Get to Know: Joshua Guiher

Racing out of Bellefonte, PA, iRacer Joshua Guiher definitely knows how to race… a lot. When he joined iRacing in June, 2008, Guiher wasted no time getting acclimated to the service. In 2008 alone, he started 564 oval races and 189 road races. Talk about dedication. Since winning for the first time in the iRacing Legends Cup at South Boston Speedway, Guiher has recorded a total of 333 victories on ovals. Twenty three days after his first career win at South Boston, Guiher took his first career road course win at Lime Rock Park in the iRacing Solstice Challenge and now has 30 career road course iRacing victories to his name.

Joshua Guiher is a sim racer at heart, but there is a lot more to him than racing. You can learn more Joshua Guiher in this week’s edition of Get to Know…

Q:        How long have you been sim racing?

A:        I have been consistently sim racing since I was 8 when I started with a keyboard on Bill Elliott’s NASCAR Challenge and Mario Andretti Racing for PC. I am now 35 and have no plans to stop. Sure I might not do as many races as I used to, but I get on when I can.

Although Joshua has had a variety of favorite drivers over the years, these days it’s Dale Jr. Wonder why?

Q:        How did you get started in iRacing?

A:        I got an early invite to iRacing from a beta tester and have been here since the early days.

Q:        Which race car driver in any racing series do you like the most?

A:        You know, that is probably a moving target. Over the years I’ve had a chance to talk to a few drivers for a few seconds each and that probably shapes how I feel about them. Tony Stewart, Stevie Smith, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Blaney were probably some of my favorite interactions. However, I would have to say Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hands-down my favorite driver the past few years, and that was solidified recently.

Q:        What type of hobbies do you do outside of iRacing?

A:        College football. I love it, live it, and breathe it. I am not the best guy to sit down at a bar with and talk about the sport with, however, because I will point out when you are off base. I’ve been to over 50 FBS stadiums and spend 365-days a year on the subject. Sometimes I pretend to be a journalist and write about college football or racing, or take photos.

Q:       What is your most memorable experience on iRacing?

A:        I probably have two memorable experiences. One was farming my way into Pro the first two years where I was outclassed by a lot. Once I almost took out the entire field at Darlington. Some guys used to sneak me setups but I still sucked, so I cherish the two top 10s I got. The other was when I started building button boxes as a hobby. I got to build boxes for some nice people from all over the world from the US to South America to Australia. It was a pretty cool way to network and meet others. However, I custom built each one and was slow at it due to my hand-built process. When others came into the market I kind of stopped except for some special requests

“All of us here ultimately want the same thing: to see the service be the best and survive for 25 more years. Sometimes we just have different ideas on how to get there.”

Q:        What car and track combination on iRacing would you like to drive in real life?

A:        Well, I wish I could answer dirt late model, but I can’t, so I would probably go with a Super Late Model or truck at any short track.

Q:        What type of racing do you like to watch on TV?

A:        I prefer to watch racing live, but I do watch a good bit on TV. I watch a lot of dirt events like  World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and Lucas Oil Late Models on TV, where at least you stay a little cleaner. I’m currently watching the NASCAR Camping World Series race at Kentucky as I answering these questions as well.

Q:        What are three things that people on iRacing probably don’t know about you?

A:        Oh, people probably already know a good bit about me. I’m sarcastic and I own a restaurant. I probably go to the extreme with my sarcasm at times on forums for the fun of it and too often people don’t get my sense of humor or can’t tell when I’m joking. For something people might not know, I eloped to Las Vegas to get married after dating my wife for just 11-months. Our rings, wedding package, flights, etc., were all paid for after just four-months of dating and we kept it quiet till we got home from Vegas. We have now been married for over 13 years, so I guess I got it right. I race a go-kart with my brother and Dustin McGrew, two fellow iRacers at Pitt Race. Just like iRacing, I suck but it is fun.

Q:        What is your favorite racing series on iRacing and why?

A:        My favorite racing series used to be the rookie legends car way back before they changed it. I was really good at it. Right now, I only run fixed races just because I don’t get much time to race so I just join and race. Also, quite frankly, I can’t make a setup to save my life so open series are out anyways.

“Susan Flint.  An absolute asset. If you have ever needed the help of support, you know what I am talking about.”

Q:        If there was one thing you could change about iRacing, what would it be?

A:        Not sure. I’ve debated so many things over the years, including a few spats with the staff and even John Henry, but they mostly do things right and they certainly work hard. All of us here ultimately want the same thing: to see the service be the best and survive for 25 more years. Sometimes we just have different ideas on how to get there. That’s human.

My personal change would be to require you to run one official race for every three hosted sessions you run. That would help fill the official races a bit more in my opinion. If it can’t be that, then more transparency on protests, suspensions and cheating. I know IP’s are tracked, but I wish they were more aggressive in catching and punishing those who drive under others accounts in official sessions.

Q:        What is one thing that you love the most about iRacing?

A:        Susan Flint.  An absolute asset. If you have ever needed the help of support, you know what I am talking about. Beyond that, just meeting people who have given me opportunities to do things I never dreamed of. I’ve met a lot of people in real life via iRacing and some of the experiences have been incredible.

Q:        Overall, how do you rate your success on iRacing?

A:        Not very good. Outside of being really good at the old rookie legends, I am average at best. I’m just a basic mid-packer who enjoys racing, can’t concentrate very long and wrecks way too often.

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