Hey, I'm Gavin Ropchan! I race in real life as well as on the sim, of course, while creating YouTube videos and streaming on Twitch. Long before I ever touched a steering wheel in simulation software, racing was already a part of my life.
My racing journey started way back in Outlaw Karts, racing at the Roseburg indoor track, Salem, Cottage Grove, and various other kart tracks across the region. From there, I transitioned into a Hornet division car from 2016 until I stepped up into my current ride, an IMCA Sport Mod starting in 2019. Today, I mainly race my #03g IMCA Sport Mod at Willamette Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway.
My first exposure to sim racing happened way back around 2005 to 2007 on rFactor. My dad's friend had a simulator setup that I got to try out a couple of times, even running a league race or two. Back then, I didn't have a rig or the game at home, so I only got to play it a handful of times. Growing up on the PS2 and PS3, I loved playing the DiRT series, Midnight Club LA, and the early NASCAR games. (Though I remember being extremely disappointed when NASCAR 2011 dropped!)
The turning point happened in 2014 when I joined a massive NASCAR Fantasy League with a ton of people and won the entire season. Taking home $700, I used the winnings to buy my very first Gaming PC, and that's when I seriously got into sim racing. I picked up a Logitech wheel setup (whichever model had the shifter attached directly to the base) and spent my time playing Project CARS alongside regular PC titles.
I first discovered iRacing back in 2017, subscribing for a single month in the summer to run dirt races right when dirt racing was newly released. After that month ended, I didn't return to iRacing until 2019, which is when my true, long-term iRacing journey really began.
Back in 2019, while working at an office job, I spent my downtime watching Matt Malone's content and thinking to myself, that looks like fun, I could do that. So, I plugged in my camera, grabbed a microphone, and started making videos of my own races. Through starting my channel that year, I connected with my buddy Armed4Gaming and met a lot of other awesome creators like DJ Yeej, Kneebon5, Griffin2448, and more.
Over the years, I've gone from makeshift setups built on a lawn chair and a piece of wood to engineering a high-end, custom-built simulation rig. My current rig features high-performance direct drive gear, Pimax VR headsets, and triple-monitor arrays powered by a custom-built powerhouse PC designed for zero-latency frame rates.
Whether I'm turning laps on dirt ovals, spotter-coaching endurance races like the iRacing Coca-Cola 600, or creating content, motorsports remains a daily passion.
Have a question about PC hardware, sim racing setups, or anything else? Send me a message using the form below!