Nascar Racing Series

[Tijuana Strauhal]

NASCARcurrently manages several racing series that range in vehicle styles and formats. There are four major national racing series which include the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series, while the other series are divided up by region.[1] Beginning in 2011, NASCAR began hosting eRacing leagues.

A lot of people are calling NASCAR 3 the best NASCAR simulation ever, but considering that Papyrus' series of NASCAR games has never had much in the way of competition, that seemingly grandiose praise doesn't do this incredible simulation justice. So let me set the record straight: Besides being the best NASCAR sim ever, it could very well be the best racing simulation ever.

This game's got it all: action that's hotter than fried chicken just hauled out of a Frydaddy, animations cooler than a bottle of brew pulled from a tub of ice, and bump-and-grind racing that's tastier than a paper bag full of greasy pork rinds. If my editors would let me, I'd confine my review to six simple words: Buy it, and buy it now.

It's not often I see a game where just about everything has been done to perfection, but this is one of them, so I'll start by mentioning the scarce few (and minor) gripes I had. Fans of the NASCAR Racing series have been clamoring for better support for Internet play, and Papyrus has obliged by incorporating a feature that lets you seamlessly connect to a WON.net server from within the game. That's great, because it means you don't have to load a memory-hungry web browser to play - especially important since this game will gladly use every resource at its disposal.

The problem, though, is that ever-present issue of latency, and it's one that's exacerbated by the fact that the numbers here (numbers as in ping times) don't stack up with what you're seeing onscreen. Join a game where your ping time is allegedly 130 milliseconds with a dial-up connection, and you'll joyously jump into the fray only to find that cars appear and disappear, causing drivers to slam into each other through no fault of their own. The point is moot if you host a game, but if you do so, be sure to feel pity for the guys who are running into these problems.

After many attempts at driving on WON.net, I finally resigned myself to the fact that there's just no way to ensure the experience is going to be smooth from start to finish, especially for users with dial-up connections. The good news is that pretty soon a lot of us - even me, in the NASCAR heartland of North Carolina, a mere 40 minutes from Richard Petty's birthplace - will have cable modems, and "latency" will be a mere footnote in some dictionary of obsolete technological terminology.

About the only other thing missing from NASCAR Racing 3 is the full lineup of NASCAR drivers and the licenses to use the names "Winston Cup" and "Busch Grand Nationals." How important is that to me? Not very. It's just as well that my daughter doesn't see an ad for cigarettes or beer when she moseys into my office while I'm racing, and you can bet your bottom dollar there'll be downloads created by users that'll give you the whole NASCAR lineup anyway.

Everything else about the game has been seasoned to perfection. The graphical effects - especially skid marks, smoke from tires, the "line" on the track, and lighting effects - are staggering in their realism and add immensely to the overall racing experience. Then there's the issue of force feedback, which developer Papyrus omitted from its last effort (Grand Prix Legends) because it would have been gratuitous and unrealistic: In short, they didn't want to do it if they couldn't do it right. And brother, did they ever use the time between Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR 3 to get it right! Take my word for it - this game has the best implementation of force-feedback effects ever. And if you don't think it's strong enough, you can tweak it to suit your perception of how it's supposed to feel. In fact, there's a ton of stuff you can edit to make the game run right for you.

You want tracks? How about the most tracks ever served up in a single game - all the circuits of the Winston Cup and Busch Grand National Series, including the famous Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis? You want to customize a car or driver? Have at it - just use the built-in paint program or a third-party utility to create your own custom car, or import your own image into a new driver setup. Want to find the best setups for each track? Then fire up the WONSWAP utility that comes with the game, which points you directly to a trading ground of car setup configurations for quick and easy download. Not quite up to running against the big boys? Then ease down the opponent's strength settings to as low as 80 percent (or as high as 125 percent, if you're feeling special) - a feature that the highly difficult Grand Prix Legends sorely lacked. From car setup to appearance to performance, it looks like the guys at Papyrus have actually managed to implement every single valid suggestion they've received during the years they've been putting out the NASCAR games.

But what makes NASCAR Racing 3 so incredibly special is the racing, and words aren't really adequate to describe just how this game puts you into the driver's seat. Perhaps the closest I can come to elaborating on this game's excellence is to relate a phone call I had with a fellow NASCAR nut who's also been a fan of the Papyrus series since its inception. I rang him up and started raving about what a mind-blowing experience each race was, until finally, at a loss for words, I just said, "All I know for sure is that it just feels like real racing." Only a second or two elapsed before he replied with a chuckle: "What you really mean is that it feels just like real racing." Preach on, brother, and I'll see you out on the track.

The first event will be at the half-mile Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway and will include 12 drivers from NASCAR and IndyCar racing in competition. Previous NASCAR Cup Series champions Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski will be in the field racing against former IndyCar stalwarts Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and Paul Tracy. Rising star Hailie Deegan also will be in competition as will NASCAR Daytona 500 winners Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman and former NASCAR stars Clint Bowyer and Ken Schrader.

Two-time NASCAR champion Joey Logano will serve as guest analyst for the first race, joining lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth to call the action. ESPN SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe will host the telecast while Matt Yocum will report from the pits.

In 2022, the series field featured a total of five NASCAR Cup Series Championships, three IndyCar Series Championships, four Daytona 500 Winners, five Indianapolis 500 Winners and four NASCAR Hall of Fame Drivers. Tony Stewart claimed the inaugural SRX Championship in 2021 and Marco Andretti claimed the 2022 Championship.

ESPN aired its first race on Oct. 7, 1979, exactly one month after the network went on the air. The race was a USAC event taped the previous summer in Salem, Ind. In March of 1981, ESPN aired its first NASCAR Cup race, a tape-delayed event from Rockingham, N.C., and on June 7, 1981, the network aired its first live race, a CART event at Milwaukee.

In 2015, Sunoco completed the trifecta of American Motorsports by signing on as the official fuel of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Sunoco is now the exclusive provider of racing fuel for all of the NHRA's professional racing classes: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Sunoco puts a tremendous amount of care and precision into the race fuels we manufacture for the NHRA, and then they burn it up in just about four seconds. And maybe it's coincidence, but since the NHRA switched to Sunoco racing fuel, five national records have fallen along with 59 individual track records across Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes of racing.

Beyond NASCAR, IndyCar, and NHRA, Sunoco is also extremely proud to be fuel of choice for a wide array of other forms of motorsports, including SVRA, TransAm, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, ARCA Racing Series and more than 50 other racing series.

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While most cable packages include Fox, it's easy to watch NASCAR in 2024 if Fox isn't included in your cable TV subscription, or if you don't have cable at all. Your best options for watching are below. (Streaming options will require an internet provider.)

If you don't have cable TV that includes Fox, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream live NASCAR races this year is through a subscription to Sling TV. The streamer offers access to all four channels airing NASCAR this season, plus local ABC affiliates (where available) with its Blue Tier plan. We recommend leveling up your coverage to include ESPN with the Orange + Blue tier plan.

You can also catch all NASCAR Truck Series races in 2024 on Fubo. Fubo is a sports-centric streaming service that offers access to NBC, USA, Fox and FS1, in addition to almost every NFL game next season.

To watch NASCAR without cable, start a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. In addition to NASCAR races, you'll have access to NFL football, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games. Fubo's Pro Tier is priced at $80 per month after your free seven-day trial, but Fubo is currently offering the first month at $60.

Sports fans will want to consider adding on the $7.99 per month Fubo Extra package, which includes MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, SEC Network and more channels with live games. Or upgrade to the Fubo Elite tier and get all the Fubo Extra channels, plus the ability to stream in 4K, starting at $90 per month ($70 for the first month).

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