I got back into town yesterday afternoon, tired after my whirlwind trip to the GT Academy finals in Orlando. GT Academy is unlike most video game tourneys in that it gives the contestants a chance to dramatically alter their lives. It’s more than just an oversized check or a new gaming rig – for a lot of the contestants it’s the fulfillment of a dream.

Head over to Bullz-Eye to read my full writeup of the experience.

As part of the trip to the GT Academy finals, the media had a chance to get behind the wheel of Nissan’s strongest racers, the 370Z and the GTR. We actually got to drive the Nissan GTR Black Edition, the only model currently in the US in light of the circumstances in Japan. Oh, we also drove the Juke.

We got to take the cars through an autocross course, which is an exhilarating experience. It was my first time on that kind of course, unlike the auto media that was there. Still, I managed a couple decent runs, most notably in the GTR.

After the autocross we were taken around the oval by a pair of professional drivers from the the Richard Petty Driving Experience. As far as I could see, we hit 105 in the 370Z and about 120 in the GTR. That doesn’t sound fast on a straightaway, but around a banked curve it felt like madness.

I’ll have a full writeup of the experience tomorrow. For now, enjoy the gallery.

Nissan was kind enough to bring me down to Orlando for the US GT Academy finals. Until this year, GT Academy had only run in Europe, giving virtual racers a shot at competing for a spot on Nissan’s GT4 racing team. I’ve had a chance to run around with Lucas Ordonez, the winner from the first season of GT Academy and even been behind the wheel of a 2012 Black Edition Nissan GTR, a Nismo 370Z and, just for kicks, the Nissan Juke.

It’s a strange experience to be among a group of aspiring racers whose experiences have been solely virtual to this point. They are definitely excited, but there’s also an intense level of focus. I’m not a Gran Turismo player by any stretch of the imagination, so listening to these guys talk about their races, picking apart switchbacks and hairpins and straightaway strategies, is like listening in on a discussion of chaos theory from a physics professor.

I’ll be watching the finals play out over the next several hours. This last round consists of several 4-man races that will narrow the field down from 24 racers 16. Those 16 will then undergo a series of tests to prepare them for a trip to the UK where they will begin the physical competition to determine the winner of GT Academy 3.