Howdy from AZ USA

Hi All,

My name is John.  I'm 50 years old and currently reside in Arizona about a hour away from the infamous town of Tombstone.  

My obsession with motor sports began around 3 years of age.  My dad would watch NASCAR races and I'd sit on the floor with my hotwheels and matchbox cars having my own race.  Being an Army brat I have lived many places including Stuttgart from 1982-1985.  First race I attended was at the Norisring in 1984.  The 200 Meilen von Nürnberg.  

My pops was a big Jackie Stewart fan and my first racing game would have been an old AFX slot car set I got for Xmas in 1978-1979.  

First video racing game I got was for the ancient Intellivision console.  "Auto Racing" released in 1980 by Mattel Electronics.  It was horrible and I'm pretty sure I never finished a lap.

About 18 years later Gran Turismo was released for the PS1 and the rest is history.  If it's more sim than arcade I've probably owned it or played it.  I've mainly been a console gamer but now that my kids are grown and out of the house it's freed up some funds for a pc that can run sims half way decently.  

Currently I've been running:
ACC (Xbone)
AC    (Xbone and PC steam)
Pcars 1-2 (Xbone and PC)
Iracing
GTR2 (Steam version with HQ 10th anniversary+some tracks I found at RD)
Forza motorsport 1-7  

Using a Thrustmaster TMX with T-LCM pedals.  Hoping to pick up one of the new moderately priced Fanatec DD wheels when they are released.

As far as my racing skills....I'm a middle of the pack kinda guy.  I do my best to race clean but if I do create a mess I have no issues being a gentleman and giving an apology or pulling over to give a position back.  I'm fast on some tracks, middle of the pack on the others.  Casual gamer cause when ya hit my age you start to feel the clock ticking and other things become a priority.

IRL I attended Skip Barber racing school and have done a few HPDE events at a resort racetrack here in AZ (Inde Motorsports Ranch).  I'd love to see that track eventually make it to one of the sims but alas so far I've only found it in a digital form for GT6 using Polyphony digitals track creator feature (lame but better than nothing) and then it was just the layout, no elevation changes, etc...  

I'm an Automotive illustrator by trade and have also done some work as an action sports photographer.

I'm happy to be part of this community and hopefully will make some new friends.

Oops missed a couple of the questions from the forum rules on presentations.

Are you a Modder or Skinner? I've done some skins on trading paints but mainly to customize my own livery. Started to try and make Inde Motorsports Ranch for AC but I don't have all the needed software nor know how. Once I got to blender I was like "WoW, these track builders put in a ton of time in recreating these things." Cheers to all you folks that have the patience, passion and know how to make awesome mods.

How did you hear about European Endurance Center? I found out about EEC through posts on RD and through google searches for cars and tracks I wanted for GTR2 and AC.

Why do you want to be a member? For the sense of community really...Most of the people in my life are women which is wonderful but they don't share my passion for motorsports, cars, etc so I often find myself going to events alone or wanting to talk racing only to find no one is interested. Also I've found in life that everything comes easier with a teacher, guide, cheering section or what have you and I feel this is a good place to learn some of the tips and tricks of modding, track building etc...

Welcome.