Tennessee gamer is fastest in EA-NASCAR Challenge

MIAMI -- Last weekend, the country's best racing gamers came to Homestead-Miami Speedway with scores to settle and history to make.

The inaugural EA Sports-Craftsman NASCAR Challenge, which crowned the king of virtual racing during Ford Championship Weekend, was a dramatic show and a microcosm of what it takes to compete and win in NASCAR.

The race may have run on computer consoles in a pit stall before the real competition deciding NASCAR's 2007 champion, but its competitors -- 16 avid gamers from across the country -- were as prepared, tense, and determined to win as the Nextel Cup drivers who later took the track.

ESPN's Brent Musberger interviews Brandon Coppinger, his new protégé and aspiring NASCAR racer and announcer.

Adding to the big-event atmosphere, the race was called by NASCAR on ESPN host Brett Musberger.

The winning stakes were high: a $10,000 cash prize, 42-inch Toshiba big-screen TV, and $500 gift cards from Sears and K-mart.

After three heats and a 27-lap final around the perfectly recreated computer animated Homestead-Miami Speedway track, Brandon Coppinger of Goodlettsville, Tenn., stole one from Robert Anschuetz of Clarksville, Tenn.

Leading up to the Miami finale, throughout the summer, thousands of gamers in 11 cities qualified on the EA Sports game in Kmart and Sears stores. With the field set, Anschuetz, 35, was favored heavily for Sunday's showdown.

Racing in white gym socks feet to better feel the gas pedal hooked to the computer, Anschuetz easily won the preliminary heats. He then took the Championship pole against three other electronic speed demons: Jesse Jenkins, 17, of Bluff City, Tenn., driving the No. 48 Jimmie Johnson car; Dana Lail, 21, of Dover, Del., driving the No. 11 Denny Hamlin car; and Coppinger, piloting the Tony Stewart's No. 20.

Working from a tip sheet scrawled with numbers for preferred gear ratio, camber, wedge and sway bar adjustments, Anschuetz set up his car with the no-nonsense intensity of Chad Knaus on race day. The calculations were precise. There was little room for error. He'd push the car to its limit.

But the five-minute set up period ended before Anschuetz could remove a small piece of tape from the grill. That tape, which helped him gain speed in qualifying, would loom large in a few minutes.

The green flag dropped. Anschuetz shot to the lead, hitting his marks, reaching nearly 200 mph before entering the turns, easing off the gas and carrying strong momentum for a smooth push back into the gas on the straightaways.

Dana Lail's No. 11 car looked like it could contend. But Lail's oil and water pressures ran high ... and the car blew up, sending him home.

That put Coppinger in second. The 21-year-old college student had planned to lay back, and he was doing a good job at that -- trailing Anschuetz by too many car lengths to count.

Then with nine laps to go, the abbreviated set up came back to haunt the No. 29 car. With too much tape on the grill, Anschuetz's heavily favored car overheated and expired. The shoeless wonder would be denied.

Coppinger suddenly found himself up front. His dad, who'd watched his son play video games since he was 5 years old, bounded around like a sleepy-eyed kid finding massive loot early Christmas morning. He left the gaming stall and nervously dialed his cel phone to share the news.

Eight laps to go. Brent Musberger, clearly enjoying what he jokingly termed "the biggest sporting event I've ever called," wanted some "in car audio." Musberger asked Coppinger for his strategy and thoughts given the sudden change of events.

Coppinger's eyes were locked on the animated screen, white knuckles around the console's steering wheel, an orange Tony Stewart Home Depot die-cast next to the wheel for good luck.

"Brent, don't talk to me right now," he barked into the microphone, eyes unwavering from the track.

Musberger loved it, especially since he is one of the gamer's idols and an inspiration for Coppinger's pursuit of a broadcast journalism career.

Freed from the pressure of in-car interviews, Coppinger drove smoothly, speeding past the animated grove of palm trees track-side between Turns 2 and 3, and keeping Jesse Jenkins far behind. He easily took the checkered flag and inaugural NASCAR EA Challenge title.

He plans to use the $10,000 prize to buy a Legends car to compete at the Nashville Fairgrounds. If his dad lets him, of course.

Like a mature professional racer, Coppinger was diplomatic in his post-race interviews. He was impressed by the competition and understood the Racing Gods were on his side for at least this sunny afternoon.

"Robert was awesome," he said. "I knew he had a great set up. I just wanted to run 27 smooth laps."

Even with his hopes of racing a Legends Car, while continuing his studies at Austin Peay State University, Coppinger plans to continue racing EA's NASCAR '08 game, including a weekly Thursday night competition among friends.

"I just hope I find a nice lady who lets me stay up late and play games," he said.