--- title: "Need for Speed Gets Pro Drifter to Drive Real Car From Video Game Perspective" description: "Watch as a pro driver races a pro gamer at the wheel of 'equal' Need for Speed Ford Mustang race cars." date: "2018-03-27" modified: "2018-03-27" authors: - name: "Jerry Perez" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19485/need-for-speed-gets-pro-drifter-to-drive-real-car-from-video-game-perspective" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" - "Watch This" tags: - "Drifting" - "Mustang" - "need for speed" - "stunt car" - "stunt driving" - "Video Games" --- # Need for Speed Gets Pro Drifter to Drive Real Car From Video Game Perspective ![]() *\www.thedrive.com* One of the world’s bestselling video game franchises, *Need for Speed*, has teamed up with Castrol Edge to release a new Titanium Trials competition mode for the franchise's newest game, *Need for* *Speed Payback*. If you've ever played a driving or racing video game, more specifically one from the *Need for Speed* series, then you know that the default driving view or "camera" is always from a third person, above-car viewing angle. While this view is normal for a gamer making his way around race tracks or off-road courses, it's not so normal for driving a real car. Or is it? That's exactly what *Need for Speed* and Castrol Edge set out to do, and as you can see on this [video](), they got professional drift racing driver Luke Woodham to race video game influencer Theo Thomas in virtually equal Ford Mustangs. Keyword: virtually. *The Drive* caught up with Woodham and had a quick chat about his participation in this rather crazy and exciting stunt. **The Drive****:** *How did the opportunity to do this crazy stunt with Castrol Edge and Need for Speed come about, and what did you think when they first told you the details?* **Luke Woodham**: "The team at Castrol Edge approached me with this revolutionary idea to create a real-life driving challenge that mimicked the feel of driving in a video game. When they told me they would black out all the windows and I’d have to fully rely on a rear camera and the titanium strength of Castrol Edge in my engine, I was in. As a drift driver, I’m always up for a challenge and anything that gets my adrenaline pumping." **TD:** *What would you say was the biggest challenge of driving a real car judging the road from an exterior camera angle only?* **LW:** "The biggest challenge for me was having to constantly remind myself that I was driving a real car and wasn’t in a video game. In a video game, you can always press the reset button, but that definitely was not the case for this off-road driving challenge." **TD:** *Did you ever think that you could actually lose the race to a pro video gamer?* **LW**: "I never underestimated Theo and his gaming talent. The third-person viewing footage of our cars looked just like a video game and that is definitely up Theo’s alley. I was impressed by his driving skills and I had to step up my game to win!" ## Author Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter. ### Author social links [Instagram]()