You may not be one of the fortunate 43 who start the next Winston Cup race, but one video game system will give you the same white-knuckle ride that top drivers get to experience every weekend.
NASCAR Racing 2003 from Papyrus Racing Games takes reality to a new level when it comes to video games. This one takes practice, lots of it, before you start turning laps like a seasoned veteran. Here are some of the features:
* Dirt and oil accumulate on your windshield and increase the challenge. You'll also have to deal with the sun's glare.
* Racetrack surfaces have detailed representations of bumps and grooves.
* You can tweak the way your car handles by trying out virtually endless combinations of chassis adjustments.
"We give people the opportunity to do something that they normally wouldn't get to experience," says Steve Myers, associate producer with Papyrus.
To help gain some of this reality, Papyrus signed technical partnerships with Goodyear and Jasper Motorsports, which fields the No. 77 Ford of Dave Blaney in the Winston Cup Series. Drivers Hank Parker Jr. and Lyndon Amick helped designers plot the bumps that drivers feel at the various tracks.
Manuel Daskalos, chief engineer at Jasper, helped game designers better understand how a car reacts to conditions on the racetrack, and how the various forces at work affect a race car's handling. He helped Papyrus fine-tune the chassis adjustments players can make in an "open setup" mode. They can adjust springs, shocks, spoiler angles, brake bias, wedge, the amount of tape on the grille-the list goes on.
Players have to deal with aerodynamic forces at work (yes, even "aero push") on their race car, and will have to adjust their driving lines as tires begin to wear. There's plenty of power under the hood as well. Mash the gas too quickly on starts and you'll spin the car.
Beyond the technical side of the game, Papyrus spent just as much time creating a realistic setting around and inside the racetracks. All 23 Winston Cup tracks are featured on the system, including changes recently made to New Hampshire and the road course at Sears Point.
Game designers took detailed photographs and video footage of the tracks, reviewed engineering plans and aerial photos, and tried to get their hands on any other documents that would help increase realism. That's why you see the new casino along the track at Dover, and the exact number of bricks that mark the start/finish line at Indianapolis. Grandstands have the correct number of seats and rows, and pit roads are packed with team war wagons, pit signs, and flags.
While you may not be able to race on Sunday, you can enjoy the next best thing with NASCAR Racing 2003. You'll gain a better understanding of how difficult it is to prepare and race a stock car, and just why it's so thrilling to reach Victory Lane. Just be prepared to bend up plenty of sheetmetal along the way.
What: NASCAR Racing 2003 Season
Format: PC CD-ROM
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment Inc.
Developer: Papyrus Racing Studios
Overview: Race every track on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule with the teams, drivers, and sponsors of the 2003 season. Make chassis adjustments to improve the handling of your race car, and race against your friends online.
Price: $49.99
Available: February 2003