You dont seem to be sure what you actually want to do. Coding a whole physics and graphics engine from scratch is insane, specially when you dont have good coding experience.
At this point, you should really take a few hours (or more) and think about what you actually want to do. Do you prefer programming the physics (= lots of math), or are you rather an artist (model cars/tracks, create textures, etc). If you have never dont any of those 2 things, you should give everything a try to find out WHO YOU ARE. Thats a major point of game design! You must find out what your skills are.
Start some small programs to get into programming, and try modelling a few objects or maps for a game with a well documented engine, like HalfLife or Quake. No need to use the latest and newest engine - the basics are mostly the same. Actually its a benefit to use an older engine, beause the tools are not as complex.
When you have got an overview about the whole thing, you will know what you like more. Programming - which is more complex to learn, and get to a level that allows you to start a big project like e game, or modelling - which is easier to learn, but requires to chose an engine wisely.
I guess rFactor is indeed a good start for a racing simulator. If you rather want to make a fun racer, you need something else of course.
Its all about planning - the most important work takes place because you actually start working