What was the best NASCAR game?

[TraumaTruck]

Alright, so I'm posting this here because this discussion board is obviously going to have the most racing game fans out of most other places. What I'm asking is what do you think the best NASCAR game from the past was (for PC)? Reason I'm asking is I want to play a NASCAR game, last good one I played was NASCAR 2006 for the PS2 (I think). I know this one sucks, had it for 360, every time I used pit road I would just keep driving like it was under caution while the race went on around me, and many other bugs like drivers getting stuck in the middle of pit road, etc. etc. Not willing to go there. So, what was the best NASCAR game made for the PC? Doesn't have to be on Steam, just for PC.

[indycart6]

if u have papy 2003, there r still alot of online leagues that race, with all new updated mods.

[Truggins]

NASCAR 2004 was my favorite

[moab]

I believe Nascar 2003, with Total Team Control was the best

[base194]

I started out in 1994 with Papyrus' Nascar Racing and it hooked me right off the bat. I've never enjoyed a Nascar sim as much as that one. And over the years I've found nothing better. I thought Nascar '14 would be 20 years worth of better. But it isn't.

I'm not a stickler for an accurate representation of the current state of NASCAR as far as driver names, paint schemes, etc, as I'm not really a fan. I just need the game to work. But with the current state of NASCAR '14 the AI is so bad the game is "almost" unplayable. And that's the maddening part. The game is so good on other levels it draws you back in, and if you can hold your line (on certain tracks) you can have a decent race.

I still miss the black top surfaces on some tracks from the early games and the ability to drive in the pits . . .

[RustyTruckCompany]

I think the best Nascar they had was one of the first for PC's. It was easy to adjust spoilers and stuff and get speed out of it. This new one sucks, to me anyway. The AI are so rough, you can't run with them at all. OR I can't. I used to be able to win on the one that just said Nascar Racing on the box. You could set AI at 100 percent and still win. Not any more with the new one.

[RustyTruckCompany]

Originally posted by Mike LeRoi:

Dirt to Daytona. Wish they would make another with todays graphics for the PC.

Dirt to Daytona was also a great verison of it. Those dirt tracks were nice.

[Mordecai]

Originally posted by Mike LeRoi:

Dirt to Daytona. Wish they would make another with todays graphics for the PC.

Dirt to Daytona was the closest a console ever got to a great NASCAR game.
NR2003 is still incredible, though it takes a little bit of work to get it to run properly on newer computers. Hopefully the new developers for NASCAR games will get it right the next time around since, for the first time in awhile, they're approaching it as a simulation.
I've found it moronic for the developers to create games that are more arcade and approachable than simulation since the majority of the people who buy the game are really into NASCAR and want a realistic experience.

[MaxiToys]

Nascar racing 4 is better then nr3 But no communoty :(

[ZombieHunter]

I never bought NR 2003 but had NR 2002. It was the best online racing but people forget the AI in 2002 and likely 2003 wasn't very good and career mode was awful or absent..I don't remember which. In those games one bump regardless of where it occurred would send you spinning.

EA's NASCAR SimRacing physics were off a bit and the AI were pretty timid and you could use that to your advantage but I loved the telemetry software that came with it. This was how many people exposed the flaws in the physics that was allowing very high slip angles which was and is not realistic.

Lack of good tire temps is a major omission in this game. The tire indicator is worthless. Sound glitches out at times, AI is super aggressive on restarts and meek the rest of the race.


Best presentation and career mode goes to this game.
Best online racing goes to NR 2003.
Best game to tweak and setup cars goes to EA 2005.

I'm still waiting for the best NASCAR game. Everyone brags so much about Papyrus physics yet never mentions the fact that those physics get wonky when you hit the wall. First its like you are glued to the wall and second long after you have left the wall your throttle doesn't respond as if some invisible force is holding you back. Not sure if this was fixed in 2003 but it was awful in 2002.

[TraumaTruck]

Another thing about NR 2003 is the controls, they aren't keyboard freindly at all, controllers are partial on their behavior. Of course 2014 is gonna have the best presentation, due to the technology of this age..

[MaY]

deff nascar 2003 even the nascar racers play nr2003, its the real simulator, if you have a wheel and peddles its even better

[kimchoc]

My vote is Papy NR2. Reason is the online racing. Yes, we paid, but there were no punks back in the day. You couldnt race with a keyboard because the community wouldnt let you. They boot your ass on down the road, then bar your usuer name from any MP sessions.
The service we paid for had a driver ranking. If you wrecked, you got "marked". And the races were ranked. If you didnt have enough ranking due to your wrecks, you couldnt join. Nothing but CLEAN non whining races back in those days.
Also, the AI were highly editable and you could race with them online like Rfactor. Start with a 43 car field, every human that joined would take the place of an AI car. So none of this 12 car league crap.
I agree that stand alone game excluding MP is Papy 2003. But the online service we had with N2 was superior in ALL ways. Clean drivers, no keyboards, no punks, (becuase back in the day, they couldnt afford it). IMO
Cant think of the name on the MP service. We used modems. LOL, and there was hardly a warp issue. If they warped, we booted them. No whining, LMAO

[El-Capitán.SumTingWong]

i remeber one that had the trucks and there was like un-realistic tracks like one that drove around a sky scraper. i really wish i could remeber the name of it

[GlowBat]

Nascar Thunder 2004

[steelpanther24]

Sounds like I am just like everyone else in saying that Papyrus was the last great NASCAR simulators. Take Nascar 03 and add elements of Football manager, baseball mogul, etc. to it and you would have a golden goose of a game.