MONSTER's NASCAR 3 Racing Page

First of all, welcome to my NASCAR-gaming page. This game is released by Papyrus Software, distributed by Sierra Sports. The page isn't much yet, but I plan to add a bit of stuff along the way here, we'll see how it goes. NASCAR racing is not for everyone. The idea of simply driving around in circles seems to really annoy some people, and although there are two road courses included with N3, that is hardly enough for most.

Very quickly I would like to mention (in regards to the NASCAR racing series by Papyrus) that if you have any of the incarnations of this game, there is a website to download car skins from. They do impeccable work, and you really should check the site out...they are called IWCCCARS...the link is below. Please check this site out...the work they do is pretty damn good! I have seen none better.

Now, on to NASCAR 3. The idea of driving oval tracks may appeal to only a select few, but these few I assure you are hard-core racing fanatics. This game is very involved, in that the driver is responsible for getting the best setup for particular tracks. It is very time-consuming, usually requiring hours spent running laps on each track to get a feel for the car, and figure out what needs tuning. There are downloadable setups on the Internet (also through WON-Swap, included with the game,) but they seldom match the driving style of every driver. Setups are very unique entities, and need to be corrected to match your skill and style. Some of the adjustments that can be made are as follows (with a brief description of effects):

Tire Pressure (this can be raised or lowered, higher pressures give higher speed, but less longevity)

Tire Camber (controls the 'tilt' of the tire in relation to the pavement, give more or less grip)

Gear Ratios (self-explanatory, need to fiddle to find best combination of speed/ acceleration for each track)

Shocks (can be made stiffer or softer, to accommodate driving style, tire wear and handling in turns)

Weight Distribution (too much to explain here, bread and butter of a setup)

Spoiler Angle (adjust the downforce on the rear of the car for more/or less grip)

Grille Tape (control air intake to engine; more tape, more front-end downforce...danger of overheating the engine however)

Sway Bars (controls the tightness/looseness of the chassis in and out of turns)

As you can see, there are a few adjustments that can make or break your day on the track. As you become more familiar with the adjustments' effects (and the tracks), you will start to get a feel for what the car needs each time you come back from practice laps and into the garage. There are so many things to adjust, most people do not want to spend the time tweaking the car to get it right. Understandable, especially for a track like Darlington, where no setup will keep you from fighting the track throughout the whole lap.

The most important thing to your setup is how the car behaves in the turns. Most tracks have passing opportunities coming out of or entering the turns, and it is this reason to place the most importance on that aspect. An initial adjustment to the sway bars will help to remedy a tight or loose feel. As said earlier, I will go into deeper detail on the Adjustments page, when I put it up.

I am in no way a setup master, but I think I can help with the theories behind the various adjustments to the car. Good luck on the track, and remember

"BE PATIENT OUT THERE."