SCOFTI 500 is in the arcade

Every driver in the Scofti Academy is a woman. Every rival too, down to the back of a 35-car field. The SCOFTI 500 is the series' biggest race, and the stakes are simple: whoever wins the Academy championship gets a ride with the big boys. Then they find out what's what.

You drive for Scofti Racing. Pick one of five: raven the hotshot, reba the ice queen, lynx the wild child, maia the firecracker or paige the showstopper. Each has her own voice on the radio.

The rest of the field don't make it easy. Dixie Hart is smooth and fast. Raylene Tarwater will move you out of the way. Missy Mudd is wild. Bonnie Lightfoot is a rookie, and races like one.

There are four cars, and any driver can take any of them: today's 17, a big square '80s 43 where rubbin' is racin', a chrome-bumper '60s 3, and the hooter, a 7 that sees the gap before it opens. Paint it how you like, then spend your winnings in the pit garage on engine, brakes, tires and a quicker pit crew.

Two tracks. Martinsvale is a half-mile paperclip under the lights, tight and bumpy, eight cars. Hotlanta is a mile and a half in the afternoon sun, 35 cars, three wide on the banking, where the draft is everything.

Race night starts with qualifying: one warm-up lap and one timed lap, and your time sets your place on the grid. Then 5, 10 or 15 laps. Brake into the turns and get back on the gas coming out. The tires wear as you go, so you pit for four new ones, and a fast thumb on the air gun gets you out sooner. A wreck brings out the pace car and a rolling restart. The spotter, the crew chief and the announcer talk you through all of it.

Play it on the keys, on a phone with touch pedals, or with a gamepad. Ride right behind the car, or in the seat. Preseason testing is there for learning the line, where the walls only slow you down.

The game's soundtrack is on the jukebox now: "Lipstick, Smoke and Gasoline," "Big Boys' Table" and "Trading Paint."

Play it▶

We pushed through hardships tasted tears