NASCAR

Twenty ovals, forty cars, and a draft that decides it on the last lap.

NASCAR All games

NASCAR

Twenty ovals, forty cars, and a draft that decides it on the last lap.

Twenty speedways, each solved from its published lap distance, banking and corner radius until the shape closes - Daytona's tri-oval, Bristol's concrete bowl, Martinsville's paperclip, Darlington with its two different ends, Pocono's three corners and Indianapolis with its straights dead flat. The banking is real arithmetic: at thirty-one degrees the corner takes the tyres out of the argument entirely, which is why nobody lifts at Daytona and everybody does at Phoenix. The air is the other half of the race - a car on its own is slower than two cars nose to tail, so the pack forms itself. The other thirty-nine drive the same car you do, with the same four-speed box and the same wall. Tyres go off in about a fuel run, so a stop is a decision rather than a formality, and the crew take thirteen seconds over the wall because the fuel man works while the tyres are changed. Run one race, a season of them, or five hundred laps in one sitting.

What is in it: Motor racing on ovals. Cars crash and spin; no people are shown hurt. More for parents

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Controls

  • W Sthrottle · brake
  • A Dsteer
  • E Qup a gear · down a gear
  • Cclutch - restart after a stall
  • Pcall the pits
  • Vcamera
  • Arrowswedge · track bar
  • [ ]race speed
  • Rback on track
  • Escpause
Nobody wins a superspeedway race on their own. Stay on the bumper in front, and remember the man behind you is pushing because it suits him, not you.

Tags

How to play

You drive one of up to forty stock cars on an oval, and the aim is to be in front at the chequered flag. Every race starts rolling: one pace lap two abreast, then the green flag drops with everyone already in the draft. The running order is simply who has gone furthest round.

The gearbox is a four-speed and you shift it yourself. A change takes 0.35 seconds with the clutch and 0.55 without. If the engine stalls, hold the clutch and press the throttle to restart it.

Cautions are what shape a race. When a car is wrecked, or sits still on the track for twelve seconds, it is out and the yellow comes out. Everyone slows to pace speed, the field closes up behind the leader and pit road opens. It lasts about a lap, never more than forty seconds, so a big lead can vanish in one yellow.

There are four modes. Race is a single race of 10, 20, 40 or 80 laps. Endurance is 100, 200, 400 or 500 laps, split into stages with a caution at a quarter and just past half distance. Season is a championship over 5, 10 or 18 rounds, each at a different track, drawn at random from the twenty. Practice gives you the track alone or in a field of 4, 8 or 16 cars, with no laps to count and no cautions.

Tips and strategy

  • Pit stops are driven, not chosen from a menu. P tells the crew you are coming in and reads out your worst tyre, but you still have to take the pit road, stay under its limit and stop in your own box. Your box is the one matching your starting position on the grid.
  • The pit road limit changes with the track, from 30 to 60 mph. Most are 45, Daytona is 55 and Bristol is 35. Go over it and a TOO FAST warning lights up.
  • Come in under yellow if you can. The rest of the field does, because a stop under caution costs almost nothing while everyone is doing pace speed.
  • The crew work on the car together. Fuel goes in at roughly 3.5 kg a second and four tyres take 11.5 seconds at the same time, plus two seconds to get in and out. A bent fender rubbing a tyre adds four more. A stop also pulls the bodywork partly straight, but a panel that has come off stays off.
  • Do not run the tyres to nothing. A worn-out tyre can go down on its own. A flat lasts about 700 metres before you are on the rim.
  • If you spin and stop, press R straight away. A car that sits still on the track for twelve seconds is retired, and that applies to you as well. R puts you back on the road but does not fix the car.
  • Wedge and track bar move in half steps from -3 to +3 with the arrow keys. Wedge in tightens the car and wedge out loosens it.
  • In Endurance, use ] to run the race at up to eight times speed and [ to slow it back down.

What's in it

Twenty ovals: Daytona, Bristol, Talladega, Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas, Kansas, Las Vegas, Michigan, Homestead, Darlington, Nashville, Kentucky, Martinsville, Richmond, Phoenix, Iowa, New Hampshire, Pocono and Indianapolis. There is an entry list of forty numbered cars, each with its own driver, sponsor and paint, built on three different body shapes. Races can have 8, 16, 24, 32 or 40 cars. There are four difficulty levels, Easy, Medium, Hard and Cup, and three starting spots: pole, midfield or the back. Stability assist can be switched on or off. You get five cameras on V: chase, cockpit, bumper, trackside and blimp.

Questions

Does a season save?

Yes. The championship is saved after every round, so you can close the tab and pick it up at the next race.

How are season points scored?

Forty for a win, 35 for second, then one fewer for each place after that, down to a minimum of one. You get a bonus point for leading a lap and another for leading the most laps.

Can I play with a controller or on a phone?

No. It is played with a keyboard only. There is no gamepad or touch support.

Is there multiplayer?

No. Every mode is you against computer-driven cars.

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