23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace spoke about the importance of simulation in the light of no practice sessions these days.
In order to reduce time on the race tracks, NASCAR has decided to go with no practice and qualifying sessions for most of the races for the 2021 season. So, drivers are relying on simulations more than ever due to the circumstance created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about such importance of simulation in today’s circumstance, Wallace said:
“Well, it’s 95% simulation, we don’t practice anymore.” He continued, “Now with COVID, testing is out, and now with the schedules, we’re just showing up and racing.
“And so no, it’s gone all onto simulation and I’m on a new schedule with the Toyota being a part of the TRD family. You know, being up at the simulator every Wednesday now for a couple hours or few hours a week.
“Doing that stuff, figuring out what we need, figuring out what helped us this weekend. Then implement that in the next weekend and get a feel for.”
While it might not be as good as practice sessions, Wallace feels that simulation is having the data from simulation helps the drivers and engineers prepare for the real races.
“You know it’s not a hundred percent true feel, but it still gives you a general idea of what to expect when you unload. And it gives the engineers some data to look at to get that much closer.”
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