NASCAR 2000

NASCAR 2000 is a racing simulator video game developed and published by EA Sports and co-developed by Stormfront Studios. The game was released on September 15, 1999 for the Nintendo 64, November 30, 1999 for the PlayStation, February 29, 2000 for the PC, and August 30, 2000 for the Game Boy Color. The game is based on the 1999 Winston Cup Season. The game, along with NASCAR 98, is regarded as one of the best of EA Sports' NASCAR series of video games. This game was the third of the series. Its features include:

• 33 NASCAR Winston Cup drivers
• 19 Winston Cup tracks
• Quick race (randomly selects driver and track)
• Single race
• Championship season
• Commentary by Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons
• Crew chief and spotter assistance
• Custom car setups
• Interactive pit stop menu
• Driver creation
• Race Against The King feature, which allows the player to race against Richard Petty, the "King of NASCAR", in a three-lap showdown (PlayStation only)
• 20 car field

Drivers

1. 1-Steve Park-Pennzoil Chevrolet
2. 2-Rusty Wallace-Penske Racing Ford
3. 3-Dale Earnhardt-GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet
4. 4-Bobby Hamilton-Kodak Chevrolet
5. 5-Terry Labonte-Kellogg's Chevrolet
6. 6-Mark Martin-Valvoline Ford
7. 7-Michael Waltrip-Phillips Chevrolet
8. 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Dale Jr. Chevrolet
9. 10-Ricky Rudd-Tide Ford
10. 12-Jeremy Mayfield-Mobil 1 Ford
11. 16-Kevin Lepage-TV Guide Ford
12. 18-Bobby Labonte-Interstate Batteries Pontiac
13. 20-Tony Stewart-Home Depot Pontiac (R)
14. 22-Ward Burton-Caterpillar Pontiac
15. 24-Jeff Gordon-DuPont Chevrolet
16. 25-Wally Dallenbach-Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
17. 26-Johnny Benson-Cheerios Ford
18. 28-Kenny Irwin Jr.-Texaco/Havoline Ford
19. 31-Mike Skinner-Lowe's Chevrolet
20. 33-Ken Schrader-APR Chevrolet
21. 36-Ernie Irvan-M&M's Pontiac
22. 40-Sterling Marlin-Sterling Marlin/Team SABCO Pontiac
23. 42-Joe Nemechek-Bellsouth Pontiac
24. 43-John Andretti-STP Pontiac
25. 44-Kyle Petty-Hot Wheels Pontiac
26. 45-Adam Petty-Spree Pontiac
27. 55-Kenny Wallace-Square D Chevrolet
28. 60-Geoffrey Bodine-Power Team Ford
29. 66-Darrell Waltrip-Big Kmart Ford
30. 88-Dale Jarrett-Quality Care Ford
31. 94-Bill Elliott-McDonald's Ford
32. 97-Chad Little-John Deere Ford
33. 99-Jeff Burton-Exide Batteries Ford

Critical Reviews

NASCAR 2000 had many more features than its predecessor, NASCAR 99, which helped to bring in positive reviews from critics. Not only were the many different options and gameplay features well received, but the newer and more refined graphics were also positively cited by critics. However, the soundtrack was disliked by many fans and critics alike, and many gamers felt that the game was "too easy," and lacked difficulty. The game was also said to be boring.

Trivia

• The name Winston Cup is not used in the game because of the cigarette sponsor, instead it is the NASCAR Cup Series.
• If the player presses the L-button the computer will take over.
• NASCAR Legends Benny Parsons (announcer car), David Pearson, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Davey Allison, Bobby Allison and Alan Kulwicki can be unlocked by cheating or running a race of 40% in length.
• Each car appears to have the same body style in appearance, no matter what make it is.
• If the player's car is hit by another it will be sent flying.
• Voice recognition is incorrect on the pit road, when the leader comes into pit road, Bob Jenkins will announce "the leader's coming down pit road" and then Benny Parsons will announce "here they all come!" but he will always say it when even though one car is on pit road.
• Legend drivers seem to always start last in the field and perform horribly in the race.
• Davey Allison is not sponsored by Texaco-Havoline in the game, he just has the name Allison on the front and sides.
• Davey Allison's name is spelled wrong in his bio, it says "Alison"
• Every time a race ends, the drivers will pull onto pit lane, if another driver pulls onto pit lane while this is going on a glitch will show the parked car being pushed out of pit road.
• Damage is not realistic, and the car seems to look like a box. The driver's hands match the paint scheme on the car.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is listed as a full time driver in the game, he only made a handful of starts in 1999.
• The cars colored dots on the track map matches the color of their hood, for instance, Terry Labonte's car is yellow but his hood is white and is shown white on the map.
• The commentary will sometimes repeat itself and sometimes will say things that are pointless,

like "Something's gotta give here" and "Hey!" which Benny Parsons constantly repeats.

• When Bob Jenkins says "We're in the closing laps of today's race" it means the race is in the halfway mark. He sometimes will repeat it.
• Dale Earnhardt always seems to start in the back of the field at North Carolina Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway (he won there in 1999).
• Caution flags do not appear when damage is limited or turned off.
• When the race is under a yellow flag, no pace car is in the N64 Version.
• New Hampshire International Speedway was absent in this game.
• The Winston All-Star race is absent in the game.
• Richard Petty seems to not appear in a race with a field of cars unless he is picked by the player.
• Alan Kulwicki is not sponsored by Hooters in the game.
• Bobby Allison drives the number 22 Ford in the game, but Allison drove a Buick Regal in his time in the series with this car.
• Davey Allison's car is a replica of his paint scheme in his first year in Winston Cup, possibly to tell the difference between his and Kenny Irwin's Texaco Ford.
• Ned Jarrett is not a commentator in the game, only Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons from the ESPN broadcasting team do race commentary.
• When the player pulls onto pit road the crew chief will say "Watch your speed!!" but the car is immediately controlled by the computer when it hits pit road and the player has no control over the car's speed.
• A victory celebration is unlocked by winning a championship in Season Mode.
• The drivers do not look like their real life counterparts in the victory celebration.
• Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, and Rusty Wallace, and Dale Jarrett always seem to be at the front of the field and will most likely win.
• A running gag is the use of the driver's nicknames, Jeff Gordon is nicknamed "The Kid", Terry Labonte is "The Iceman", and Dale Earnhardt gets the nicknames "The Intimidator" and "The Man In Black", Mark Martin is constantly called "Mr. Consistency".
• Mark Martin frequently wins the pole position in races, or sits on the front row.
• The track Homestead-Miami Speedway made its debut in NASCAR 2000.
• * David Pearson drives the number 17 car which is a replica of his 1969 Ford Torino Cobra.
• Benny Parsons drives a Chevrolet that is a replica of the car he won the 1973 championship with.
• Jeff Burton always starts on the pole at Richmond.
• Mike Skinner only seems to run well at Martinsville.
• When you start your first race, Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Wally Dallenbach will always be the part-time drivers in the race.
• There are only 16 full-time drivers in this game: Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton, John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Ernie Irvan, Jeremy Mayfield, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty, and Mike Skinner.
• Tony Stewart is the only Rookie in the game. Elliott Sadler, another rookie, is absent in the game for unknown reasons.
• The Daytona 500 is absent in this game. So the season starts at Rockingham.
• Adam Petty's drives his Busch Series car in the game.
• Sometimes at Martinsville, some drivers (mostly Ernie Irvan, Mike Skinner, and Rusty Wallace) will blow their engine and still drive around the track.
• The Car will automatically repair when you crash, even after you sustain heavy damage.
• At first, the Blue Sky can only be played in Quick Race mode.

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