In front of thousands of devoted race fans and video gamers in downtown Charlotte, N.C. at NASCAR’s “Food Lion Speed Street” fanfest, Nicholas Swanner of Meridian, Miss. recorded a record-setting time of 1:23.617 on Washington D.C.’s “Capitol Thrill” course to win the $5,000 grand prize in the first ever Project Gotham 2 International Tournament. In a grueling competition similar to that of the drivers who will race in Sunday’s NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, Swanner bested the times of the six other finalists from across the globe to stake his claim as the world’s best online racing gamer. The first-ever Project Gotham 2 International Tournament – which was played online via Microsoft’s award winning online gaming service, Xbox Live, from April 17 through May 17, 2004 – featured the best online racing gamers from the United States, Canada and Europe, in an intercontinental competition on the best-selling Xbox video game, Project Gotham Racing 2.

In a community of over 750,000 Xbox Live members, the field was narrowed to a mere seven finalists who competed against each other to determine the ultimate champion. The seven finalists included: Swanner, Eric Earley of Noblesville, Ind., James Beaman of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Reuben Mallory of Belleville, Ontario and Marko Hartikainen, Janne Airaksinen and Ilkka Haukijarvi – all from Finland. All seven finalists won all-expense paid trips to Charlotte, N.C., for the final round as well as passes to one of the most-celebrated races in NASCAR – the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.