For the first time in the series’ existence, the ARCA Menards Series is featured in a console video game. The series was included in the recently released NASCAR 25, acting as the starting step for players in the career mode ladder, much like it does in real life.
The game features 59 different ARCA drivers, spanning from the ARCA Menards Series East to West, and of course, the competitors in the national division.
Despite being in its early stages of release, the game has been a largely celebrated success, with many fans enjoying the depth of the game and the much-improved AI opponent skill. However, with ARCA being the fourth series in the game, how does it stack up to the three national divisions above it?
First, the greatest pro of ARCA being in the game is just that; ARCA is in the game. As previously mentioned, ARCA has never been included in a console NASCAR title before, but has seen its time on NASCAR Racing 2003 season on PC as a heavily modded series, as well as on iRacing as of late. But, to be included in a well-anticipated NASCAR game on Next Gen consoles is a big deal for the series, the drivers included in the game, and fans alike.
Speaking of drivers, of all the racing divisions in NASCAR 25, none has as many in the game as ARCA. Of course, that comes with the territory of the series, with numerous part-time drivers included, as well as ARCA West competitors. However, that’s a very good thing. ARCA has a lot of different drivers, and representing that well in the game is very important.
Developers did a good job with who they included, having drivers with just a handful of series starts like Alex Quarterley and Kyle Steckley, and lesser-known West competitors like David Smith and Jonathan Reaume. Of course, the game also includes regulars such as Brenden Queen, Lavar Scott and Isabella Robusto.
The drivers also come with a Madden NFL-style rating system, attempting to accurately portray each driver’s AI skills based on real life. The system takes individual superspeedway, road courses, concrete, short ovals, and intermediate ratings and combines them into one overall rating for each driver.
For the most part, this rating is incredibly accurate and makes the AI racing outcomes realistic to real life. For instance, Queen and William Sawalich are 99 and 97 overall, respectively, and win their fair share of races in the game. That becomes fairly realistic, because the pair have won 18 of the last 40 ARCA races.
Falling down the ladder, though, some of the ratings are a bit harder to explain. East champion Isaac Kitzmiller is only a 72 overall, with Rev Racing part-timers Lanie Buice and Eloy Sebastian both sitting in the 60s.
This can be explained, however. Most of these drivers have yet to compete on larger-style tracks, making it nearly impossible to rate them accurately for each style of track. The current rating system the game has is perfect for the touring divisions of NASCAR, but with younger competitors in ARCA and fewer full-time drivers, it becomes a little flawed. With that being said, game developers did a good job working around this in the grand scheme of things, as the ratings work out fairly well in terms of the overall competitiveness of each driver.
Looking beyond drivers, the cars themselves on track look fantastic, both in a graphical sense and in a realistically portrayed sense. Seeing schemes that ARCA fans see on track, from Scott and Queen’s cars running up front, to underdog drivers like Brad Smith and Alex Clubb, the accurate depictions of each racecar are both refreshing and incredible to see. Small, local sponsors being in such a widely played and anticipated game is fantastic for those sponsors. Furthermore, having more DLC schemes would be a fantastic addition to the game, as only a handful of drivers have more than one paint scheme in the game’s initial release.
The final gripe of sorts with the game comes with the ARCA schedule itself. iRacing developed the game and inserted its laser-scanned tracks into the game. For what it’s worth, the tracks in the game look and race very well, with multiple lanes able to be utilized, and the scenery both on and around each track matches the real locations very impressively.
However, with iRacing not scanning the standalone ARCA tracks like Elko Speedway or Toledo Speedway, they aren’t included in the game. While that makes sense to keep consistent with iRacing’s track database, it would be fantastic to be able to run the entire ARCA schedule and keep up with some of the grassroots tracks that make the series as special as it is. To make up for those tracks, though, career mode takes ARCA to a few NASCAR tracks, like North Wilkesboro Speedway, Richmond Raceway, and Martinsville Speedway. While not entirely realistic, it’s very cool to see ARCA drivers on those historic NASCAR tracks.
Furthermore, it would be fun to be able to take ARCA cars to other NASCAR tracks, like the Chicago street course or Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but each series has its own set of tracks that can’t be run by other series. But changing that in the future would be a fun change to the game.
As a whole, numerous different teams have shared pictures and videos of their drivers and crew members enjoying the game on social media. It’s been a big hit among the racing industry in its early days of release, but specifically among the ARCA teams.
For a game that’s in its first year of release and was widely considered a ‘base game,’ building for years to come, the game is fantastic, especially on an ARCA-only level. Seeing so many different drivers and teams included in the game in a realistic sense can only help build the repertoire of the series as a whole, and hopefully, as the game progresses in its further development over the years, the ARCA portion improves.
Josh joined Frontstretch in 2023 and currently covers the ARCA Menards Series. Born and raised in Missouri, Josh has been watching motorsports since 2005. He currently is studying for a Mass Communication degree at Lindenwood University