''NASCAR SimRacing'', abbreviated ''NSR'', is a computer racing simulator developed by EA Tiburon and released on February 15, 2005, by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. The game includes all of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Series drivers (including Jeremy Mayfield, who was absent from '' NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup'') and tracks except

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...

, which was also absent from ''NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup'', due to failed negotiations with licensing. Content from the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series (branded as "NASCAR National Series" in-game due to alcohol advertising regulations) and Craftsman Truck Series (excluding manufacturer branding in the latter) are also included. The game features

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

's top 3 series, the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series. The game features a

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...

career mode as well as

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

online gameplay. The game also features many paint schemes used during the 2004 and 2005 Cup Series; however the original release featured the 2005 cars replaced with their 2004 counterparts. This game was the last NASCAR game to be released for the PC by EA; the next NASCAR game for PC would be '' NASCAR The Game: 2013'' by Eutechnyx.

Drivers

While a large number of real drivers are present in the Cup, Busch and Truck Series in ''NASCAR SimRacing'', fantasy drivers are still present, sponsored by fictional or unused sponsors. A patch is available at installation to download the 2005 NEXTEL Cup cars as a separate mod. In October 2006

shut down the

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

multiplayer servers.

Reception

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

rated the game an 8.5 of 10 stating "NASCAR SimRacing looks to be in good hands and should only improve beyond its already praiseworthy state as time goes on."

References

2005 video games EA Sports games EA Tiburon games Multiplayer and single-player video games NASCAR video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games {{NASCAR-stub