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?