5 Best NASCAR games for every racing fan in 2024

While NASCAR was founded in 1948, the first-ever video game arrived on the market over three decades later, in 1984. Although the motorsport is quite popular on its own in the U.S., the gaming industry allowed NASCAR to reach a wider audience.

Atari's Richard Petty's Talladega set the wheel in motion for NASCAR-based video games in 1984. The 8-bit game helped change the way the young audience perceived the motorsport. After witnessing a good response from the target audience, developers such as Konami, Papyrus, Electronic Arts, and a few others got into creating NASCAR-based games for NES, Game Boy, MS-DOS, and a few other platforms to expand the reach of the sport globally.

Now, several NASCAR games are readily available on modern platforms like Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, Android, and iOS. Here's our pick for the top 5 NASCAR games of all time:

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#5. Papyrus's NASCAR Racing Series (1994–2003)

First introduced in 1994 by Papyrus, the NASCAR Racing Series offered players high-quality graphics and realistic physics (how cars reacted to the environment). It was also one of the earliest games to offer the multiplayer gaming feature via a local area network.

Papyrus was able to fine-tune the gameplay experience over the years. However, with the arrival of new and larger developers into the market, the NASCAR Racing Series games began losing their stronghold.

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#4. Electronic Arts's NASCAR Rumble

Considered one of the top arcade-style stock car racing games, the NASCAR Rumbler saw the entry of video game giant Electronic Arts into the world of NASCAR in 2000. This game was created more for the fun aspect than for realism.

It allowed players to race in heavily customized cars, sometimes not resembling a standard Stock Car model. Another fun element was its mode which allowed players to compete under unrealistic weather conditions.

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#3. Polyphony Digital's Grand Turismo series (5 onwards)

Polyphony Digital's (a part of Sony Playstation Studios) Grand Turismo series is considered the gold standard for simulator racing. While it initially focused on GT and Formula 1 racing, the developer decided to include NASCAR from Grand Turismo 5 onwards.

With immersive soundtracks from real NASCAR race cars to some of the best racing-related physics, Grand Turismo has also been serving as a learning tool for new-age drivers around the world.

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#2. Monster Games's NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona

Developed by Monster Games, NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona offered players realistic progression. Much like in the real world, the game allowed the players to start their careers in dirt racing. With the successful completion of each milestone, gamers could graduate to the next level, ultimately ending up with big-league players.

The game also allowed players to feel the pressure of winning more races or risk losing their sponsors, just like in real life. This added a whole new level of excitement.

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#1. IRacing.com's iRacing

Although it doesn't feature licensed vehicles, the realistic graphics and simulator-like physics make iRacing one of the most popular subscription-based online games to feature NASCAR. Its compatibility with a steering wheel setup allows users to get an immersive experience as well.

With gameplay so real-life-like, it helped the current championship contender, Willian Byron, get an entry into NASCAR's main series.