Talk:The Daytona 500/@comment-222.165.72.128-20160221150956/@comment-26715739-20160221152408

With NASCAR there is an additional factors in play, but let's start with the generic:


 * When you quit, RR3 doesn't simulate the remainder of the race (crashes, overtakes, drafting). It simply extrapolates. So if the fastest bot has done 1/2 lap in 30 seconds, and it needs to do 2 laps, it will say total time = 2 minutes. However, it is very unlikely that it will do the rest of the race at the same pace. Even at Daytona or Indy where the speed at any point on the track is fairly constant (and even with a rolling start) you still have the issue of the initial acceleration.

Side-note: this is why, if you win a 2 lap race, the "best lap time" for the bots will only be the lap-time for the 1st lap - because it only reports on times it has actually collected, it doesn't put up a time it extrapolates. So, in a 2 lap, you can get things like: total time = 2:00; fastest lap = 1:10.


 * When you're racing, then RR3 is simulating everything so it also factors in things like collisions etc. In NASCAR this gets amplified because cars can not only collide, they can be taken out of the race and/or become wrecks lying on the track (the cars slow down a LOT for these).


 * For NASCAR: different races (even with the same bots with the same setup) can get very different times depending on how much drafting goes on. 4-5mph constant around a track like Daytona can make a major difference in the final time for the whole race. To manage bots well in NASCAR you have to not only finish only a little ahead, you have to make sure there is not a "pack" which is just behind you.