Could they make it worst?

Yes, it's entirely possible.

Even games with good AI still have the occasional quirk:

It started out like a real NASCAR wreak and quickly becomes an ARCA race crash

Best racing sim?

First is of course GTR2 and Race 07. I can write a million words text on the reasons why, but I guess you guys knew most of them already ^_^. Had to ignore GT Legend, though; tried the demo and was glad that I did, the cars skid in all turns, I think they better put some turn-and-bank indicator in the cockpits..
Second is NASCAR Racing 2003. Put aside the "forgiving" 'caution detector' it's hard for anyone not to love this old sim. It's second only to SimBin's titles because of it very outdated graphics.
I'm thinking about placing Gran Tourismo 5 in third place, but I don't know if this one's a sim or a sim-oriented arcade. All I know, I learned how to turn off traction control and ABS and still finish strong in all racing sims I owned thanks to GT5.
GP Legend? Got one from my friend some 4 or 5 years back, reinstalled it recently, and is still wondering if probably Papyrus was actually wanted to make a Formula Drift simulation back then.. these little cars never go where I told them!

The question is what's the best? Not what's the most popular. That's a different question.

Here are the best racing sims:

1. NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. Why? An absolute masterpiece the day it was released. It had EVERYTHING, multiplayer and single player. It is still the best. The best A.I. of any stock car racing sim ever made, maybe the best A.I. of any racing sim of any kind. Ever. Period. iRacing can't touch NR2K3 for that reason alone. A one-dimensional (MP races only) sim like iRacing can't possibly achieve Best Racing Sim.
2. GTR2
3. GTR Evo/Race ON/STCC
4. rFactor
5. GPL

NASCAR HEAT on hardcore has the best AI. IMO. You run a clean lap and then set it for the AI base. If if run the "high line", they will too.
Platinum G2 - Sprint Cup with all the 2011 tracks
http://www.themodsquad.info/



Best part is that the mod is FREE and so isn't HEAT. FREE. Legal FREE.
"NASCAR Heat Essentials"

Best racing sims IMHO

1. IRacing - best online competition, track modeling, FFB, and hopefully soon new tire model physics, but spendy and no AI and being competitive requires a lot of time investment
2. netkarPro - best physics and FFB, no AI and limited car models, lots of potential here but feels rough and unfinished, I use it mostly for hot lapping
3. Race07/GtrEvo - great value, lots of cars models and tracks, physics and FFB are decent but not great, graphics and track modeling is dated, good fun
4. RBR - best rally physics and stages, graphics is becoming dated, still great fun
5. RFactor - great value and amazing mod variations, AI is bad, FFB is bad, physics are ok depending on mod, popular but I have hard time going back to it after the better physics and FFB in Race07
6. GTR2/GTL - dated physics graphics and FFB, favorites at one time but now I prefer to race the cars and tracks from both these titles that were made as mods for Race07

I have big hopes that rFactor2 will solve the bad FFB and AI problems and update the track and physics modeling which would make it the new killer sim, most likely a 2012 release I am guessing.

As another former SCCA racer, I actually do feel some of the immersion in rFactor. As recently as the Scoda Touring Car Series a week ago. A lot of what I had to do with a race prepped ITA Neon with throttle and brake feathering to get the balance through corners to get any kind of grip, it reminded me a lot of running in SCCA races. It's not the exact feel as being behind the wheel for real, but running door to door with 15-20 other drivers on a SimHQ race weekend is as close as I can think. I still get sweaty and sometimes the same sick feeling I used to get at the false grid before a big race.

Y'all will hate me for saying this, and it's probably just a friendly form of trolling (?), but...

My real life lately has gotten far more time-consuming than at any point in recent times. That's pretty much killed my hobby as I have no spare time for it.

But I do get a spare hour or two in the eveneings, once in a blue weekend. This weekend was one of those times. I decided to crank up my PS3 with GT5 (the only game on it).

I finally scored enough game points to buy a real race car: A SuperGT 500 Nissan GTR. In the "special events" section there's a race series for SuperGT (against the AI). All Super GT cars, all at real race venues like Laguna Seca and Nurburgring GP.

With the Traction Control and ABS turned off, the game set to simulation physics mode, and with the in-cockpit view, I was stunned at how great the immersion was. From FFB to vibration cues to AI response and tire physics, the game really held my attention.

I am certainly not saying that GT5 is a sim, especially since it lacks features that we expect in a sim: strategy, pit stops, etc. But it certainly wasn't lacking in challenge and subjective 'feel' in terms of car handling and response. And it looks pretty good, too.

Sauron, this was shot on a Win7 64bit PC



Now go buy a copy of this truly outstanding sim before they're all gone!