Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the biggest names in NASCAR history. And though he’s no longer racing on a regular basis, he’s still involved in shaping the future of the sport. In this case, it’s the virtual future with NASCAR 25.
Since the company acquired the license in 2023, Earnhardt Jr. has been involved in shaping the upcoming game in multiple areas. Not only is he assisting with the game’s soundtrack, but he also is helping out in other ways that the developers at iRacing didn’t expect.
During an interview for an upcoming episode of the Insider Gaming Developer Spotlight, NASCAR 25 Producer Matt Lewis spoke about Earnhardt Jr.’s involvement in the game, and how it’s been “mind blowing” to see.
“He’s sitting in on meetings longer than he should,” Lewis said. “We’ve been on meetings a couple of times where like his business manager’s popping her head in and being like, ‘we gotta go.’ He’s like, ‘I know, 10 more minutes’.”
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Lewis said that Earnhardt Jr. helps by talking the developers through what a driver feels as they focus on immersion and emotion within the game. Earnhardt Jr., he said, will often give his take on what he would feel and go through during a race weekend, and offers advice on how the team should craft messaging within the game’s career mode.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Career Mode Role
It’s not just around the game that Earnhardt is involved, either. He’ll actually play a part in NASCAR 25’s career mode.
During your racing career, you’ll have Earnhardt commenting on what you’ve been doing on the track.
“We haven’t even shown a screenshot of it, but there’s him in the Dirty Mo Studio doing his podcast, and he’s talking about you,” Lewis said. “He’s talking about the player and some big things that may be happening to you, or some challenges that you’re going through or whatever. But it’s this like real sensory experience where it’s like I’m halfway through my, you know, rise from trucks to Xfinity and juniors on here talking about me and something that just happened. And we got all of that done with, with him and TJ in the Dirty Mo booth.
“It’s been far beyond what I expected; far beyond what I would have ever though we could get. It’s really going to pay off for fans.”
Stay tuned for the full interview with Matt Lewis where we talk about NASCAR 25 being built in Unreal Engine, multiplayer plans, AI races, and more. When it releases, you can watch it here at Insider-Gaming.com and on our YouTube Channel.
NASCAR 25 launches this fall.
What do you think of Dale Earnhardt Jr. being so involved with NASCAR 25? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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