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2025 saw the long-awaited return of official NASCAR video games, after years in the wilderness that came after some lacklustre efforts under a previous publisher.
NASCAR’s video game is now handled by iRacing, a team that knows how to do things right. It’s not a simple rip of the NASCAR aspect of the iRacing sim; it’s a tailored, dedicated experience, built to be enjoyable on console and PC, and importantly, with a controller.
NASCAR 26 is the second attempt by iRacing, and as you would certainly hope, it’s an improvement. The core remains, but with some new features that make the package that bit better.
The short version is that I wish all console racing games had what makes NASCAR 26 good. It combines the licensing with a healthy dose of NASCAR razzle-dazzle, real-world personalities, and the incredible iRacing tech underneath that gives it its realistic feel.
Even if you’re not a particularly big NASCAR fan but you like good racing games, you should definitely give this one a try.
This review was produced using a copy of NASCAR 26 Gold Edition on Xbox Series X provided by iRacing. Nobody from the company had any input in nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.
NASCAR 26 looks as spectacular as the real thing
I am a big NASCAR fan. Watching it live from the UK takes serious commitment, but through hell or high water, I’m there (almost) every weekend in the small hours.
As much fun as I’ve had in past NASCAR games and on iRacing, it takes a complete package like NASCAR 26 to bring everything together. And it starts with the presentation.
For starters, you’ve got real-world NASCAR personalities playing a part in the game. When you fire up your first career mode season, you’ve got Dale Jr. securing you a contract. Former crew chief turned broadcaster Steve Letarte makes plenty of appearances, Jamie McMurray will help you learn the ropes, and TJ Majors is in your ear as the all-important spotter.
That real-world crossover applies to the cars and their drivers and all the circuits you’ll visit behind the wheel. I’ve only one point of comparison I can make myself, that being Charlotte Motor Speedway, but that looks just as spectacular in-game.
NASCAR 26 does such a good job at capturing the atmosphere of the race tracks, as well as how good the cars look (until they inevitably get banged up).
Part of this is the new dynamic lighting, which for night races especially really does make it feel like you’re racing at night. Not some kind of fake interpretation of night.
The NASCAR 26 career mode doesn’t have any surprises, but it’s thorough
I don’t want to dwell too much on the career mode, because for the most part if you played NASCAR 25, it’ll feel very familiar.
The trajectory is predictable; you start at the bottom and make your way up to the NASCAR Cup Series in hopes of winning the big prize. As in NASCAR 25, and a change from some older games, the ARCA series is where you begin, not on dirt.
You’re responsible for performing well on the track, earning reputation, and getting points that will help your team’s workshop keep ticking over. Prize money is important, too, as without it you can’t hire better staff. It’s straightforward enough. Build a better team, become a better driver, hire better people, and get more lucrative sponsorships.
If you prefer a shorter experience, you can jump into The Chase, a mode that mimics the returning format for the final 10 races of the real-world season. Even running short races and doing a complete career mode (and then enough seasons to unlock the achievements if you’re going after that new Mythic unlock) will take a serious investment of time.
NASCAR 26 feels like a ‘lite’ sim racer you can actually play with a controller
Beyond just trust in iRacing to look after the NASCAR brand, the reason I was always most excited for the new games was the tech that would be underneath.
iRacing employs actual race engineers. It laser scans tracks. While NASCAR 26, as with its predecessor, isn’t a simple copy and paste of the PC sim, I genuinely think that it has the best physics of any console racer. Compared to, say, Forza Motorsport, it just feels so good.
Cars behave how you’d expect them to behave. They bounce around and wobble at speed. When you leave pit road on cold tires, the rear will just snap around on you if you try and accelerate too quickly. Changes you make to the setup feel meaningful. If you dial in some changes because you’re too tight, you’ll feel it. You’ll also feel it if you go too far in the wrong direction.
Drafting is essential at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta. As in the real thing, if you lose the draft, you’re going nowhere. And on other ovals, you’re rewarded for finding your own fastest line. Road courses are a riot, too, because a NASCAR racer is big and heavy, and it doesn’t like turning on a dime. I can fly around Watkins Glen in other games, but in NASCAR 26, it suddenly feels challenging.
New for this year, too, is the fact that tracks will change. Through the course of a race, rubber will lay down on the surface, and just as in reality, that affects where you can go and how fast you can go when you’re there. It’s not just a visual change designed to make it look more realistic. Combined with tire degradation and fuel consumption, it provides a realistic experience, but the track changes still feel very subtle.
The AI drivers are also, mostly, some of the best I’ve come across in a track racing game. There are moments when it just descends into chaos, and sometimes the back of the pack behaves irregularly as you come to lap them. But when you’re up front battling, it feels like you’re actually battling.
Beating and banging is fair game; there’s no iRacing-esque safety rating to worry about, but I’m amazed at how easy it is to actually race properly against the AI drivers and how much of a challenge it can be to get round them. In the old days of NASCAR Heat, you could pretty much just weave in and out and go from the back to the front in any race. You can’t do that here.
I’ve had so much fun chasing down the AI drivers, having to experiment with different lines, sometimes even just fully sending it, and hoping I get clear. You’re able to tweak the AI strength quite substantially, too, so as you get better, you can make the challenge harder.
All of this is perfectly achievable using a controller, too. The best experience will always be with a wheel, but NASCAR 26 doesn’t feel overly twitchy or fake when using a controller, and the settings in the game allow you to customize your inputs to get it feeling just right for you.
The spotter also deserves highlighting. It’s pretty good, which is useful because if you’re driving in cockpit view, it is essential. Calls are clear and informative, and most of all, accurate. If he says you’re three wide, you can believe it. If he calls a car inside but you can’t see any hint of it, oh, it’s there.
Other quick hits
- You have full crossplay in NASCAR 26. You can choose to just be console-only, full crossplay, or turn it off and only play on the same platform.
- Multiplayer is a mixed bag, but that’s not necessarily the fault of the game. People race like clowns, and you’re just going to have to deal with that. It would be nice to have online series and leaderboards to play as well.
- While the level of customization for your setup and your input devices is welcome, it can also be overwhelming.
- The career mode may be extensive, but outside of it there’s not a whole lot to do if you’re not a multiplayer fan. You can run endless quick races, but over time it gets repetitive. I’d like to see future incarnations of the NASCAR game think a little outside the box, perhaps with regular special challenges. I’m not suggesting full live service, but something fresh on a regular basis to keep us engaged.
NASCAR 26 is an iteration, but a good one, and a strong racer
I don’t think any of us expected anything drastically different, and NASCAR 26 is a definite iteration. But it does make some meaningful improvements that are small in their own right but add up to a better overall package.
But the core experience is still one of the best track racers out there, whether you’re a NASCAR fan or not. Cars feel alive and fun to drive, and when the AI works, it produces some of the most fun racing you can get.
I’d like to see more non-career mode content, and honestly, I’d like to see future games drop earlier in a season. We’re a handful of races out from the 2026 NASCAR season ending, having spent most of it on last year’s game with last year’s cars.
Open-world racers like Forza Horizon 6 get most of the attention these days, but iRacing continues to prove that when done right, there’s still room for good track action. NASCAR 26 is one of the best out there right now, and it certainly bodes well for next year’s Indycar game.
NASCAR 26 launched on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC via Steam on September 18, 2026.
NASCAR 26 (Xbox Series X|S)
“Battle your way through all four NASCAR National Series in Career, Quick Race, Championship, Multiplayer, or our all-new mode featuring The Chase! And, with all the laser-scanned assets of iRacing, the level of authenticity has never been higher with dynamic track, an all-new peak performance training mode, and enhanced driving physics across every chassis.”