Game intel
NASCAR 25
iRacing brings the ultimate thrill of racing superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega, short tracks like Martinsville and Bristol, and everything in between a…
iRacing Studios just brought NASCAR 25 to PC via Steam, and that caught my attention for one simple reason: this is the first standalone NASCAR video game from the team known for the most hard-core sim in racing. No subscription, no piecemeal content packs like the iRacing platform-just a flat-price NASCAR title built for console and PC players. If you’ve been burned by recent NASCAR console games, this “iRacing finally takes the wheel” moment matters.
On paper, NASCAR 25 checks the boxes fans have been asking for. The game ships with the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, Craftsman Truck, and ARCA Menards Series, plus a driver roster stacked with real names like William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano. Career Mode isn’t just race → next race; you’ll customize your driver and vehicles, manage contracts and staff, and make budget calls that actually influence your path. It’s the ladder structure we’ve wanted for years: start scrapping in ARCA, grind through Trucks and Xfinity, and earn that Cup seat.
Online supports up to 40 players, which, if the netcode holds, is exactly the chaos NASCAR should be. That’s a big “if,” because the last thing anyone wants is a pileup that starts with lag instead of late braking. The press release didn’t spell out crossplay or ranked systems, and iRacing’s reputation raises hopes for clean racing tools and good matchmaking-those are details I’ll be watching closely.
Here’s the real story: iRacing knows stock cars. Veterans from Papyrus-yes, the NASCAR Racing 2003 Season and Dirt to Daytona folks—are in the mix. That lineage matters. The last decade of NASCAR console games has been rocky, from uneven AI to technical issues that pushed a lot of fans away. If anyone can bridge “sim cred” with “pick-up-and-play video game,” it’s this crew.
But I’m tempering expectations. This isn’t the iRacing subscription sim ported over; it’s a separate product designed to be approachable. The balance between authenticity and accessibility is hard. I want to see how tire wear, cautions, stage racing, green-white-checkereds, and pit strategy interplay with AI that can actually run multiple lines and defend without rubber-band jank. If the force feedback and physics feel satisfying on a wheel while still working on a controller, NASCAR 25 could finally give the series a solid foundation again.
Dropping November 14, the “NASCAR 25 November Pack” adds 36 Darlington Throwback paint schemes across Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks. It’s free if you have the Season Pass (included in the $79.99 Gold Edition), or $14.99 if you’re on the $59.99 Standard Edition. Throwbacks are catnip for NASCAR fans—who doesn’t want a 24 car nodding to ’90s Jeff or a Hamlin retro livery?—but it’s still cosmetic content behind a paywall just one month post-launch.
The press material also mentions a wider pool of paint schemes and firesuits available across the top three series, but it’s light on clarity about what’s base vs. bundled via DLC. One thing is clear: ARCA isn’t included in this throwback drop. If you’re planning to pick up multiple packs, the Season Pass math starts to make sense. If you only care about a few classics, $14.99 for 36 schemes is a decision call.
On Steam, you can grab Standard or Gold, and the Season Pass is $24.99 if you want to upgrade later. The big PC questions aren’t answered yet: How deep is wheel support (Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec), and can we tune FFB curves, pedal deadzones, and linearity like we should in 2025? Is triple-monitor and ultrawide support solid? Are there robust graphics toggles so a mid-tier rig can hold 60fps with 40 cars on track? iRacing’s tech heritage gives me hope, but I want to see the settings menus before I call it.
Also, how are the online tools? Does it include safety ratings, penalties for wrecking, or spectating tools for leagues? The studio’s DNA says “yes, we care about fair racing,” but if NASCAR 25 wants to earn a spot next to F1 and WRC on PC, it needs the stability and options sim-leaning players expect.
Pricing is straightforward: $59.99 for Standard, $79.99 for Gold with the Season Pass, or grab the pass later for $24.99. If the planned DLC cadence is mostly paint and suits, I’d love to see robust free updates tackling AI racecraft, cautions, and physics polish—substance that outlasts a livery pack. After the missteps of NASCAR 21: Ignition and the Heat era’s inconsistency, racing fans deserve a stable, feature-rich base to build on.
This launch hits at the right time. Racing games have split into “authentic but unforgiving” and “fun but shallow.” If NASCAR 25 can thread that needle—giving newcomers a smooth entry while rewarding wheel users with believable handling—it could become the series foundation we rally around. And bringing ARCA into the ladder is a smart, long-overdue move that makes Career Mode feel like actual stock car progression, not a menu hopper.
NASCAR 25 on Steam is iRacing’s first crack at a mainstream NASCAR game, and the package looks right: full ladder with ARCA, a Dale Jr.-led Career Mode, and 40-player online. The November 14 Throwback DLC is cool but pricey if you only want a few schemes. If the physics, AI, and wheel support land where they should, this could finally be the NASCAR game fans stick with—now it’s on iRacing to prove it on track.
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