Operation Sports:
NASCAR 2005: Your Career Starts Here
By Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com
Have you ever wanted to put yourself into the shoes of an auto racing star? Not just on the track, but off it—working your way through the ranks, racing in different series, gaining a rabid following, and eventually running your own racing team? Of course you have; that's why you're reading this, and that's why you've got Electronic Arts' newest and most exciting professional racing game to date, NASCAR® 2005: Chase for the Cup™.
In NASCAR 2005's Fight to the Top mode, you step into the role of a "green" driver, and you've impressed NASCAR pro Ryan Newman enough for him to hire you to drive his Featherlite Modified car this season. Your agent, the aptly named "Ace" Moneymaker, keeps you abreast of everything that happens in your career as you begin your quest to eventually become king of the NASCAR ranks, and claim the Nextel Cup championship trophy as your very own.
The glint of victory.
In Fight to the Top main menu, your driver is on the right, with a speedometer-like gauge displaying your driver's status as a Hero, a Villain, or something in between. This changes during the course of your career depending on your style of driving. For more on the Hero/Villain system, see last week's article.
To the right, five menus provide you with all the information you need to manage your career.
Select Event displays your planning calendar one week at a time. Races that you can enter are available, along with race information, the purse available, and the qualifying dates. Since your driver can race in more than one racing series at a time, some dates have two events happening on the same day. You need to pay close attention to what events you choose to pass on, as missing some events can have a detrimental effect on your career. Planning your schedule with care is critical.
Keep at the head of the pack.
The Race Shop menu displays your contracts and cars for each of the four series in NASCAR 2005—Featherlite, Craftsman Truck, NNS, and the Nextel Cup. From here, you can view your current contract, including its length, your compensation per race, and your cut of the winnings and merchandise sales. When you've earned enough money, you can even choose to buy a race team from any of the series here, and experience NASCAR life from the other side, the one that has to worry about team finances, hiring drivers, finding corporate sponsors, and keeping your car in tiptop shape. You can even become a driver/owner, and have the most control over your racing team possible—much more than the vast majority of your competitors.
The Phone Messages menu is rather self-explanatory. This menu gives you access to all the calls received on your cell phone. Ace Moneymaker calls you often—he is your agent, after all—and it's easy to refer back to this menu and see when you can enter a charity event or who's challenged you to race. Which rival driver wants to knock your block off today?
Your cell phone also introduces you to your career.
The Game Status menu consists of only one screen, but it might be the most important screen in the game. Your progress through the game is listed, as well as details about your prestige as a racer, your cash available, and how many people currently comprise your growing fan base. This screen also tracks how many "unlockables" you've accrued in your racing career.
The Season Info menu has the most content. From here, your Calendar shows you each month in detail, but it's only a view—to actually enter events, use the Select Event menu. Contract History shows you, year-by-year, all of the contracts you've held, and how you've performed. This includes your finishes, how much you've earned, and how your merchandise sold. Track Performance shows you pertinent stats in each series, including laps led, top speed, and your average finish in each series' races, along with the more germane numbers, including wins and top 10 finishes. Standings are what you'd expect—where you stand in each series, including how far you are behind the current leader. This information can help you plan which events to enter, so you can stay as close to the top as you can in as many series as possible. Pole Awards show who's been the best qualifier in each series. Hopefully, you're on this list, because it's easier to win when you start in the lead, right?
Fight to the Top mode is NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup's bread and butter, and it's where you'll spend the most time. While the races themselves are won and lost on the track, oftentimes, the championships are won behind the scenes, where strategy is king. Plan accordingly, and you may become racing's next superstar … well, on your Xbox®, at least!
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