NASCAR Racing 2 Grand National Series Expansion

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

NASCAR Racing 2 Grand National Series Expansion was an add-on pack for Sierra’s NASCAR Racing 2, developed by Papyrus Design Group¹. The expansion pack added the Busch Grand National Series (now known as the Xfinity Series) cars and drivers to the base NASCAR Racing 2 game². This expansion required the base NASCAR Racing 2 game to play and represented Papyrus’s continued commitment to expanding their realistic racing simulation beyond just the Winston Cup series¹.

The expansion was part of NASCAR Racing 2’s evolution, which used a new game engine that improved graphics, physics, sound, and multiplayer capabilities over its predecessor³. Racing advisor voices were provided by Elton Sawyer and Patty Moise, adding authentic NASCAR commentary to the experience¹. The game maintained the series’ reputation for uncompromising realism, with one reviewer noting that “NASCAR 2 is not a toy” but rather a comprehensive racing simulation⁴.

Game Info

Developer: Papyrus Design Group¹ Designer: Dave Kaemmer, David Kaemmer⁵ Publisher: Sierra On-Line⁶ Platforms: PC, Windows 95, Windows 98, MS-DOS⁷ Release Year: 1997 Series: NASCAR Racing Sierra Lineage: Core Sierra

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The expansion maintained NASCAR Racing 2’s realistic control scheme, supporting keyboard, mouse, and racing wheel input devices⁸. The game featured advanced joystick and wheel support, with Joystick 1 configured for steering and Joystick 2 for pedals, though calibration was required for optimal performance⁸. Sierra’s InterAction magazine acknowledged that “the only satisfying way to play is with the $130 steering wheel module,” highlighting the game’s emphasis on authentic simulation⁹.

Structure and Progression

The expansion added the complete Busch Grand National Series roster to NASCAR Racing 2’s existing structure². Players could race in both single races and full championship seasons, with the game supporting 1-8 players offline and up to 8 players over IPX networks³. The multiplayer functionality was particularly praised, with one player noting “The best part was the multiplayability. Whenever my friends and I would get together to play multi-player games, this one always worked right the first time, everytime”¹⁰.

Mechanics and Features

The expansion retained NASCAR Racing 2’s comprehensive car setup system, where “every track must be considered individually when tweaking the design of your car, where you need to know where and when to pit, all while staying aware of your competition’s position on the road”⁴. The game featured realistic car damage, customizable car paintshop options, advanced car tuning capabilities, and spotter voice feedback³. The spotter system included authentic reactions like “What did you do that for! What a bonehead move!” voiced by Ronald Gaines¹¹.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Publication	Score	Notes
MobyGames	86%	Critical consensus12
GameSpot	9.2/10	Praised as “completely professional”12
Computer Gaming World	100%	“continues down that near legendary road of glory”12
Next Generation	3/5	Mixed reception12
GameFabrique	8/10	”It’s fab. It really is.”9

Modern Assessment

Modern retrospectives have maintained positive assessments of the NASCAR Racing 2 series. The base game achieved an 81% rating on MobyGames based on critical reviews¹⁰, and received a Metacritic score of 89¹³. User ratings have remained strong, with MyAbandonware users rating it 4.56/5¹⁴. Reviewers have noted that “If realistic saloon car-type racing is your bag, there is nothing else that comes close”⁹.

Development

Origins

The expansion was developed following the success of NASCAR Racing 2, which was released in 1996 as a follow-up to the award-winning original NASCAR Racing from 1994⁶. Sierra Sports, formed in February 1998 as part of Sierra On-Line’s company restructuring, published NASCAR titles under their specialized sports gaming label¹⁵.

Production

The expansion was developed by Papyrus Design Group, with Dave Kaemmer serving as the primary designer⁵. The development team included key figures who had worked on the original NASCAR Racing series, maintaining continuity in the simulation’s authentic approach to stock car racing⁵. The expansion utilized the same advanced simulation engine as NASCAR Racing 2, which featured improved graphics, physics, sound, and multiplayer capabilities³.

Technical Achievements

The expansion supported 3Dfx hardware acceleration and Direct 3D software rendering³. It maintained the technical specifications of the base game, requiring a minimum of a 486-33 processor with 6 MB of RAM and SVGA 256 color graphics³. The game supported various graphics acceleration options including 3Dfx and Rendition hardware, with specific configuration options available through command prompt settings¹⁶.

Legacy

NASCAR Racing 2 and its expansion pack represented a significant milestone in racing simulation development. The base game achieved sales of over 1,000,000 units, proving that “perhaps this ultrarealistic racing concept wasn’t a niche market after all”¹⁷. The series was praised for being “ahead of its time, just so ahead of its time” by NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.¹⁸.

The game is no longer commercially available and is considered abandonware¹⁹, though preservation efforts have made it playable on modern systems through DOSBox emulation¹⁹. The NASCAR Racing series continued to evolve, with Papyrus eventually developing more advanced NASCAR simulations that built upon the foundation established by NASCAR Racing 2 and its expansions²⁰.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• GOG Dreamlist - Community wishlist
• No longer commercially available

Download / Preservation

• Internet Archive
• MyAbandonware

Series Continuity

• Previous: NASCAR Racing (1994)
• Next: NASCAR Racing 3 (1999)

References

Footnotes

1. MobyGames - NASCAR Grand National Series Expansion Pack – - Game description and credits ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Internet Archive - NASCAR 2 – - Game content and expansion details ↩ ↩²

3. Internet Archive - NASCAR Racing 2 MS-DOS – - Technical improvements ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

4. GameSpot - NASCAR Racing 2 Review – - Tim Soete review ↩ ↩²

5. MobyGames - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Development credits ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Sierra Gamers - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Publisher information ↩ ↩²

7. PCGamingWiki - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Platform compatibility ↩

8. Internet Archive - NASCAR Racing 2 Manual – - Control configuration ↩ ↩²

9. GameFabrique - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Control assessment ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. MobyGames - NASCAR Racing 2 Reviews – - User review by Spectre ↩ ↩²

11. IMDb - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Voice cast credits ↩

12. Wikipedia - NASCAR Racing 2 – - Review scores ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. PCGamingWiki - NASCAR Racing 2003 Season – - Metacritic score ↩

14. MyAbandonware - NASCAR Racing 2 – - User rating ↩

15. Audiovisual Identity Database - Sierra Sports – - Company formation ↩

16. Internet Archive - N2-3dfx_exe – - 3Dfx configuration ↩

17. GameSpot - Papyrus Racing Games Retrospective – - Sales figures by Gord Goble ↩

18. New York Times - NASCAR Racing Video Game – - Dale Earnhardt Jr. quote ↩

19. Internet Archive - NASCAR Racing 2 Mr Abandonware – - Abandonware status ↩ ↩²

20. Daily Downforce - Complete History of NASCAR Gaming – - Series evolution ↩