Early access began today for NASCAR 26 (Gold Edition, $79.99) from NASCAR and iRacing Studios. NASCAR 26 is the newest addition to the best-selling racing game franchise and is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Notably, the Standard Edition ($59.99) will release on September 18.
The Gold Edition unlocks the full game along with the Season Pass, featuring four monthly DLC packs through the end of the year, including new paint schemes, fire suits, and career mode perks.
Like the previous version, NASCAR 25 lets you create your own driver and race as your favorite driver across all NASCAR premier series: NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series.
New and improved for NASCAR 26:
- Favorite Drivers & Tracks: Race across all four of NASCAR’s premier series (the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series) with your favorite drivers and tracks from each series, with an enhanced paint kit and all-new fully customizable driver ratings for 2026.
- Improved Career Mode: Career Mode returns deeper than ever, featuring new weekly strategic planning decisions with Facility Upgrades that shape your journey from day one, along with performance coaching and tips from NASCAR greats Steve Letarte and Jamie McMurray.
- New Game Modes & Features: Experience the thrill of The Chase, a new customizable standalone mode where you fight for a championship over the last 10 races of the season against the field of your choice, along with a new Peak Performance training mode to perfect your abilities on every track plus cross-platform multiplayer.
- New Upgrades & Enhancements: Enjoy visual upgrades across the entire game, including improved graphics, skies, and dynamic lighting and cloud interactions, plus better replay cameras and an all-new particle system for enhanced smoke, debris, and additional effects. On the track, you’ll experience an all-new tire and braking model for a more authentic racing experience, along with dynamic track technology that changes the grip over the course of a race weekend.
- Cool additions: If you win, burn them off with the new burnout celebrations complete with a trophy room. All-new Ram truck, a new spotter (Freddie Kraft)
- New Tracks: NASCAR 26 adds three tracks: Qualcomm Circuit at Naval Base Coronado, Chicagoland Speedway, and St. Petersburg.
I enjoyed NASCAR 25, so I’m excited that NASCAR 26 is available and continues to deliver the sport’s most authentic representation. In 26, there is an improved Career Mode, take on opponents in competitive cross-platform online multiplayer, and fight for the championship in “The Chase”, a new standalone mode where you race the final chase races only to win the series championship.
Also new are dynamic track conditions that evolve each race weekend, a new “Peak Performance” training mode, and dramatically improved graphics and lighting built on iRacing’s simulation technology. In case you didn’t know, iRacing Studios took over the official NASCAR video game license in 2023, after Motorsport Games and its subsidiary 704Games sold the rights.
“The response to NASCAR 25 reflected the momentum we’re seeing across NASCAR and gave us a strong foundation to build from,” said Nick Rend, Vice President of Interactive & Emerging Platforms at NASCAR. “Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with iRacing Studios and listened to our community to identify where we could make the experience better. NASCAR 26 is the result of that work, and you can see it across the game, from how the cars drive and tracks evolve to cross-platform play that brings players together.”
The game features an all-new tire and braking model that makes every chassis feel more distinct, along with improved driver AI and a 750-horsepower package for even more racing realism.
Right off the bat, the first few things that I noticed were the upgraded dynamic lighting and improved cloud interactions; the skies looked more realistic, along with better replay cameras. But once you get into racing and battle it out, you will quickly notice the new particle system enhancing smoke, debris, rubber buildup on the track, and the cool scraping along the walls, which happens a lot when I play.
What I was glad to experience, and completely surprised by, is that when you finally win a race, you can now do a burnout celebration. That just adds more to your hard-fought race and win.
NASCAR 26 also features a new Ram truck and a noticeable spotter upgrade from real-world spotter Freddie Kraft.
The Games Modes
The Chase
The new chase mode is a pretty cool addition. It’s a customizable, standalone championship format covering all four of NASCAR’s Series, where players fight for the championship title in the final 10 races against a field of drivers they choose themselves rather than a fixed roster. This mode adds a lot of fun since you can compete against the best of the best and see who wins. Or, in my case, maybe select the worst of the worst so that you have a chance of winning. I have almost finished one trial of this mode. I find it probably the best addition to the game so far.
Career Mode
The Career Mode is back for 26, and it includes new weekly strategic planning and a Facility Upgrades system that shapes a player’s progression from day one, plus coaching and tips from NASCAR veterans Steve Letarte and Jamie McMurray. It works much like NASCAR 25, with some solid improvements.
Peak Performance
The new Peak Performance training mode gives all players, new or old, a dedicated mode to sharpen skills on specific tracks outside of race conditions, and driver ratings are now fully customizable, building on the real NASCAR Insights data introduced in NASCAR 25. From short intermediates (6) to intermediates (7), and then superspeedways (3) and road courses (4), there are six episodes to watch and take advantage of.
Cross-platform multiplayer
Now you won’t have to make hard decisions about which version to buy if you want to play with family or friends. Cross-platform multiplayer is new for NASCAR 26 and lets players race friends regardless of platform, a first for iRacing’s console NASCAR entries.
Dynamic Track Conditions
NASCAR 26 adds Dynamic Track technology, which changes grip levels and racing conditions over an entire race weekend rather than keeping the racing surface the same. It’s pretty cool to race under different conditions over the weekend.
Final Thoughts
Although NASCAR 26 has some noticeable improvements, it’s not a huge change from NASCAR 25. However, I don’t have a professional setup, only the option of a keyboard or gamepad, so I use the gamepad. So I may be missing some of the other improvements. The visuals and effects are noticeable and completely make the game more enjoyable and realistic. The Chase mode is something new and unique, and a great addition to the game, and the peak performance allows you to practice and get a lot better at certain tracks or configurations. Since I don’t have a professional setup, I didn’t try the online part of the game. But I am sure a lot of players are glad I didn’t.
So is NASCAR 26 worth giving it a try? Yes, it is. Is it worth upgrading from NASCAR 25? I believe so. It’s not a huge difference, but the additions are great and only improve your racing experience. So give it a look on Steam or iracing.com.
