NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona
PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s)Monster Games
Publisher(s)Infogrames
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, GameCube
Release
  • NA: November 12, 2002[1]
  • EU: November 15, 2002 (PS2)
Genre(s)Sim racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona is a racing simulator developed by Monster Games and published by Infogrames in November 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It features NASCAR's Dodge Weekly Racing Series (the only game to feature this series), Featherlite Modified Tour, Craftsman Truck Series, and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (originally, Winston was the title sponsor but due to ESRB rating of E for Everyone, all tobacco and alcohol related brands were censored, and in the case of Mark Martin, his No. 6 Viagra car was changed to the maker of the drug Pfizer based on the men's health variation of the scheme but without the men's health). The Dodge Weekly Racing Series (dirt street stock division) and Featherlite Modified Tour rosters consist of generic fantasy drivers. The Craftsman Truck Series also features fantasy drivers alongside real ones. The unique feature of having to work your way up through the ranks from the low tier Weekly Racing Series to the Cup Series would later return in EA Sports' NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup.

Strangely, pit stops and yellow flags are absent in the Featherlite Modified Tour, despite both being included in real life.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2][3] Air Hendrix of GamePro said, "With its glittering graphics and glamorous licenses, NASCAR Thunder delivers the best NASCAR experience, rich in cameos by famous drivers and the like. But compared to D2D [sic], Thunder's cars don't handle as smoothly and its Career mode is heavy on complexity and short on fun. For the best in NASCAR racing, Dirt to Daytona will take you all the way to victory lane."[15][a]

The GameCube version won the award for "Best Driving Game on GameCube" at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 Awards.[16] In the same way, the PlayStation 2 version was nominated for the "Best Driving Game on PlayStation 2" award, which went to Burnout 2: Point of Impact.[17]

Notes

  1. ^ GamePro gave the game as a whole two 3.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 5/5 scores for control and fun factor.

References

  1. ^ Berghammer, Billy (November 12, 2002). "Dirt To Daytona Ships". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona critic reviews (NGC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona critic reviews (PS2)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Sewart, Greg (December 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona (PS2)" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 161. Ziff Davis. p. 204. Archived from the original on April 1, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Kato, Matthew (November 2002). "NASCAR Dirt to Daytona [date mislabeled as "February 2003"]". Game Informer. No. 115. GameStop. p. 128. Archived from the original on April 10, 2005. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Ajami, Amer (December 6, 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Review (GC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 29, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Ajami, Amer (November 13, 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Steinberg, Steve (December 12, 2002). "GameSpy: NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona (GCN)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 6, 2005. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  9. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (November 18, 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona (GCN)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (November 14, 2002). "NASCAR From Dirt to Daytona [sic] (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona". Nintendo Power. Vol. 163. Nintendo of America. December 2002. p. 216.
  12. ^ Jones, Ryan (December 23, 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Sewart, Greg (December 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 63. Ziff Davis. p. 164. Archived from the original on April 26, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  14. ^ Bondy, Karsten (December 16, 2002). "'NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona' (PS2) Review". X-Play. TechTV. Archived from the original on December 22, 2002. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  15. ^ Air Hendrix (December 2002). "NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona" (PDF). GamePro. No. 171. IDG. p. 194. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  16. ^ GameSpot staff (December 23, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 (Best Driving Game on GameCube)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on February 6, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  17. ^ GameSpot staff (December 23, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 (Best Driving Game on PlayStation 2, Nominees)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on February 12, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2023.