NASCAR 25 last year ended a long wait for a good stock car racing experience on consoles especially. But that was last year, and now we're onto NASCAR 26, the new and improved release for the 2026 season.
It was recently revealed at the San Diego street race alongside its cover star, reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson. Now, alongside the first Dev Diary for the game, we also have a release date.
NASCAR 26 is launching on September 18, with the added bonus this year of a simultaneous release on both PC and console. NASCAR 25 came to PC players around a month later, so it's great news that everyone's playing at the same time for 2026.
This year's game is more than just a fresh coat of paint, though. First up, the Chase will be part of NASCAR 26, mimicking the change in format in the real-life series'. While it will be part of career mode and seasons, there will also be a standalone 10-race Chase mode where players can choose the 16 drivers they want to be part of it and just race the back part of the season.
AI opponents will also now be able to DNF, which sounds like a small thing but is actually pretty huge. NASCAR games of old have always had a full field finishing every race, but as fans know only too well, that almost never happens in real life. It just adds another layer to the experience.
When points are most important in the championship hunt now, even if you're struggling yourself, finishing ahead of DNF drivers makes it worth carrying on.
The biggest new change coming to the gameplay, though, at least that's been announced so far, is how tracks will change throughout the course of a race. Dynamic Track will aim to mimic how a real-life track alters through the course of a race weekend.
At the start of the weekend it'll be 'green', that is, clean and free of rubber. As cars drive over it, rubber gets laid down, and the track will change. As the track conditions change, so too does the way it has to be driven. Different lanes will become an option. You might start out hugging the bottom, but by the end of the race, you could be up ripping the fence.
Oh, and as is seemingly the norm now, there will be a premium edition with early access to the game. The Gold Edition will be available from September 15. Pre-orders are set to start on July 29, and on the same day we'll get our first gameplay trailer.
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