Which NASCAR Gamecube title would you recommend?

[DigitalSpace]

I own a lot of racing games, but only one NASCAR title - the '98 Collectors Edition on the PlayStation. I'd like to try out one of the newer ones, and I'd like to get it for the Gamecube since I don't have as many racers for it as I do for the PS2 (the other current-gen console I own).

Here's the three NASCAR games available for the cube:

-NASCAR Thunder 2003: The cheapest of the three. If I decide to go with one of the other two, I may get this later on (for some reason, 2004 wasn't released on the cube).
-NASCAR Dirt To Daytona: This has truck racing, and I believe it's the only one that has it.
-NASCAR 2005 Chase For The Cup

If you've played any of these games, feel free to give me your two cents regardless of which console you played it on.

[Leo_A]

Dirt to Daytona is by far the best NASCAR title available for current generation consoles.

EA's NASCAR releases are very weak overall. Thunder 2003's physics are very unrealistic, and even with aids off there's still some form of autobrake going on.

They're all flawed however, I'd recommend you hunt down a copy of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season by Papyrus for your PC (Easily the best simulation of NASCAR around). :)

[kevin_psx]

Dirt to Daytona is by far the best NASCAR title available for current generation consoles.

Agree! - too bad we won't get a sequel since Nascar gave electronic arts the exclusive rights. O_O :( :/

[snes_collector]

I've only played 2003, haven't found a used copy of 2005, but I can't wait to get. I've played 2003 so much it's crazy, probably my most played GC game. I don't see them in the wild much, probably because everyone wants to keep them because there so fun :D

[downfall]

Those guys nailed it - Dirt to Daytona is easily one of the best racing games ever released on a home console. Just a fantastic game from top to bottom, and I certainly don't even consider myself a Nascar fan. It's just one of the best racing experiences I've ever had in a game period.

Seriously, a great, way underappreciated game. It actually received many great reviews, but nobody bought it for whatever reason.

Everyone should check it out!

[goats]

I have thunder 2003 for gc and chase for the cup 2005 for xbox and only play chase for the cup 2005.

Chase for the cup 2005 has featherlight series, truck series. and busch series, and I think has better graphics. The ai for both of the games I think are very similar. The only good thing about thunder 2003 is that it includes some odd road tracks like the one at talledega. I also like the fight to the top mode in 2005 where you create your own team

[classicb]

Dirt to Daytona all the way. Anyone who picks otherwise probably hasn't played Dirt to Daytona. Great game go get it. Plus its easy to find and cheap.

[DigitalSpace]

Well, I'm going with Dirt To Daytona. Thanks everyone.

[bigdaddychester]

during the summer on weekends, I'm am the Head of Scoring at a dirt track in southern Ohio, needless to say I need a little dirt action here and there.

I tried the 2005 chase for the cup and just found it to be somewhat playable. I had a lot of problems with trying to dial the car in a bit more for each track. just the slightest change would be too much.

Dirt to Daytona is another story. Quick setup, easy to understand, you don't have to spend an hour making your character (a problem I have with all of EA's sports games). When it comes time to set the car up you have a ton more choices and a small tweek to just one of them will not render the car undriveable. I'm not worried about the expression of my drivers face when another driver trades paint with him but I like the fact that if my car gets damaged on the track the handling reflects it. Also, I like the fact that if you start in carreer mode, you start driving a dirt car, get some recognition and then move up to the modified series (my favorite) then the truck and cup series. Definitely a must have for the GC with lots of replayability.

Anyone want to post any of their car setups for some of the tracks?

[kevin_psx]

Why did Nascar choose the inferior EA game, instead of the better Atari game?

[Leo_A]

Or the better Papyrus PC sim (They were victoms too :)).

NASCAR is all about the money now. Everything from things like the Southern 500 disappearing to exclusive videogame licenses.

[kevin_psx]

Why did Nascar choose the inferior EA game, instead of the better Atari game?Or the better Papyrus PC sim (They were victoms too :)). NASCAR is all about the money now. Everything from things like the Southern 500 disappearing to exclusive videogame licenses.

Rednecks donna know how ta use them thar 'puter thingies! Natur-like they'd pick the pluger-n-player console game. LOL


Southern 500 gone? Which track was that? Not enough money?

[goats]

re: Southern 500 gone? Which track was that? Not enough money?

The Southern 500 was run later in the fall, i think in the next two weeks at "the track too tough too tame", Darlington. Nascar replaced it with a fall race at Texas, which I think is a shame because Texas is just too damn similar to tracks like atlanta and lowes which they also run two races a piece at. Nascar also completely got rid of cup racing at Rockingham, N.C. another favorite track of many. Just another case of Nascar moving west and "going hollywood", it seems like they want to get out of the south and lose their redneck association and probably most of their fan base.

[kevin_psx]

dumb. I liked small-track racing!

[Leo_A]

The Southern 500 was NASCAR's first 500 mile race they ever held back in 1950 at Darlington Raceway's opening in South Carolina (Was the first superspeedway in NASCAR...a track 1 mile or longer). Was traditionally held on Labor Day weekend in early September each year. But as NASCAR's grown more popular in the 1990's and ticket prices have rose, the saturation of tracks in the Southeast meant that some tracks weren't selling out and had smaller crowds then some of the new venues like Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. So NASCAR gave away the Labor Day date to California Speedway starting in 2004.

Last year there was a Southern 500 ran late in the year at Darlington in addition to a race in the spring. This year they were cut back to just a race over Mother's Day weekend.

The Southern 500 disappearing a few years ago would be like someone saying the Cold War was going to end eventually a few decades ago. Was that unlikely. But it's happened. It makes perfect business sense, but NASCAR's a sanctioning body and net profits should not be the overriding theme in how they handle the sport in my opinion. Throwing away the sport's biggest piece of history with the exception of the Daytona 500 has to be a mistake I would hope.

They're losing their fans that have been with them for years (And not just the Confederate flag waving redneck drunks, there's normal fans out there like myself :)). And as soon as the sport stops being cool and the people that watch it for things like Dale Earnhardt Jr. because their girlfriends think he's so hot and all this other strange stuff instead of the racing start leaving, they'll be in trouble like Indy style racing has in this country for the past decade.

[The Manimal]

2001 because it has Earnhardt..and Mark Martin w/o the VIAGRA car LOL

[KingCobra]

I confer! Dirt to Daytona, If you've got the componet cables for the Cube and an HDTV it's a thing of beauity!