1.14.850@Infineon, Nascar Racing 2003

Nascar Racing 2003 (NR2003) is simply the most realistic car racing simulator, ever. Only GP Legends, also from Papyrus, comes close, featuring more interesting machines - the 1967 F1 monsters - but a less perfect physics engine, yet miles ahead of the third place, where I consider GP4 belongs.

The problem with NR2003 is the tracks. Oval tracks aren't as fun to drive as more twisty challenges. However, Nascar has two superb exceptions to the rule: Watkins Glen and Sears Point. Sears Point (SP) aka Infineon is my favorite track.

SP is a huge challenge! It starts with a fast left, suddenly drops to a slow right, a down/up mid-speed 'S', a hard slow right, an inner straight (!) - that rarely allows a decent rpm regime on 3rd gear - a very hard right and an even harder sequence of 'S's, where the best drivers keep gaining speed, but where the average people, like myself, get trapped and frequently spin out of the asphalt. Just in case you manage to hold the momentum, there is a fast right, usally on low 4th gear, then a true right hook that'll bring you to the start/finish line.

It is not impossible to race a couple of good laps at Infineon, but it is very very hard to do it consistently, for the whole length of a race: your tyres easily overheat when you are pushing, but if you ease on them, that will immediatly translate to a significantly slower lap.

One improvement on NR2003 relatively to NR2002, is the better default setups: they are very realistic and provide a true work basis, from where you can make adjustments to your specific style.

Here is a replay of my best qualifying lap ever, at the Sears Point/Infineon track: 1.14.850.

Download sears_point_1q14s850.rpy and load it from your in-game "replay theater" to check it.

You can buy Nascar Racing 2003 here.

Best possible prices are:

for european costumers: http://www.amazon.co.uk [14.99 £ ~ 21.24 EUR]

for american costumers: http://www.amazon.com [32.99 USD]

for real time monetary conversions, please use the XE service.