NASCAR 07

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NASCAR 07
Developer(s)	EA Tiburon
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Release date(s)	September 6, 2006  ???  ???
Genre(s)	Arcade Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer, multiplayer online
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable

NASCAR 07 is a racing game published by EA Sports in September 2006 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the PSP. It is the tenth installment in EA Sports' NASCAR series. The product features Elliott Sadler on the cover, as the driver for the #38 M&Ms Ford Fusion. The cover in the PAL region features Matt Kenseth's DeWalt Ford Fusion. This game is the first since NASCAR 2001 not to include a subtitle in the name. The game retains the teammate features introduced in NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, but does not add any major gameplay changes. However, the graphics include a blurring effect to attempt to give a better sense of high speed, and the pace of the gameplay has been sped up considerably. This is also the second EA Sports NASCAR game to appear on a handheld system (first NASCAR 2000 for Gameboy Color). On the PlayStation Portable, the game is simply called NASCAR.

The Nextel Cup and Busch Series driver roster is the same as the roster at the beginning of the 2006 season. This creates a few major differences - Kevin Harvick drove the #29 Hershey's Kissables Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the Busch season opener in Daytona while Jeff Burton drove the #21 United States Coast Guard Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Harvick drove the #21 car for the remainder of the season, aside from a few select races. Also, in mid-August, Elliott Sadler left the #38 and replaced Jeremy Mayfield in the #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. One major difference is that there are not as many paint schemes as in years before. In fact, there are only thirteen special paint schemes available for Nextel Cup drivers, and other than Greg Biffle's National Guard/Jackson Hewitt scheme, all paint schemes consisted of being driven more than a couple of times in the actual 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season.

[edit] Drivers

While a large number of real drivers have been confirmed for the NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series (as National Series), and Craftsman Truck Series in NASCAR 07, fantasy drivers are still present, sponsored by fictional or unused sponsors. However, the Whelen Modified Tour series is entirely made up of fantasy drivers. This is the last NASCAR video game to feature Bobby Hamilton Sr (but his eponymous son is not in the game).

The list of real NEXTEL Cup drivers, with their make and paint schemes, in NASCAR 07 are:

NEXTEL CUP:

• 01 Joe Nemecheck - Chevy = 2006 U.S. Army Chevrolet
• 1 Martin Truex Jr. - Chevy = 2006 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
• 2 Kurt Busch - Dodge = 2006 Kurt Busch/Penske Racing Dodge
• 5 Kyle Busch - Chevy = 2006 Kellogg's Chevrolet
• 6 Mark Martin - Ford = 2006 AAA Ford
• 7 Robby Gordon - Chevy = 2006 Menard's Chevrolet
• 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevy = 2006 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
• 9 Kasey Kahne - Dodge = 2006 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
• 10 Scott Riggs - Dodge = 2006 Valvoline Dodge; 2006 Stanley Tools Dodge
• 11 Denny Hamlin - Chevy = 2006 FedEx Express Chevrolet; 2006 FedEx Freight Chevrolet; 2006 FedEx Ground Chevrolet; 2006 FedEx Kinko's Chevrolet
• 12 Ryan Newman - Dodge = 2006 alltel Dodge; 2006 Mobil 1 Dodge
• 14 Sterling Marlin - Chevy = 2006 Waste Mangement Chevrolet
• 15 Paul Menard - Chevy = 2006 Menard's Chevrolet
• 16 Greg Biffle - Ford = 2006 National Guard Ford; 2006 National Gaurd/Jackson Hewitt Ford; 2006 Subway Ford
• 17 Matt Kenseth - Ford = 2006 DeWalt Ford; 2006 Carhartt Ford; 2006 R+L Carriers Ford; 2006 USG Ford
• 18 JJ Yeley - Chevy = 2006 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet
• 19 Jeremy Mayfield - Dodge = 2006 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
• 20 Tony Stewart - Chevy = 2006 Home Depot Chevrolet
• 22 Dave Blaney - Dodge = 2006 Caterpillar Dodge
• 24 Jeff Gordon - Chevy = 2006 DuPont Chevrolet
• 25 Brian Vickers - Chevy = 2006 GMAC Chevrolet
• 26 Jamie McMurray - Ford = 2006 Irwin Industrial Tools Ford; 2006 Sharpie Ford; 2006 Lenox Tools Ford
• 29 Kevin Harvick - Chevy = 2006 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet
• 31 Jeff Burton - Chevy = 2006 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
• 38 Elliot Sadler - Ford = 2006 M&M's Ford
• 40 David Stremme - Dodge = 2006 David Stremme Dodge; 2006 Lonestar Steakhouse Dodge
• 41 Reed Sorenson - Dodge = 2006 Target Dodge
• 42 Casey Mears - Dodge = 2006 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
• 43 Bobby Labonte - Dodge = 2006 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
• 45 Kyle Petty - Dodge = 2006 Wells Fargo Dodge
• 48 Jimmie Johnson - Chevy = 2006 Lowe's Chevrolet
• 55 Michael Waltrip - Dodge = 2006 NAPA Dodge
• 66 Jeff Green - Chevy = 2006 Best Buy Chevrolet
• 88 Dale Jarrett - Ford = 2006 UPS Ford
• 96 Tony Raines - Chevy = 2006 DLP Chevrolet

BUSCH (National or NBS in-game) Series:

• 06 Todd Kluever - Ford = 2006 3M Ford; 2006 Post-It Ford
• 2 Clint Bowyer - Chevy = 2006 ACDelco Chevrolet
• 5 Kyle Busch - Chevy = 2006 Lowe's Chevrolet
• 6 Mark Martin - Ford = 2006 Pennzoil Ford
• 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevy = 2006 Oreo/Ritz Chevrolet
• 8 Martin Truex Jr. - Chevy = 2006 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
• 9 Jeremy Mayfield - Dodge = 2006 Unilever Dodge
• 9 Boris Said - Dodge = 2006 Ingersoll-Rand Dodge
• 10 John Andretti - Ford = 2006 Freedom Roads-Camping World Ford
• 11 Paul Menard - Chevy = 2006 Johns Manville-Menards Chevrolet
• 16 Greg Biffle - Ford = 2006 Ameriquest Ford
• 17 Matt Kenseth - Ford = 2006 Pennzoil Ford
• 18 J.J. Yeley - Chevy = 2006 Vigoro Chevrolet
• 20 Denny Hamlin - Chevy = 2006 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet
• 21 Jeff Burton - Chevy = 2006 Coast Guard Chevrolet
• 22 Kenny Wallace - Ford = 2006 AutoZone Ford
• 29 Kevin Harvick - Chevy = 2006 Hershey's Kissables Chevrolet
• 33 Ron Hornaday - Chevy = 2006 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet
• 33 Tony Stewart - Chevy = 2006 Old Spice Chevrolet
• 39 Kurt Busch - Dodge = 2006 Penske Truck Rental Dodge
• 39 Ryan Newaman - Dodge = 2006 Alltel mycircle Dodge
• 41 Reed Sorenson - Dodge = 2006 Discount Tire Dodge
• 42 Casey Mears - Dodge = 2006 Texaco Havoline Dodge
• 48 Jimmie Johnson - Chevy = 2006 Lowe's Chevrolet
• 50 Donny O'Quinn Jr. - Ford = 2006 World Finnacial Group Ford
• 57 Brian Vickers - Chevy = 2006 Ore-Ida Chevrolet
• 77 Burney Lamar - Chevy = 2006 Dollar General Chevrolet
• 90 Elliot Sadler - Ford = 2006 Citi Finnacial Ford
• 98 Erin Crocker - Dodge = 2006 Cheerios Dodge

Craftsman Truck Series

• 04 Scott Lagasse Jr. - 2006 Dodge Hemi Truck
• 4 Timothy Peters - 2006 Dodge Motorsports Truck
• 6 David Ragan - 2006 Scotts Truck
• 9 Ted Musgrave - 2006 Team ASE Truck
• 18 Bobby Hamilton Sr. - 2006 Fastenal Truck
• 22 Bill Lester - 2006 Checkers Truck
• 30 Todd Bodine - 2006 Germain Motorsports Truck
• 33 Ron Hornaday - 2006 KHI Truck
• 47 Kraig Kinser - 2006 Centrtix Truck; 2006 U.S. Army Truck
• 98 Erin Crocker - 2006 Cheerios Truck

[edit] Sponsors

Like previous games, Alcohol-related sponsors are removed from the game completely. The most notable example of this is the Busch Series, which is referred to as both NBS and the NASCAR National Series (in reference to Busch Grand National Series, a previous name of the series), along with a modified series logo. When an alcohol sponsor would normally appear on a car, it is replaced by the team, driver's name, or an alternate primary sponsor; examples are Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s (Dale Earnhardt, Inc., not Budweiser, even though an identically-livered car in the Busch Series carried Menards instead of Budweiser), Kurt Busch's (Kurt Busch rather than Miller Lite) and David Stremme's (David Stremme instead of Coors Light when there was a second sponsor, Lone Star Steakhouse) vehicles. A different case is in the 7 car of Robby Gordon, who had alternating sponsors, and instead of the Jim Beam/Harrah's car, an alternating sponsor, Menards, was used instead. The 07 car of Clint Bowyer is not seen on the game, because the number 07 is a sponsorship for Jack Daniels, despite associate sponsorship from DirecTV and Sylvania.

[edit] Trivia

• Dale Jarrett's Big Brown Truck paint scheme is not available in NASCAR 07, but it was in NASCAR 06: Total Team Control.
• UPS Speedway is once again called Redball Speedway, as it was in NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup.
• Mr. Clean Speedway is now called Allstate Speedway, which also results as not having the Mr. Clean pit crew chase plate. Mr. Clean has been replaced by Allstate as a sponsor in Custom Car Garage.
• The Levi Strauss sponsor is not in this game, so Levi Strauss Signature Speedway is now called Meadow Creek Speedway.
• For the Watkins Glen International track, it says in the track selection screen "Nextel Cup 400 at the Glen" but billboards for Sirius still appear. However, the 2006 race at Watkins Glen was titled AMD @ The Glen, and didn't have the Sirius sponsor that was used in previous seasons. AMD's sponsorship was announced after the signage had been programmed. This similar situation is seen when selecting Michigan International Speedway in the Busch Series, the race is named the Michigan 250, as the sponsor in 2006 was Carfax. It is again seen in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega, as the John Deere sponsorship was announced after the game was released.
• At Old Spice Speedway, billboards for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby can be seen. In the film, Old Spice is the primary sponsor of Ricky Bobby's teammate Cal Naughton, Jr.
• Carl Edwards is not present in the game, reportedly because he, Office Depot, and EA Sports could not agree on a contract. In addition, full-time drivers Clint Bowyer and Ken Schrader are also unavailable. Bowyer is absent due to his car number, 07, and sponsor Jack Daniel's being a part of alcohol promotion (even though there are two alternating sponsors with their own distinct paint schemes, Sylvania and DirecTV, the #07 font was the same as the alcohol sponsor) However, Bowyer is still available in the Busch Series (because the car was #2 with ACDelco). Schrader's absence was due to his sponsorship agreement. McKee Foods, the parent of Little Debbie, is owned and operated by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and prohibits advertising from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. In those races in real life, other sponsors are placed on the cars, and the cars are wrapped so the US Air Force or Motorcraft is placed the car at the team shop for Friday qualifying or Saturday practice, and the design is peeled off the car Sunday morning, unveiling the Little Debbie design.
• The Allstate Good Hands Driver award can now be won by the player.
• Players can no longer use numbers below 100 for their created cars, only 100-199 can be used.
• Breaking Benjamin's song "The Diary of Jane", which is featured on NASCAR 07's soundtrack, was also used in promotional videos for the game.
• In the intro video for the Allstate Qualifiers, the Busch Series logo on Kenny Wallace's uniform is covered up with a piece of white tape.
• The drivers with the lowest ratings in NASCAR 07 are Kyle Petty and Tony Raines. Every grade they have is a C-. Likewise, the one who has the highest grades in the game is Dale Earnhardt Sr., who has all A+'s. Tony Stewart has the best ratings of any living driver with 3 A+'s and 1 A, and an overall A+. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon both have the same 3 A+'s and 1 A, but their overall ratings are just A's.
• No matter how good or bad at a particular type of track you are, your created driver will always have a 'B' grade in the Driver Attributes.
• Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s picture in the Driver Select is the only picture in the game that is not a posed photo. Everyone else's picture is posed and looking at the camera, whereas Junior is not looking at the camera, and a significant brighter light balance is in his picture, which possibly means that this picture was not taken in a studio, and somewhere out around the track.
• In most of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Dodge Challenge videos, he will be wearing his 2006 Busch Series Oreo uniform.
• As with 2004 (Kevin Harvick not making the chase), and 2005 (Jimmie Johnson not winning the title, and Jeff Gordon not making the Chase), Elliott Sadler's appearance on the cover seems to have caused a Madden curse-like scenario, as he struggled to stay in the top 20 in points, even after switching teams.
• There is an error on the number 77 Dollar General sponsored car of Burney Lamar. The number on the head lights and the rear end lights says 34, which was the number of Randy Lajoie, who drove the Dollar General car in 2005.
• If you look at the front headlight of Dale Earnhradt Jr.'s #8 Oreo/Ritz car in the Busch Series, you will see a Richard Childress Racing logo. The signature above the driver's door is also not correct, because it appears to be Jeff Burton's signature and not Earnhardt Jr.'s
• Bobby Hamilton Sr. drives the #18 Fastenal Truck in the game, despite being out of the truck since March 2006 (Atlanta) due to having head and neck cancer. Bobby Hamilton Jr. raced in the truck for the rest of the season. (Hamilton Sr would later die of the cancer symptions in January 2007. Ken Schrader drives the truck now in selected races.)
• Four teams in the Busch Series use the same number while in game. They are Evernham's #9 Unilever/Ingersoll Rand Dodge (Jeremy Mayfield and Boris Said are the drivers), Penske's #39 Penske Rental/Alltel myCircle Dodge (Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman), Kevin Harvick's #33 Outdoor Channel/Old Spice Chevrolet (Ron Hornaday Jr. and Tony Stewart), and DEI's #8 Oreo/Bass Pro Shops Chevy (Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.).
• If you look closely on the left front of Bobby Hamilton's #18 truck, you will clearly see Dodge logos on the sides.
• Most of the real drivers in NCTS are updated with the new Craftsman Truck Series logo while all of the fantasy drivers and screenshots in Victory Lane have the old logo. (NASCAR changed the NCTS logo in 2006 to standardise the design with the Nextel Cup Series logo.)
• If you look closely on the cover of the game, you will see that the track that is being raced on is Lowe's Motor Speedway at the Coca-Cola 600. The driver order is as follows: Elliot Sadler, Jeff Green, Mark Martin, Johnny Sauter, Reed Sorenson (Target reverse scheme not in game), Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards (not in game), Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Jeff Gordon.
• Use the Nextel Cup Allstate Dodge and qualify or race on any track. If you look closely on the left front headlight, you will see the Evernham Motorsports logo.
• The name of the Allstate driver, Hans Goode, is an intentional pun on Allstate's motto, "You're in good hands"
• Paul Menard races full time on the Nextel Cup circuit in 2006 although in real life he only ran 7 races for a 2006 Rookie of the Year run. Menard is slated to run a full season in 2007.
• While Bill Davis Racing's NNC car (Dave Blaney) is in the game, only one of the team's three trucks (Bill Lester's) is present. The other two, driven by Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson, are likely absent because of their Toyota sponsorship. Toyota signage has never appeared in an EA Sports NASCAR game, but is highly likely next year due to their entry in 2007 with the Camry. Both Davis and Michael Waltrip's race teams will run Toyota in 2007.
• Kraig Kinser's team is incorrectly stated as Ginn Racing. At the time, Ginn Racing had only a driver development program with Kinser. The team should actually be Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, but their name as well as Dennis Setzer's name and truck are absent.
• Some of the trucks, such as Erik Darnell and Bill Lester, ran unsponsored through most of 2006. Erik only had Woolrich on for a few races, mostly later in the season.
• There are many visible errors in race names. The name change for O'Reilly Raceway Park had not taken place when the game was developed, and sponsor Kroger was not mentioned, despite being the only NASCAR sponsor in the Busch Series to have been on the same race for 25 years. During the victory lane sequence, its name is the IRP 200. Another scene is in the fall Phoenix Busch race where the race is incorrectly titled the Phoenix 200 when the race was sponsored by Arizona Travel. Also for the Stonebridgeracing.com 200,it says Dover 200 in victory lane screenshots.
• There is an error in the milage for the Martinsville 250. The race lasts 118 laps at only 25% distance, suggesting that there was an error in the number of laps being programmed, as 1/4 of the true race distance (250 laps) suggests they may have thought the race was in kilometers.
• In the Busch Series, Ryan Newman's #39 has the Alltel MyCircle scheme that was only on the car for one race.
• Outback Steakhouse, McDonald's,and Hills Bros. Coffee are no longer available for a sponsor for the custom car garage.
• Although there's no particular makes run in the Truck Series, Timothy Peters' and Scott Lagasse, Jr.'s trucks both carry Dodge sponsorship since Dodge is a sponsor in the game, as well as the Speedzone and Challenge modes.
• Todd Kluever's 06 3M/Post-It Ford Fusion is the only Busch Series car that has an alternate paint scheme.
• For some reason,the 101 Wal-Mart car(Always scheme) and Dale Earnhardt's car if you unlock them and look at the front end(on chase plates),they are the 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, not the 2006 Monte Carlo SS.
• On a pit stop under caution, if you come off of pit road first, the order of the cars on the restart is determined by the position of the stalls.
• If you unlock Dale Earnhardt(Chase Plates)(50000 skill points) you will notice that his car has the NASCAR Winston Cup Series logo, not the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series logo.
• The interactive crew chief feature is disabled in the Nextel All-Star Challenge
• The Nextel All-Star Challenge is only in fight to the top mode.
• On the console version, there is a track called Dodge Raceway Stadium. On the PSP version, it is called Tiburon Raceway Stadium. It also is behind Dockside on the track selection screen on the PSP version, suggesting that there was a last second change made.
• In Fight to the Top Mode, if you get a contract to drive the number 10 for Evernham motorsports, it says the Stanley Tools Dodge in the Race Shop but you use the Valvoline sponsorship if you sign the contract.
• If you look at the NASCAR Busch Series logo, it says "NASCAR National Series". However, the abbreviation is NBS.
• Sometimes when you have front end damage and get hit from behind, the damage goes away.

[edit] Features

[edit] PS2/Xbox version

• The game now includes a "Momentum Meter" which, when full, helps to improve handling and increase speed.
• The drivers are rated with ranks ranging from rookie to veteran, and each class has different attributes and tendencies on the track.
• The player has the option to go double or nothing by wagering against "real-world" drivers.
• The player can earn better contracts in Fight to the Top mode by completing Allstate Qualifiers. For an average rating of less than bronze, the player will receive a contract offer in the Whelen Modified Tour. For an average rating of bronze, the player will receive a contract offer in the Craftsman Truck Series. For an average rating of silver, the player will receive a contract offer in the Busch Series. For an average rating of gold, the player will receive a contract offer in the NEXTEL Cup Series. The cars in the top three series are all owned by Kenny Wallace, #126 (a play on the #36 that Wallace uses in dirt racing), and sponsored by the Richard Petty Driving Experience (the sponsor of the car used in Allstate Qualifiers).

[edit] PSP version

• Instant Rewind
• Fight to the Top Mode
• Season Mode
• Dodge Challenges
• NASCAR SpeedZone
• Driver Ratings

[edit] External links

• Official NASCAR 07 website
• Official NASCAR website

[edit] See Also