HALIFAX -- You may not have heard of sim racing, which isn't real life racing, but it sure looks like it.

A local university student races from the comfort of his Halifax apartment.

He's enjoying some fame and even a modest amount of fortune in the racing world.

Twenty-five-year-old Keegan Leahy is a smart young man on the move.

He's a university student studying atmospheric physics with a diploma in meteorology. Leahy is chasing big career dreams.

 "I want to be a weather man," Leahy said. "But probably an operational forecaster"

When he's not at school, he's gaming with his pedal to the metal.

"I really like the competition," said Leahy, who is a world-class sim race car driver.

He competes in his living room as part of a team with fellow drivers scattered around the globe.

Leahy has been at the wheel for two years and he's already leaving his mark on sim racing.

"In this NASCAR series I've won five times," Leahy said.

The computerized technology is staggering.

"Even the physics -- it's meant to be a pure simulation," Leahy said.

At first glance it looks like real-life NASCAR.

"There's nothing video gamey about it," Leahy said. "It's meant to be as true to real life as possible."

It's more than just hobby and winning can be lucrative.

He recently came in second in a race, but still walked away with a good payday.

"Second is $12,000 US," Leahy said.

It pays his tuition and fuels his competitive fire.

"I really like it for trying to improve myself and trying to be the best at something," Leahy said.

It has allowed him to make a name for himself racing from the comfort of his home.

Last season Leahy became only one of nine drivers in series history to win at least three races.