Race fans in Charlotte, North Carolina had the opportunity to get a full-on racing experience for the first time. The Sim Racing Expo, which normally takes place in Germany, made its first appearance in the United States in Charlotte, North Carolina over Memorial Day Weekend. The event, which coincided with NASCAR'S Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, also was adjacent to the NASCAR Hall of Fame to provide a full on American racing experience to anyone in town. Held at the Charlotte Convention Center, the Sim Racing Expo amassed nearly 10K visitors over the course of three days, with Saturday being the biggest. All of this amid the unexpected passing of NASCAR driver, Kyle Busch.
Every Level of Sim Racing Represented
The Sim Racing Expo comprised of the right-hand side of the Charlotte Convention center, which sits downstairs on walk-in via an escalator. E-PXN would be the vendor that would greet you when you first walked in. They featured a demo setup immediately with a variety of their available wheels. Directly to the right of this was where Trak Racer was setup. Trak Racer brought a wide variety of sim racing rigs including an updated Tan and Alpine F1 rig. They were the only ones to bring an announcement to the event over the weekend. Behind this was the science booth from SimCraft, which partnered with the Skip Barber School for a track day prize and provided insight on how it uses its APEX GT setup to repair cognitive decline.
Trak Racer announced their motorcycle rig, the TRZ, on Saturday. The bike was the talk of the entire show as a concept was brought to test, but this will be officially released for $2000 later this year. Attendees had the option to play MotoGP 26 or a sim with a Pimax VR headset. Pimax was also in attendance this weekend, and you would notice these headsets spread out throught the vendor stations at the event. Pimax focuses on high-fidelity virtual reality visuals. Trak Racer also brought along a separate vendor with a neat force feedback wheel that goes on a controller, and it actually worked well.
GAMESIR offers the world's smallest direct drive wheel on a dedicated controller. It offers real road feel with real Trak Racer quality. This will allow anyone to use this and get the idea of how counter steering works. All of this simply with your thumbs while leaving the index fingers free to use the triggers to accelerate, or even shift with the shoulder buttons. Trak Racer brought these concepts to show true innovation in the realm of sim racing, but also did bring its Airbus cockpit for sim flights.
Some of the thirty Vendors at the Sim Racing Expo
- Podium 1 Racing
- Asetek
- Fanatec
- Giants Software
- BDH
- Trak Racer
- SimMagic
- SimCraft
- Thrustmaster
- iRacing
- eNASCAR
- Logitech
- RaceRoom
- VRS
Speaking of sim flights, Podium 1 Racing had quite the presence in front of the stage at the Sim Racing Expo. Yes, there was a stage that featured multiple panels over the course of the weekend. There was even some live sim racing leagues with participants in attendance that aired live and featured commentary onsite. Podium 1 Racing, however, brings an elite set of flight sim and sim racing rigs with motion technology. Motion rigs were the main attraction of the show as they continue to vary in size, price and immersion. Podium 1's P1 Super Spyder 6DOF Turnkey and its $130K setup was available to experience in all its full motion capabilities. This would quickly remind aspiring racers that they weren't ready for real cars just yet. Those interested in a setup that packs a punch, but aims to be more affordable for consumers came from DOF Reality.
Fanatec brought in a BMW M3 GT car along with the actual sim wheel that can be used in the car. This isn't really affordable for those in attendance unless you were part of a race team. The recently released direct drive wheel base that comes in at 18nm was also in attendance. Numerous cockpits were available to try different wheels on multiple sides of their designated area. This also included the Formula One cockpit used for the F1 eSports league.
Motion rigs were the main attraction of the show as they continue to vary in size, price and immersion.
Asetek, who long created all-in-one CPU coolers, transitioned over to sim racing as they showcased a wide variety of their wheel setups. Asetek offers cockpits, seats, and varying wheels, pedals, shifters and handbrakes to accommodate any price range. The recently reviewed Initium was in attendance, but the brand did start with elite wheels rather than entering the market with entry-level setups. The team would work towards affordability but originally aimed towards premium equipment.
Affordability was an aim for almost half of the vendors at the show. Thrustmaster has thrived since the early 1990s as being the one mainstay in the sim racing genre. They are the longest running, and that is because they have strived to keep things entry level, but have also offered some more advanced technology over recent years. The entry-level wheels won't have much, but it opens the door for players. Interchangeable wheels, an ongoing Ferrari license and flight sim controllers have kept the brand going for some time. While not having direct drive wheelbases, they do offer an advanced feedback system that's a step up from belt-driven designs.
Software and gaming-related companies had booths setup as well where attendees could try the games in person. Giants Software was present with both Project Motor Racing and Farming Simulator available to try. iRacing was available with the game plus NASCAR 25 and iRacing Arcade. Fanatec also had these in their section. Wantec VR out of Greenville, South Carolina would be the sole provider for RaceRoom, which is a f2p sim racer on PC and is used for the arcade setup at Wantec VR.
The Overall Experience of the Weekend
The first day of the Expo would only last until 5:00 PM on Friday, with steady attendance all day. This was immediately following the passing of Kyle Busch just the day before, as it was announced 24 hours later of his tragic and shocking death. Charlotte would feel like Seattle most of the weekend, and this is definitely not the case for the area during Memorial Day weekend. Mild and cool temperatures mixed with drizzle and fog threatened the race on Sunday. The sadness could be felt in the air, but the shock lasted until race day. Every individual knew who Kyle Busch was and the impact he had on motorsports as a whole.
Playable Games/Sims Over Weekend
- iRacing
- Project Motor Racing
- Le Mans Ultimate
- iRacing Arcade
- NASCAR 25
- F1 25
- MotoGP 26
- Automobilista
- Assetto Corsa
Busch had numerous victories across multiple facets of racing. He double-dipped for the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 some years ago. Katherine Legg would attempt that this year as well. Busch would win the truck race at Dover last weekend as his final victory. Many people shared stories over the weekend as it brought the entire racing community and its fan base together. The event on Saturday would see its largest turnout, as drivers and even Carl Edwards would make an appearance.
Carl was particularly fond of the Podium 1 setup. Sunday would see fewer attendees, but more attention for those that came multiple days to test out what they had missed. The ending of the event would lead into the Coca-Cola 600 which would run until about 11PM before Daniel Suarez would gamble on pit strategy and survive a three-lap shootout that would end in rain.
The Sim Racing Expo added something to this weekend that NASCAR didn't know it needed. The Golden Ticket provided access, loot, and tickets to the Hall of Fame and the Coca-Cola 600 for a complete package that would be well worth over $200. The shoes that were included are worth that alone. The Sim Racing Expo is confirmed to return in 2027 from May 21-23. This will be a week earlier and will not coincide with the race. That week is typically the All-Star race for NASCAR, which used to be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway every year. Thirty exhibitors were packed into the Convention Center all weekend as it was hosted by D-BOX. Ray Smith of eNASCAR, who worked on helping this event happen, mentioned that there is a future roadmap for this event in Charlotte.