If you're a gamer, you've probably heard at least one lecture about how it's a waste of time. But what if those hours set you on a profitable and sustainable career path?

Sign in Racing Prodigythe world's first E2Real sports league, which turns virtual track mastery into a gateway to compete against top professional drivers. Gamers of all ages are jumping from couches to booths, proving that video games can be more than just mindless entertainment. But to fully bridge the gap between virtual and real racing, Racing Prodigy must address one of the sport's most enduring challenges. We spoke to the company's founders to learn their strategy.

Containment costs, Building the future

“The biggest barrier to participation in motorsport is cost,” says the CEO and co-founder David Cook. A typical three-day racing school, where most drivers start, can cost up to $7,000, putting the sport out of reach for most. Furthermore, Cook argues that three days behind the wheel is not enough to judge talent. His co-founder Matt Fassnacht adds that the pay-to-play system limits access and dilutes the talent pool.

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“Drivers have to buy their way,” Fassnacht says. “Imagine if I told you that you could play in the Super Bowl for $5 million, $10 million or $20 million, depending on the position. That's how motorsports works.” He and Cook are determined to change that with Racing Prodigy.

“We want to create a model that gives talented and hard-working runners a sustainable career path,” says Cook. “I don't want this to be about money,” Fassnacht adds. “I want the best people to be there.”

Cook describes the current business model as “broken,” explaining that the cost often outweighs the value for participants. “If you don't have a certain name, how are you going to raise six or seven figures to compete in a series that is not Formula 1?” Cook says. He believes the solution is a more modern approach to grassroots talent acquisition – using racing simulation games as a scouting tool. “The best way to do that is through racing games,” he says.

Fassnacht and Cook are not just empty suits; both have been behind the wheel and experienced the downsides of the sport first hand. Cook ran a program at Mazda in 2014 that trained professional drivers using racing simulators. “There are two people in the world who have taken sim games or racing games and put them into racing cars,” says Fassnacht. “Dave is one of them.” Cook believes the Racing Prodigy outperforms that old project fivefold.

Fassnacht points to real-world success stories like 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron, who got his start in racing simulators, as evidence of Racing Prodigy's potential. “Racing Prodigy uses games like Street Kart Racing on iOS devices, Gran Turismo and iRacing,” says Cook. The league's best driver started in mobile card, an industry first.

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“We've found that surprisingly more people compete in racing games and watch races on TV than actually race,” says Cook. “It's just a numbers game.”

Fueling Up the Fandom

Building a dedicated fan base is critical to the long-term success of Racing Prodigy. Cook believes the best way to do this is by showcasing drivers' personal stories. They are developing a documentary similar to that of Netflix Travel to survivewhich put the spotlight on Formula 1. They have partnered with Invent TV to present the documentaries on platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, capturing content from events such as Prodigy Week and the Silverstone F1 weekend.

“There are two main differences to our program,” says Cook. “The first is our focus on drivers from humble beginnings. The second is that, since this is not a pay-to-play league, not everyone will make it – some will have to go home.” He compares it to American Idolwhere the pool of competitors narrows with each passing round, but many drivers progress to the real racing championships, forming the world's first e2Real motorsports league.

In the first series, over 100,000 competed in eSports. Thirty-two Prodigy Passes earned – similar to American Idol's golden tickets—and advanced to Prodigy Week, where they tested themselves on driving, communication, data comprehension, and fitness. In the end, 24 won paid competition contracts and were drafted by six teams, while another six were saved by a fan vote. Fans should be ready for eliminations as Prodigy Racing plans to cut nine more drivers before the season is over.

“As fans fall in love with these drivers, some will go home, which will be difficult for both drivers and fans,” says Cook. “This is critical to building an audience.”

The Road to Success

Fortunately, Racing Prodigy has a built-in audience. “Over a billion gamers say racing is their favorite video game genre,” says Fassnacht. While the existing interest is encouraging, Fassnacht cautions that this audience is difficult to reach without authenticity. “They'll just say, 'No, you didn't do what you said you were going to do.' That's why we spent so much time trying to prove that this could work.” Racing Prodigy plans to capture the attention of players by bringing familiar faces from the virtual world to real-life racing events.

Another key differentiator is Racing Prodigy's ownership structure. Unlike most sports leagues, the company is vertically integrated. “We own everything,” Fassnacht says – the rules, the teams, the cars and the governing bodies. In traditional racing, teams control their own engineering, testing and transportation. Racing Prodigy, however, keeps all the vehicles under one roof and manages them with a team of crew and engineers. This reduces operating costs, breaking down the financial barrier to entry. “The cost to operate our entry-level series, the P3 Championship, is less than half of what it costs to operate the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series,” says Cook.

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This efficient model has attracted the attention of investors, including Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who sponsors his team, TC Racing. “What stands out to me most about Racing Prodigy is how it provides opportunities in motorsport for individuals who don't have the financial means,” says Courtois. “Creating more opportunities and attracting new talent fosters a synergy that I couldn't pass up.”

With its innovative model and people-first culture, Racing Prodigy is transforming what was once just a hobby into a legitimate path to professional success – proving that pixels really can pave the way to glory.