NASCAR drivers. Parker Kligerman, part owner of eNASCAR team Burton Kligerman eSports and a racing analyst for NBC Sports Network, said he's pushing his drivers to be more visible, streaming more frequently and creating digital content. "We have the opportunity to do things real-world racing can't," Kligerman said. "I continue to believe that there's huge potential here, and we've only just hit the tip of the iceberg."

It all goes wrong at 90 mph. Mid-turn, a slight bump from another car sends Parker Kligerman, professional Nascar racing and motorsports analyst, straight into the wall. "I just dumped Parker, LMAO!" the dumper in question crows. We're at Volusia Raceway, a dirt track I'm pretty sure is in Tennessee and Kligerman thinks is in Alabama. It's actually in Florida, and the two of us are really in Kligerman's Connecticut bedroom, where he's showing me what a pro can do in a round of iRacing.