Bill Elliot's NASCAR Challenge

When a celebrity commits talent and reputation to the design of a game, the result should be a product with heightened realism, reflecting the true spirit of that field. Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge delivers on that promise. The stock racing simulation closely approximates the sport, thanks to Elliott's direct participation in the design and his personal notes throughout the manual. NASCAR Challenge is fun to play, and captures the feeling of car.

NASCAR Challenge follows a long line of racing games throughout video-and computer-gaming history.

The earliest racing games (like Pole Position, Night Driver and Indy 500) are worlds away from modern games like NASCAR Challenge. The program brings computer stock car racing into the '90s through bit-mapped graphics and great sound effects. The easy-to-use interface offers the feel of skidding, acceleration and crashes.

The player has a choice of three cars (Thunderbird, Lumina or Grand Prix) and eight tracks, two of which are road tracks. Manual and automatic transmissions are available for each car, and the player can fine-tune the vehicle by adjusting the top-gear ratio and spoiler angle or staggering the tires, all in the interest of better performance on a specific track.

NASCAR Challenge was codesigned by Bill Elliott and Distinctive Software, Inc. (DSI), makers of Test Drive, Test Drive II: The Duel and Stunts. To drive the car, the player uses a joystick or keyboard to move the steering wheel back and forth. A dot on the wheel guides the player's movements, just as in previous DSI games. It is easy to drive the cars in NASCAR Challenge, but yet there is a real test of skill to perform well, because a car's characteristics really do impact handling by the player.

The pit stop sequence is especially nice, because the animated crew works at the speed of real mechanics, and any extra time spent in the pit does affect the player's standing in the race.

The neatest feature of NASCAR Challenge is the VCR interface. It allows the gamer to view the race from any of five different perspectives, in addition to the driver's seat of any of the cars. The player can replay the last 20 seconds of the race at any time and from a variety of different camera positions and magnifications. Also, the user can check out a crash from the viewpoint of any car on the track, or from a helicopter overhead.

The game lends itself to several playing modes. The driver can attempt to qualify for a better position for each race or start toward the back of the pack, play a single race or try to make it through an entire championship season on the eight tracks.

The graphics are very nice, considering all the different view angles involved. Both bit-mapped and polygon graphics are used when viewing cars. The dashboard is well laid out, and the player can turn the driver's head to look to either side, as well as turn a rearview mirror on or off. The sounds in NASCAR Challenge capture the excitement of the sport and support most of the sound boards available.

Konami is currently holding a NASCAR Challenge contest that will end in November 1991. A high-score finalist will win a trip to the 1992 Daytona 500 and get to meet with Bill Elliott. A grand-prize winner will win a 1992 Ford Thunderbird. So get moving folks, and take Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge!

Can you handle the challenge? Bill Elliot's Nascar Challenge allows you to custom design your own racing vehicle and race with the pros. Watch as the mechanics rush to install that brand new transmission you've been waiting for, then bust out of the pits ready to rock-and-roll! Experience the hair-pin turns, high-resolution graphics, and realistic feel of the one and only Bill Nascar Challenge.

Two crash courses that will drive you steer crazy.

Take two courses that cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Konami brings NASCAR endorsed, smash and crash stock car warfare to the NES and Game Boy. Winston Cup Champion Bill Elliott helped design the ultimate driving experience, complete with functional instrument gauges, authentic pit stops, 200 mph duels for pole position, spin-outs and a mind blowing first person perspective. You actually feel like you're in the roll cage of a real racer!

Slide into one of three asphalt eating stock cars - Ford Thunderbird, Chevy Lumina or Pontiac Grand Prix (or an Oldsmobile Cutlass for Game Boy). Adapt your beast by adjusting gear ratio, spoiler angle, tire stagger and transmission to the hairpin turns of Sears Point and Watkins Glen or the high banked ovals of Daytona and Talladega (or Atlanta for Game Boy). Then get ready to scrape sheet metal against Bill Elliott and 14 of the nation's nastiest NASCAR drivers, either in single races or the grueling Championship Season.