''NASCAR Heat 2'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

Monster Games Monster Games, Inc. is an American independent video game developer in Northfield, Minnesota, United States that specializes in racing games and ports in action, platforms and action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often ab ...

and published by 704Games. It is the sequel to ''

NASCAR Heat Evolution ''NASCAR Heat Evolution'' is a racing video game developed by Monster Games and published by Dusenberry Martin Racing. The game was released in North America on September 13, 2016 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is t ...

'', and was released in North America on September 12, 2017 for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

via

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...

is featured on the cover. The

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

and the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

are featured in the game for the first time since

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

' 2008 release, ''

NASCAR 09 ''NASCAR 09'' is the twelfth simulation installment in the EA Sports NASCAR series and the sequel to 2007 game '' NASCAR 08''. It is developed by EA Tiburon and released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and mobile phones in North Amer ...

''. Truck and Xfinity stand-alone tracks, including

Eldora Speedway Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "The Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "The World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, it features permanent and ...

and

Gateway Motorsports Park World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...

(before it was added to the cup schedule in 2022) are also featured. All three series are playable online, and in career mode, the player can ascend the ranks to conquer the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. ''NASCAR Heat 2'' was also the working title of '' NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona'', as logos for it appear in some menus of the 2002 game.

Gameplay

Career mode gives players the ability to start in the

and work up towards the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The player can use their own car or use a driver on a team. In the beginning, users choose a driver from hot seat offers in the Truck Series and progress up the ranks to Cup. Users can also play a single-season championship simulation. Also included are online multiplayer, with races up to 40 players, or local split-screen multiplayer. Challenges featuring different tracks and drivers are also included in the game; all are voiced by Claire B. Lang. On April 30, 2021, the online servers for ''NASCAR Heat 2'' and '' NASCAR Heat 3'' were shut down.

Drivers

''NASCAR Heat 2'' features drivers from all three of NASCAR's national series in the game (42 MENCS drivers, 43 NXS drivers, and 32 NCWTS drivers). However, there are some notable omissions, including Beard Motorsports with driver Brendan Gaughan in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and all

GMS Racing Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field ...

drivers in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, excluding Justin Haley. The driver rosters for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,

, and

have been confirmed by 704Games. In a patch released in October, 704 added all remaining NASCAR Next drivers including

Hailie Deegan Hailie Rochelle Deegan (born July 18, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 13 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. Deegan is currently a Ford Perfor ...

and

Chase Purdy Chase R. Purdy (born November 11, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He has competed for MDM Mot ...

. The highest-placing Toyota driver in the Sprint All-Star Race was selected as the cover driver; Last Year:

Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...

won the cover driver competition with a fourth-place finish. He retired from

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

on January 9, 2017 and handed his ride to

Daniel Suárez Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He previously drove in t ...

. That year the eligible drivers were Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex Jr. Busch won the cover driver competition with a win in the NASCAR All-Star finishing 2nd in Stage 2 in that event and winning the event.

Soundtrack

Reception

Accolades

The game was nominated for "Game, Franchise Racing" at the 17th Annual National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.

References

External links

* {{Monster Games 2017 video games NASCAR video games PlayStation 4 games Xbox One games Windows games Multiplayer and single-player video games Racing video games Split-screen multiplayer games Video games developed in the United States Monster Games games