Summary
Nascar 2025 is definitely a far better game than past iterations in my opinion. I hope to see them push the boundaries and offer better customization and even go back to the “Dirt to Daytona” style game where you begin from the actual ground up as a dirt car driver and drive into the big leagues. I feel strongly there is plenty of momentum to push Nascar 2025 into an 8/10.
Developer – iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Publisher – iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Platforms – PS5, Xbox Series X|S ,PC (Reviewed)
Review copy given by Publisher
When it comes to American motorsports, Nascar seems to be the pinnacle of what would be considered an American pastime full of heritage and one of the larger core fan bases in the motorsport theme. Now truth be told, it may not be the most exciting for some people due to its repetitive cycle of racing, but you cannot ever match the speed and adrenaline of going 200mph on an oval track for 300 laps.
Nascar 2025, developed and published by iRacing Motorsport Simulations, who is famously known as the minds behind iRacing. With the reputation of iRacing being one of, if not the most realistic and competitive racing simulator, how well does it translate to an arcade/simcade experience?
Before we discuss all the ins and outs and my experience in-game, I want to run down the features included in Nascar 2025. This year, Nascar 2025 follows suit with its previous counterparts, following the formula that has worked for them in past iterations, offering a career mode which lets you build up your racing career starting in the ARCA series, pushing towards the Cup Series.
Included with the career is the usual quick race modes as well as multiplayer races to push your driver ability online against similarly skilled enthusiasts. The career mode is where I played most of the time. Having the chance to introduce yourself from the ground up, starting in the ARCA series as a rookie driver working up into becoming a Nascar Cup pro, allows for some incentive to learn the best line at the track and qualify on pole to give yourself any advantage possible.
The customization system for your team in career is not the most in-depth, with only a few preset options for a design, making you feel limited with your creativity. I do appreciate the option to change that as well as match the semi and trailer to my racing program’s color scheme — just felt a bit lackluster.
My first impressions of Nascar 2025 caught me off guard. Immediately after booting for the first time, the main menu popped up, and I was beautifully greeted by one of my favorite artists of all time, System Of A Down. Immediately I felt nostalgia from the older Nascar games — they always had some of the best soundtracks in any video game, full of tons of rock, metal, punk music, etc., all aligned to my ideal taste in music.
The soundtrack has some amazing songs from other fantastic artists such as Molly Hatchet, Chevelle, and my all-time favorite, Breaking Benjamin. After sitting on the menu listening to music the whole time, I eventually made my way into a quick race to check out the UI and how the game felt. I jumped straight into an ARCA Series car, pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Cleetus McFarland, one of, if not the biggest, rookies ever to grace Nascar, and swiftly chose him as my driver.
Immediate thoughts during my first race were the AI difficulty was very weird — almost felt a bit too easy, even on average settings. I found myself not really even trying to battle for positions. The AI just kinda acts a bit weird in the pack as well, almost like they were stun-locked in position, making it annoying to pass sometimes. Raising the difficulty setting didn’t do too much more for that specifically. The last real issue was the sense of speed — it felt kinda slow to me, especially considering I’ve played a fair amount of iRacing, and the sense of speed in iRacing feels very good.
Nascar 2025 is definitely not shy about their tracks, pushing for a nearly complete roster of tracks this year (minus a couple of potential stops), allowing you to race your favorite or even local tracks with some of your favorite drivers alike.
Listed below are the tracks and the series they’re available in:
Cup Series
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Road Course
• Chicago Street Course
• Circuit of the Americas
• Darlington Raceway
• Daytona International Speedway
• Dover Motor Speedway
• EchoPark Speedway
• Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Iowa Speedway
• Kansas Speedway
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Martinsville Speedway
• Michigan Speedway
• Nashville Superspeedway
• New Hampshire Motor Speedway
• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Phoenix Raceway
• Pocono Raceway
• Richmond Raceway
• Sonoma Raceway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Texas Motor Speedway
• Watkins Glen International
• World Wide Technology Raceway
Xfinity Series
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Road Course
• Chicago Street Course
• Circuit of the Americas
• Darlington Raceway
• Daytona International Speedway
• Dover Motor Speedway
• EchoPark Speedway
• Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Iowa Speedway
• Kansas Speedway
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Martinsville Speedway
• Michigan Speedway
• Nashville Superspeedway
• Phoenix Raceway
• Pocono Raceway
• Rockingham Speedway
• Sonoma Raceway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Texas Motor Speedway
• Watkins Glen International
• World Wide Technology Raceway
Truck Series
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Road Course
• Darlington Raceway
• Daytona International Speedway
• EchoPark Speedway
• Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Kansas Speedway
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Lime Rock Park
• Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
• Martinsville Speedway
• Michigan Speedway
• Nashville Superspeedway
• New Hampshire Motor Speedway
• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Phoenix Raceway
• Pocono Raceway
• Richmond Raceway
• Rockingham Speedway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Texas Motor Speedway
• Watkins Glen International
ARCA Series
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Daytona International Speedway
• Dover Motor Speedway
• Iowa Speedway
• Kansas Speedway
• Lime Rock Park
• Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
• Martinsville Speedway
• Michigan Speedway
• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• Phoenix Raceway
• Richmond Raceway
• Rockingham Speedway
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Watkins Glen International
Each and every location has been laser scanned using the same technology in iRacing, providing the most detailed and realistic visuals and feel of each and every track, down to the cracks and bumps in the asphalt. You can tell love and care has been put into each location, offering you the best experience possible in any current Nascar game we’ve ever had to date.
After a bit of hands-on and a lot of tweaking with settings for the AI drivers, I slowly got to where I was racing with competition and starting to find myself enjoying bump-drafting and driving aggressively to further my way to the top of the pack. Out of the box, it’s perfect for an average consumer — maybe even someone who’s never picked up a racing game and wants to be introduced into it at a slower and easier pace. I would highly recommend them Nascar 2025. Skilled, more seasoned veterans of the franchise definitely strive at harder difficulty with all assists disabled for the most pure, skilled form of racing.
Nascar 2025 is definitely a far better game than past iterations in my opinion. I hope to see them push the boundaries and offer better customization and even go back to the “Dirt to Daytona” style game where you begin from the actual ground up as a dirt car driver and drive into the big leagues. I feel strongly there is plenty of momentum to push Nascar 2025 into an 8/10.
