Virtual Indianapolis 500 Winner Announced

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to this Codemasters press release announcing the winner of the virtual Indianapolis 500, ahead of the actual race this weekend. Apparently Sam Hornish Jr. surged ahead at the last minute to win this pre-race simulation, which was staged using Codemasters' newly released IndyCar game for Playstation 2. Is there any reason to hope that these sports sims (racing, baseball, football, soccer, and so on) have a real possibility of predicting the outcome of matches, or entire seasons?

Comments

Statistics

[Samus]

I used to work for a company that did sports simulations on a web site. Most of the engines were based on statistics. Back in March when the maddness hit I used the website to fill out some picks for a pool. I ran each possible game several times and then picked the one that consistently won. It came close and even managed to pick some upsets. If the other team would have won the last game I would have gotten 3rd place in the pool and a bit of cash. So while the current capability is not there if the statistical model is good enough you can get a good idea of what might happen.