* Repairs will add time to your pit stop. * During cautions when the game takes over, the screen will highlight drivers who’ve advanced the most or fallen back the most, X cautions for X number of laps, each drivers current position compared to their starting position, etc. * Qualifying difficulty is scaled equivalent to your race difficulty setting. * During any given race you have practice, qualifying, and happy hour prior to the race. Haven’t played career yet, but apparently there’s some good options there as well with sponsors, upgrades, etc. * Career mode allows you to advance from dirt to modified to trucks to cup.

* Mechanical failures can occur both with you and the AI. * Can bumpdraft with no issues, but can’t run up on the back of them willy nilly either. The graphics are pretty decent for a last-gen on an HDTV as well. * While the game is 480i, it will display in proper widescreen format if you have your ps2 set up for 16:9 in the ps2 options. * Comes with a great “advanced” setup for each track. You also get a read-out of your inside/middle/outside tire temps to better gauge what to change. * You have most, if not all, of the mechanical tweaks available on current-gen titles, such as camber, tire pressure, springs, etc. I’ve had to swallow my pride and turn that option off for now. You can even turn on an option for ‘hardcore physics’ and the physics are REALLY challenging then. When turning the stability control option off, the car handling strikes a great balance between realistic physics and manageability. * When a caution flies, plenty of time to decide whether to pit and what to adjust if needed. For example, I’ve trying it at 101% and I’m finding it manageable, but really challenging as well. * AI difficulty can be scaled to match your skill level. * Great AI that actually races you in a realistic manner.

Big Carolina suggested to me awhile back and I finally gave it a go after searching endlessly for that ‘something’ I was looking for. Having tried all the current-gen Nascar titles and several of the last-gen titles, I found that the best, most well balanced console title (regardless of last/current gen) is Dirt to Daytona on the PS2.

There’s one or two that are ok, but contain enough niggles that you wonder if you really want to continue. On consoles, a well-balanced Nascar game is hard to find.

Download dirt to daytona ps2