My Career Mode in NR2003
I mentioned in my blog post about NR2003 that I was undergoing through a campaign through the game. NR2003 does not have any built-in career mode like other NASCAR-licenced games do such as NASCAR Thunder or the NASCAR Heat series. On one hand, it does suck. On another hand, the functionality for creating my own career mode with a lot of freedom and creativity is already present. And thus, I took on making my very own campaign in NR2003!
I chose to start my in-game career in 1995, the inaugural year of the third division of the NASCAR ladder: the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, then known as the NASCAR SuperTruck Series. My goal is to spend two years in the Truck Series before moving up to the second tier of NASCAR, the Busch Series. Again, spend two years there and then move up to the big boy league: the NASCAR Winston Cup Series!
Ok cool, but why this page, or whole section?
Good question. You see in my past mock sims (AI-only seasons simulated with the game), I would do some writeups like a race report or some small bits of news here and there. It did take time and it was easy for it to become overwhelming, but I think it really adds to the immersion.
I remember in another game, FIFA, there would be generated headlines or mini reports about the world of soccer (or football). Free agency, teams on the move, new talent, yadda yadda. There is something really fun about making the campaign more than just a conveyer belt of races. Bringing in narratives related to both the on and off track circuit of NASCAR adds depth to the universe and makes it more interesting to me and the small audience I had captivated in a Discord server hosting those reports.
So each season will have numerous posts for a particular stretch of time, say a month in-game. Based on the schedule I have each post would come about… once every two weeks or so? It’s not very quick, but it’s sustainable which I think works out better in the long run.
So then, onto the fun!
Wait… where’s 1995?
Well… my 1995 season was completed in mid-August and I don’t really feel like going back and documenting my adventures over there. The TL;DR of 1995 is I did pretty well in my first year with two wins out of 20 and finishing 5th in the championship. I’ll be peppering in stats and details of it later in the other posts.
Below are the year-by-year pages for each season of my career mode starting in 1996. Happy Reading :)
1996 Season
Coming soon… a stats/achievements table!
| Race Settings | Value |
| Length | 35% of actual race distance |
| Pit Frequency | 2x unless fuel mileage shenanigans appear |
| Difficulty | Base of 97%, with tweaks that increase it in case the track is too easy |
| How I Play | With a PS4 Controller :P |