0. TITLE NASCAR 99 walkthrough v1.0 Hamish Gallagher Started 23/July/2004 Finished 07/August/2004 1. CONTENTS 2. Legal 3. Introduction 4. Controls 5. General driving tips 6. Car setup explained 7. Championship guide 8. Final 2. LEGAL Copyright 2004 Hamish Gallagher This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. 3. INTRODUCTION NASCAR... this must be one of the most American of all sports. Big cars, big engines that create big noises, big banking, big crowds never out of sight of the cars or a hotdog and a big prize for the winner. Anyway, this I hope will be a comprehensive guide mainly for set up tips and basically how to control these 700hp, 200mph beasts in order to end up in victory lane! 4. CONTROLS Default controls are as follows: Left and right to steer X to burn rubber [] to slam on the anchors O to change view Triangle is for reverse START pauses the action L1 toggles through the various display options L2 shows how much damage the cars taken R1 for going down a gear R2 for changing up a gear (These can be changed in the control menu) 5. GENERAL DRIVING TIPS There's a lot more to being a great NASCAR driver than running round in circles. One of the key aspects of oval racing is drafting. When exiting a turn, duck in behind a driver into his draft (slipstream). Time it right and your close up behind him just before the next turn where you can simply drop to the inside and pass him. But if you reach him too early you'll have to back off, losing precious momentum. A bonus of drafting is as it takes less power to slice through the reduced air resistance, so the car saves fuel. Very important if your racing to a conservative stratigy and trying to make as few pit stops as possible. Drafting, sure it's all well and good I hear you say, but what if you're in the middle of nowhere, and you can't catch up? This is were driving skill comes in. As you approach the corner, you should be on the outside wall. Then when you reach the corner hop off the 'gas' and cruise to the bottom of the track. Now when you think your going to be able to make it, step on the gas and drift slowly back to the outside wall. At tighter tracks like Martinsville etc heavy braking is required instead of lifting off, unless you like concrete. Yes the commentator keeps droning on about it but consistency is crucial. If you want to do fast laps, your gotta be consistent. When braking into a corner, never slam on the brakes and turn hard. NASCARs are big, they're heavy. You can't be aggressive with them. You're got to be gentle. Ease of the power and smoothly turn in. So NEVER be hard on the brakes and turning at the same time. The car will just oversteer and spin leaving you facing in the wrong direction with the field flashing past, not exactly healthy for you championship points. The main thing in terms of pit stops is when to make them. If the yellow comes out due to a crash and your getting low on fuel, pit! Cause the field will be cruising round behind the pace car instead of at maximum attack so you'll be able to save a hell of a lot of time. It's bad in terms of track position as your drop to near the back of the pack, but they'll have to pit soon as well, meaning the world will open up to you. As long as you keep it clean in the traffic it'll be like a free pit stop. Another interesting feature with pit stops is the splash and dash. If it's near the end of the race and your running out enter the pits and don't select anything except fuel. As the guys filling it up, push X to stop him when you think you've got enough. This'll save you time in pit lane and on the track as the car won't be so heavy. And remember, rubbings racing. Don't be afraid to go wheel to wheel. It's one of the trademarks of NASCAR, just try to avoid the walls and when drafting- as too much damage to the nose of your car will disturb the aerodynamics, blunting acceration and top end speed. 6. CAR SETUP EXPAINED If you're not familiar with motorsport games, you'll probably be staring at the car setup menu thinking, "Wheel lock? Tyre pressure?! Weight jacking?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" So here is it all explained and what they do in clear English. Wheel lock: This is for setting the degree the front tyres can turn. The larger the angle, the more oversteer (pull). The lesser the angle, the more understeer (push). Rear spoiler: Provides grip to the car. The bigger the angle, the more grip you get but less top speed. Shocks: If the car just keeps wanting to head for the wall, soften the fronts and/or stiffen the rears to let the car bite into the turns. If the rear of the car keeps wanting to swap ends with the front, stiffen the fronts and/or soften the rears to have a smoother ride. Tyre Pressure: Lessen the pressure to provide more grip. This though causes more tyre wear. I haven't mentioned tyre pressure in my championship guide as it depends on what percentage length race your running. If it's 5 - 10% let as much air out as you can! If its longer, tyre wear comes much more into play so if you let them down, you risk having to take on 4 tyres at each stop. Putting the stop time through the roof. Wedge: Helps you fix up understeer/oversteer. Increase it too tighten the car up, decrease it if you like a bit of sideways action. Left bias: This adds weight to the left side of the car so on ovals the car will be more balanced. Rear bias: This adds weight to the rear of the car so under heavy acceleration the car will be more balanced. Gears: This adjusts the gear ratios. Setting the gears low will improve acceleration at the expense of outright speed, good for short ovals and road courses. High gear ratios make for a good top end speed but make acceleration painfully slow, good for super speedways. 7. CHAMPIONSHIP GUIDE Setup in this game is vital. Speed is nothing without control. The last thing you want is a badly handling car when your doing 600miles at Charlotte, it can be the difference between winning and the wall. So heres my advice for each track and set up changes. But this is just a guide. If you have a different driving style or can get a better time with some changes to it, go ahead! (The game setting I used was Simulation) North Carolina A fairly standard D-shaped oval to get the season under way. A dab on the brakes into 1 is required if you want a nice tight line, but only lift off is needed into 3. Watch out for 2 as it's the sharpest turn on the track. There are two pit lanes here, the one you want is the one on the backstretch, don't enter the other one by mistake as you'll just cruise through costing valuable time! Wheel lock: 13 Rear spoiler: 49 Shocks: FL 40 FR 40 Weight jacking: Left bias +27 Transmission: Gear 3: 8 Gear 4: 8 With this set up I managed a best of 30.6 in free practice. Las Vegas A fantastic D-shaped oval with shallow, wide banking that's easier to get round but harder to pass on the high side. The setup already was pretty good, I only needed one minor adjustment. Wheel lock: 14 With this set up I managed a best of 37.4 in free practice. Atlanta A super speedway with two doglegs. Setup then requires for maximum speed. Wheel lock: 13 Rear spoiler: 40 Shocks: FL 40 FR 40 With this set up I managed a best of 35.8 in free practice. Bristol (day) Short straights and tight turns with the steepest banking on the NASCAR circus means that a well handling car is crucial, not speed. Braking is needed into 1 and 3, run the high side as if you try to go to low you'll get oversteer but don't go to high or you rub the wall. Since the tracks so short you'll most likely never have some clear air. The pit lane you want is on the back straightaway. Wheel lock: 15 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 Rear spoiler: 52 Rear bias: -27 Transmission: Gear 1: 1 Gear 2: 1 Gear 3: 1 Gear 4: 1 With this set up I managed a best of 20.1 in free practice. Texas Similar to Atlanta, a super speedway with twin doglegs. For some strange reason there's a dashed line running most of the way round the track, but use this too your advantage. Placing the car below the dashed line but above the solid line is the way to go. Rear spoiler: 35 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 RL 60 RR 60 Left bias: +27 With this set up I managed a best of 34.4 in free practice. Talladega The longest oval in the game. Speed is king, so I've made a few sacrifices in terms of the balance of the car, eg rear spoiler so understeer is quite bad thus a dab on the bakes is needed into 1 and 3 or you'll rub the wall losing momentum. Get ready for some high-speed major drafting action. I was making 334kph excluding draft! Wheel lock: 15 Rear spoiler: 30 Shocks: FL 40 FR 40 Rear bias: -27 Wedge: 45 With this set up I managed a best of 51.4 in free practice. California A wide, shallow D-shaped oval greets us at California. You shouldn't need to brake at all here, just lift off into 1 and 3. Wheel lock: 17 Rear spoiler: 45 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 Wedge: 45 With this set up I managed a best of 45.5 in free practice. Charlotte The interesting thing about this race is that it's a day/nighter. It beings during the day but as the race progresses the skies turn black and the lights come on. The key to getting a good lap time here is in turn 1. Don't lift off. Just have a high entry and turn hard. When you get to about turn 2, lift off, as the car will drift upwards. Time it right and you'll do a great lap. Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 Wedge: 45 With this set up I managed a best of 37.4 in free practice. Pocono The halfway point of the season. Hope your championships going well. This is were the tracks start to get interesting as it's the only tri-oval in the game and damn is it long. Turn 1 requires heavy braking as it's sharp and has minimum banking. Turn 2 and 3 you'll need to lift off. Wheel lock: 15 Rear spoiler 49 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 Wedge: 48 With this set up I managed a best of 1:1.3 in free practice. Sears Point Another unique track as we move onto the first road course. Here you'll have to be able to turn left AND right (shock horror). But it can be quite challenging after racing all season at ovals, just to finish is hard as it's easy to damage the car when trying to pass on this narrow strip of bitumen. After saying all that though this is my favourite race in the game with its rises, dips, s curves, tight hairpins bends, cars pounding the curbs... it just feels right. Wheel lock: 19 Rear spoiler: 60 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 Wedge: 52 Gears: Gear 1: 1 Gear 2: 1 Gear 3: 2 Gear 4 : 2 With this set up I managed a best of 1:12.2 in free practice. Indianapolis Home of the famous Indy 500, but unlike Scott Dixon and co we're here for the Brickyard 400. Since there's basically no banking brake into 1 and get down to the bottom. Feel free to use the ripple strip but just don't touch the grass. Also don't try passing in the turns or the short-shoots, just use the long straights as your get a major helping hand from the draft. Rear spoiler: 45 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 Wedge: 46 Rear bias: -27 With this set up I managed a best of 58.2 in free practice. Watkins Glen The second of the road courses. A major feature of this track is the chicane at the end of the back straight. While there's nothing physical except some cones from letting you cut through, don't as the car will be speed-limited so it's much faster going the proper route. Wheel lock: 19 Rear spoiler: 55 Shocks: FL 20 FR 20 Transmission: Gear 3: 8 Gear 4: 8 Wedge: 51 With this set up I managed a best of 1:21.6 in free practice. Michigan A 2-mile D-shaped oval with shallow banking is the Michigan Speedway. Since it's a D-shaped, 1 and 4 are easy and can be taken flat, but 2 and 3 need some braking. Don't worry if you muff qualifying as with a long backstretch and wide turns passing is straightforward. Rear spoiler: 47 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 Wedge: 47 With this set up I managed a best of 47.3 in free practice. Bristol (night) See Bristol (day) above. Darlington The only lop-sided oval of the season is here at Darlington. While at first it seams quite wide, it ain't! As anywhere below the dashed line in the turns dramatically slows the car down. Thus the best racing line is to be right on top of dashed line. The beauty of it though as it's a great way to pass guys. Draft them on the straight, then slingshot your way past below into the turn. Once past, move back up the banking. Wheel lock: 13 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 RL 60 RR 60 Wedge: 47 Transmission: Gear 3: 7 Gear 4 : 8 With this set up I managed a best of 34.2 in free practice. Richmond Another night race at another short-track. I've set the car up pretty loose so don't worry about a bit of oversteer entering turns 1 and 3. Wheel lock: 14 Rear spoiler:60 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 RL 60 RR 60 Wedge: 49 Transmission: Gear 1 : 1 Gear 2 : 1 Gear 3: 1 Gear 4: 1 With this set up I managed a best of 23.1 in free practice. Martinsville A strange layout with long straights but very tight turns with little banking. Fairly easy to negotiate Just remember to brake on the straight before the turns. Traffic here is a major concern due to it being the shortest track in the game. Thus your be all over the backmarkers like a cheap suit. Wheel lock: 16 Rear spoiler: 53 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 RL 60 RR 60 Transmission: Gear 1: 1 Gear 2: 1 Gear 3: 1 Gear 4: 1 With this set up I managed a best of 23.2 in free practice. Phoenix The final race of the season is another unique track. At what looks like a tri-oval at first is actually a dogleg down the backstretch due to what looks maybe the exit of a larger version of the track. Anyway. A quick dab on the brakes into 1 but just coast into 3. Wheel lock: 14 Shocks: FL 30 FR 30 RL 60 RR 60 Left bias: -27 With this set up I managed a best of 29.6 in free practice. I hope by using this guide that you are now the new NASCAR champion! 8. FINAL If you want to complement me on this walkthrough, have some constructive criticism or have something to add to it, I will happily accept an email: galls@xtra.co.nz