NASCAR 25: iRacing Takes the Wheel — Hype, Hopes, and Hard Questions

iRacing is making a console NASCAR game. That alone makes this worth paying attention to.

I’ve been wary of new NASCAR games ever since NASCAR 21: Ignition face-planted. So when iRacing Studios said they’re shipping NASCAR 25 on October 14 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Steam following November 11, my ears perked up. iRacing’s PC sim has defined oval racing for years. If anyone can steady this franchise on consoles, it’s the studio founded by Papyrus veteran Dave Kaemmer-the same lineage behind NASCAR Racing 2003 and Dirt to Daytona.

Key Takeaways

• Release dates: Oct 14 on PS5/XSX, Nov 11 on PC (Steam). Standard is $59.99; Gold is $79.99 with three-day early access (Oct 11) and Season Pass.
• All four major NASCAR ladders are here-Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA-featured in Career Mode and other modes.
• iRacing’s pedigree raises expectations for physics, AI racecraft, and online stability—but details aren’t fully spelled out yet.
• DLC-heavy pitch out of the gate: Season Pass includes three packs with 230+ paint schemes and firesuits, plus in-game currency.

Breaking Down the Announcement

Pricing is straight: $59.99 Standard, $79.99 Gold. Gold nets early access on October 11, the NASCAR 25 Season Pass (also $24.99 à la carte), and in-game bonuses. Pre-order either edition and you get 5,000 Career Bonus Dollars, 500 Career Rep Points, and extra schemes for cover drivers William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell.

Content-wise, the big headline is series coverage. Cup, Xfinity, Craftsman Trucks, and ARCA Menards Series all show up not just in quick play and seasons, but in a Career Mode that promises driver and vehicle customization, managing contracts, money, facilities, and staff—the whole “climb the ladder” fantasy. ARCA appearing alongside the NASCAR tiers in a standalone console title is a first, which matters if you follow prospects working their way up on short tracks and mile-and-a-halfs.

iRacing also showcased extended gameplay with Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel/controller. That’s nice, but let’s be real: what matters is how it feels over a 100-lap run, on worn tires, in traffic, with cautions and strategy swings. iRacing’s reputation is built on that exact nuance—tire model evolution, draft behavior, side-drafting risk/reward, and how aero wake screws with corner entry and exit. If even half of that DNA carries over in a pad-friendly way, NASCAR 25 clears a bar recent entries couldn’t reach.

Why This Matters Now

The NASCAR console license needed a reset. After years of uneven outings, the community’s trust eroded. Meanwhile, on PC, many serious oval fans lived in iRacing’s subscription world because it simply felt right, from cautions and pit cycles to netcode stability. Bringing that expertise to a boxed console game is a huge swing. It doesn’t have to be iRacing-hardcore, but it must respect handling, rules, and racecraft to win back fans—and still welcome newcomers.

Including ARCA in Career Mode is quietly the strongest signal. A proper ladder mode lets you start in ARCA, learn racecraft, and make a name before stepping into Xfinity and Cup. If contracts, team reputation, and facility upgrades carry real weight—not just menu fluff—that progression could finally feel like a NASCAR story rather than a series of disconnected seasons.

Hard Questions iRacing Still Needs to Answer

• Performance targets: Is 60fps locked on PS5/XSX? Any 120Hz performance mode? For a racing game, that’s non-negotiable.
• Wheel and FFB support: Which wheels are supported at launch? How deep are the force feedback and calibration options on console and PC?
• Rules and realism: Full stage racing, proper cautions, pit speeding, black flags, choose rule, wave-arounds, overtime—are these all modeled?
• AI racecraft: Do AI cars respect lanes, side-draft, and tire wear, or are we back to slot cars and divebombs?
• Online multiplayer: Crossplay? Ranked splits? Private lobbies with admin tools? iRacing’s netcode reputation sets expectations high.
• Customization and liveries: Is there an in-game livery editor, or are paint schemes mostly gated behind DLC?
• PC specifics: Any mod support on Steam? Graphics options depth? Replays and photo mode?

About That Monetization

The Gold Edition and Season Pass focus heavily on cosmetics: over 230 paint schemes and firesuits. That tracks with NASCAR culture—schemes matter. But kicking off the conversation with DLC quantity and in-game currency isn’t the most comforting signal for players burned by the last few years. The value math is simple: $79.99 Gold equals Standard plus $24.99 Season Pass plus early access. If you don’t care about cosmetics or three-day early play, Standard seems like the smarter buy until reviews confirm the fundamentals.

Pre-order bonuses also feed a concern: Career Dollars and Rep Points on day one imply a progression economy you can influence with purchases. Not necessarily pay-to-win, but it puts pressure on iRacing to make grind curves fair and keep the best parts of the game off of paywalls.

The Gamer’s Perspective

This caught my attention because the people who understand oval racing best are finally in charge of a modern NASCAR console title. If NASCAR 25 nails the feel—tire wear developing into long-run balance shifts, packs that get sketchy in dirty air, the tension of fuel windows versus tire falloff—it’ll be the best NASCAR game in a decade. If it leans too hard on DLC and forgets the 60fps baseline, robust wheel support, and authentic rules, it’ll just be another “almost.”

Cautious optimism, then. iRacing’s track record earns that. But the real test isn’t an extended gameplay video—it’s green-flag laps with a field of 36, yellow flags that don’t break the race, and a Career Mode that makes your ARCA-to-Cup journey feel earned.

TL;DR

NASCAR 25 launches Oct 14 on PS5/XSX and Nov 11 on Steam, with a Gold Edition early access option. iRacing’s stewardship is the best news this series could get, but we still need answers on performance, wheel support, online features, and how much of the experience sits behind DLC. If the on-track feel delivers, this could be the comeback NASCAR fans have been waiting for.