If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
As a direct ancestor of iRacing, the ‘Grand Prix Legends engine’ had multiple stock car racing false starts, before eventually releasing as NASCAR Racing 4. The original NASCAR 3, cancelled and replaced by one that used NASCAR 2’s engine, is barely remembered.
Emerson Fittipaldi had four wins in the Chevrolet-powered Penske PC-21 during the 1992 season, but the car was considered quite uncompetitive in 1992 and 1993 compared to the Lola T92-00 and T93-00.
Ayrton Senna tested the Penske PC-21 on December 20, 1992 after his 1993 McLaren contract negotiations stalled. He ultimately never raced it.
First seen in sim racing with IndyCar Racing (1993). This car with #16 ALUMAX/AMAX livery was the cover image of all the boxes for IndyCar Racing after version 1.0, replacing the 1992 #1 Lola T92-00 of Michael Andretti: