Sierra's   NASCAR Racing 2

Blood boiling Action

NASCAR Racing 2 does for the stock car circuit what IndyCar II and Cart Precision Racing do for open wheeled action. It's a racing simulation that screams around virtual NASCAR circuit tracks at breakneck speed.

NASCAR 2 lets you race against series' greats like Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt in this realistic and officially licensed simulation.

The drivers, teams and cars are from the 1996 season, along with 16 tracks that look very good. Add multiplayer support and you have avery nice racing sim.

As with other similar games, you can tweak just about everything: tire temperature and pressure, spoiler angle, weight distribution, shock stiffness, steering lock, gear ratio, etc. Graphics and stereo sound are first rate, and you can also configure the pretty pictures to take into account the limitations of your PC, which is as it should be.

A nice feature is an "Arcade" mode that pretty well lets you hop into a car and start racing without such messy things as planning. Driving action for the overall game is quite authentic (yeah, as if we've really driven NASCAR, right?), especially with a steering wheel game controller.

If you want even more bang, you might want to consider the  Grand National Series Expansion Pack, which adds 1997 stuff to the game, including new tracks, a couple of fantasy tracks, and new drivers and cars. It's a must have for fans of NASCAR 2 fan, especially if you've already conquered the series.

The bottom line for us was that like the other sims mentioned above, NASCAR 2 and its expansion pack offers a wonderful driving experience for fans of the stock car series. It's also a rush for open wheel fans who want to experience the many differences between screaming around the track at 200 mph in an Indy, CART or Formula One car and the more enclosed, traditional American-designed automobiles.

Gentlepeople, Start Your Engines!

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