NASCAR Racing

Summary

In NASCAR Racing, you’ve got eight stock cars piled into a small oval, and the seven AI drivers will have zero concerns about sending you slamming nose-first into the barrier.

As you’d hope from a stock car racer, it’s fast-paced, scruffy, twitchy, occasionally (very) unforgiving, and much more competitive than you might think from the screenshots. All of the Chevy Impalas will happily lose grip with zero warning if you’re not careful, often helped by the rivals happily ramming into your side as you attempt a nice clean overtake. Thankfully, you’ll sometimes get lucky on the inside when the rest of the pack is busy wrecking itself in the wall.

Each run is a (super short at the start) single-player race across five different weather and time-of-day variants of the same oval, where you’ll earn coins and unlock the next levels as you bag the win.

Once you’ve racked up enough cash, it’s back to the garage to decide whether you’ll upgrade to the next-tier Impala, or keep saving. There’s no performance upgrades here, though, and it’s all about unlocking the next (familiar) Chevys in the roster.

It might not be perfect for those of you wanting a super-realistic NASCAR sim, a long career, multiplayer, or a garage full of custom builds, but despite its age, it still remains one of the top browser-based picks for oval racing fans.

The dated visuals and amusingly quirky menu labels aren’t pretending to be what they’re not. But if you fancy a short browser battle where the free starter car can upset the much quicker cars (assuming you’ve got the skills), then it makes for an entertainingly quick underdog fight. However, if you’re left wanting a little more, our huge selection of racing games provides just about everything you can think of.

Features

• Release date – May 22, 2017
• Difficulty – Beginner/Intermediate
• Levels/environments – 5 (Various weather/time scenarios)
• Number of vehicles – 8
• Vehicle customization/upgrades – No
• Multiplayer – No
• Mobile – No
• Developer – 3dpowermax

Physics

As you probably guessed, there’s not too much in the way of drifting here, and you’ll likely panic if you do find yourself sideways!

The handling feels simple enough initially, until you take a corner a little too fast. It’ll happily turn sharply (helped by the handbrake button), but the rear steps out when you keep turning the wheel with the throttle down, especially if you hit a bump on the track. Heavy braking while turning can often make it worse, so it takes a bit of getting used to.

Your best bet is to lift off the throttle early, adding a gentle dab of brake if needed, then making small steering taps (countersteering if required) through each bend while gently re-applying the throttle. While it’s not the most realistic, there’s a bit of weight shifting, even if it takes a bit of trial-and-error initially. It can still take you by surprise at times, especially on the rain/snow levels, but hopefully by then you’ll be sliding around like a pro.

Keep your eyes peeled for the (slight) tire marks that help you spot a slide building up. You’ll know it’s time to catch it at that point, but the front wheels don’t show the countersteering, which takes a bit of getting used to compared to what you’re likely used to in your favorite drifting games.

For a game where you’re (much) more connected to the car when going sideways, Drift Hunters MAX is the ultimate browser-based drifter, with predictable weight transfer, crazy amounts of tuning and upgrades, and a much larger car and (varied) track selection.

If you’d rather stick with the racing theme, Speed Racing Pro 2 rewards clean and patient corner entries, but with six tracks and three game modes. Unlike this one, all the cars are unlocked from the start (with zero grinding).

Graphics

Admittedly, you won’t be mistaking it for the latest AAA NASCAR game. However, the cars are all (surprisingly) real-world NASCARs, which can be fun for any hardcore fan to try and figure them all out.

There’s a variety of cameras, but the cabin is blocky, the crowds are flat, and the scenery is pretty basic (besides the snowy mountains, which look pretty cool).

Collisions throw out sparks without leaving any lasting damage, no matter how hard the AI tries (and it will!). If you’re craving some realistic damage, look no further than our stunts & crash games, which offer everything from BeamNG-style wreckers to challenging racers where your ride falls apart.

My favorite detail is the paddock full of oddly elaborate RVs, which seemed to take priority over the crowd in the design process!

Controls

PC/laptop/Chromebook

• W/Up arrow – Accelerate
• S/Down arrow – Brake/reverse
• A/Left arrow – Steer left
• D/Right arrow – Steer right
• C – Change camera
• Space – Handbrake
• Esc – Open the in-game menu

Mobile/tablet (iOS/Android)

NASCAR Racing isn’t available on mobiles, but we’ve got plenty of other awesome mobile games that are perfectly optimized for phones and tablets.

If you fancy trying something quickly, F1 Drift Racer is a fun (top-down) alternative with mobile controls and online multiplayer.

How to Play NASCAR Racing

Initial Setup

You start with zero coins in the bank (displayed beside the settings button in the top-right corner). Open the settings, and you’ll find a selection of quality options, separate controls for sound effects and music volume, and another amusing button showing ‘Rest Game’. As you might have guessed, it’s meant to be ‘Reset’, so avoid pressing it if you’re looking for a break, in case you wipe your saved game!

‘Choice Car’ (you get the idea…) opens the garage. Fans will recognize ‘NASCAR 1’ as Jamie McMurray’s Tracker Boats #1, which is free, while the other seven options (all Impalas, of course) will require purchasing with coins.

Once you’ve selected your ride, ‘Choice Level’ (again…) takes you to a screen showing the star rating, level, condition, and your current best time.

You can also choose from Easy, Medium, or Hard to decide how unforgiving the AI is gonna be (not that they’ll ever let you breeze by!). I recommend starting on Easy while you learn how little steering the car needs and what it takes to get the back end out.

You can toggle between follow, rear-quarter, cabin, and hood-style camera views with the C key, and most will want to opt for an exterior angle at first because you’ll see when the rear gets light.

Getting Started

Each race puts you onto an eight-car grid against seven opponents. The HUD shows your position, lap count, a small radar/minimap, and a direction arrow to inform you that the next turn will (once again) be left, of course!

Don’t try to settle your rivalries in the first corner. Lift off the throttle before turn-in, consider keeping nearer the inside, and let the impatient cars wash wide or run into each other and/or the wall.

Even if you try to be sensible, the AI will soon ram you from behind and cause a pile-up without batting an eye. It can be ruthless, but tidy it isn’t, so take advantage of the opportunity! If you do end up crashing early, you can quickly press Esc, then restart rather than dragging on hopelessly to the finish.

Winning opens the ‘Mission Complete’ screen with your rating, best time, and prize money. The payout combines a level bonus, rank prize, and race prize. My first Easy win brought in 2,200 coins, while a Hard victory (even in the starter) can pay out more than 6,000 depending on bonuses, which is helpful when you’re saving for the expensive end of the garage.

The two icons in the bottom-right corner are a bit confusing. The replay-looking button restarts the same level, while the clipboard-looking button returns you to the main menu.

After you’ve enjoyed this, defeated the AI on hard, and decided you wanna know more about becoming a NASCAR driver, we’ve got 10 tips that’ll help you on your way!

Tracks (Levels)

You’ll likely become familiar with the oval as you progress, since it seems to be the same one, but with different time-of-day and weather conditions.

You’ll get to race in sunny weather, sunsets, night, rain, and even snow (which would be… interesting in the real-world!).

Level 1 goes on for three laps, Level 2 for five, and Levels 3, 4, and 5 have seven.

Sunshine (Track 1) is the easiest place to learn how to master braking points and get used to maximizing the yellow inside curb. Night remains pretty easy to see, but changes the atmosphere with cool floodlights and lens flares.

Rain and snow have a bigger effect on the grip levels, and the rear end feels much more anxious and twitchy. A correction that worked on the dry track can become too much once a bump (watch out for these) and the slipperier surface are thrown into the mix.

Fancy taking the high-intensity racing across a more varied spread of circuits? Super Star Car is a natural next step, offering real-world sponsors and cars (like this one) along with a 14-track F1-style career.

Car List

All eight cars are Chevy Impalas with recognizable liveries from the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The more expensive options provide much-improved pre-built Speed, Braking, and Power stats, but there’s no tuning or upgrades to improve them.

• NASCAR 1 – Free (Based on Jamie McMurray’s Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats orange/black/camo scheme)
• NASCAR 2 – 5,000 coins (Based on Jamie McMurray’s McDonald’s livery)
• NASCAR 3 – 8,000 coins (Based on Kasey Kahne’s Farmers Insurance Impala)
• NASCAR 4 – 11,000 coins (Based on Danica Patrick’s GoDaddy.com Impala)
• NASCAR 5 – 15,000 coins (Based on Tony Stewart’s Mobil 1 design)
• NASCAR 6 – 22,000 coins (Based on Tony Stewart’s Office Depot-primary version)
• NASCAR 7 – 26,000 coins (Based on Paul Menard’s Duracell/Menards Impala)

• NASCAR 8 – 30,000 coins (Based on Paul Menard’s PEAK/Menards livery)

You don’t have to buy every new vehicle in order (unless you’re keen to own them all). While the free starter gets hammered on the Hard-mode straights, the AI sometimes loses so much time in corners that you can’t write off a potential win until you reach the line.

Saving for a bigger leap (when you’re genuinely struggling to win) can make more sense than emptying your balance whenever the next unlock becomes affordable.

If you’re after more circuit racing but with way more garage variety, Grand Extreme Racing lets you get behind the wheel of single-seaters, along with upgrades, more tracks, local split-screen, and mobile support.

Advanced Tips & Tricks

Lift off the throttle before entering the turns

It might seem boring, but if you wanna win, you’ll want to consider coming off the accelerator before the corner entry (until you’re confident, at least).

If it’s still pushing toward the wall, add a super quick brake (or handbrake) tap. Once the nose is pointing toward the exit, start feeding the power back in and unwind the steering until you’re flat out again.

Try not to steer when going over the bumps

On the corner exits, you’ll sometimes find well-hidden bumps in the track. Be extra cautious if you’re still steering at that point, or the back end will suddenly grip up and launch you into the wall.

Be careful when (not if!) you end up on the grass

The grass can feel like ice while also stealing nearly all your speed. Lift, straighten the car as much as you can, and use tiny inputs until you’re back in the action. If the pack has gone, it might be worth considering a restart if you’ve only got a lap or two left.

Wait for your rivals to make a mistake (even in Hard mode)

Your rivals often have much more straight-line pace, so trying to win on the straights rarely ends well. Opt for the lower line on the corner with as much speed as you can carry, and you’ll likely be able to pass. They regularly run wide or crash into each other, which can be amusing.

Keep the handbrake for a real emergency

Space will help rotate the car around quickly when there’s an (inevitable) nearby crash about to happen, but don’t expect it to be anywhere near as useful as it is in drifting games. The regular grip limit is abrupt enough as it is, and scrubbing off speed isn’t the goal here.

If you fancy some fun, you can pull off a lil’ tail-happy action with the e-brake, but it’s pretty underwhelming with minimal smoke and angle.

NASCAR Racing FAQ