Pros

- Speedway integrated well into gameplay
- Fast playfield with little time to relax between shots
- Drop targets are extremely important (similar to early SS games)
- Mode Bonus is a nice new feature that give players the incentive (in this case - double the incentive) to not cradle out modes
- Most of the shots on the playfield can be hit from either flipper
- Between multiball, the modes, Hard Racing, Speed Shots, Road Course, etc. there is alot packed into the game

Cons

- Game has an above average amount of airballs. Normally it's fine except for the airballs that result in flying over the flippers into the Drain-O-Matic (tm)
- Some of the modes lack personality (when in doubt, just shoot the Test Car)
- Two spot targets next to the garage are really useless. They are really there just to let you know that you missed the garage scoop!
- Inconsistent scoring on some of the modes. Some modes are more valuable then either Wizard Mode, while some modes barely score anything
- Manual plunger serves no purpose whatsoever.
- The up/down post to divert balls into the jets is inconsistent. This is especially frustrating during Super Party, where the jets are used as a countdown towards the next jackpot
- Both Super Pary and Champ1 both lack that kick ass excitement of getting there
- The "Use Left Flipper to Enter Pit Road" sign, bulb and diverter is alot to put into a game, simply to use as a gag for only having to lock one ball before each multiball

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Pluses

1) A welcome change in playfield design from Lawlor.
2) A little variety in jackpot sequence with bonus jackpot and super
from the drops.
3) Modes that are fun and lucrative to play (especially Super Fan, Happy
Hour, and Bump and Run), rather than something you want to just let
time out.
4) Real locks on multi-ball, and captive ball. Two retro elements.
5) You can't go wrong with spinners!
6) Good integration of theme, software and design.

Minuses

1) Test track will be a real problem, on poorly set-up machines.
2) Strong software compensation needs to be in place for potential
mechanical problems.

 

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plus: Race Track has a pretty good effect and fits the theme well. Yellow LEDs on the pace car in the center light up when certain features are attained and have a super bright flasher effect. Also has LEDs in the pop bumpers. Super smooth right ramp shot. Left ramp can either enter the Hauler or deflect back to pit road via hitting a spinning car. Nice having to complete a set of drop targets for special awards, the bottom of which is very tight from the lower left flipper. Game tested played very fast with white playfield and red flipper rubbers. You can lock in increasing base jackpot awards via captive ball during multiball. Has a secret ball lock enabled by left flipper after locking first ball.

minus: Infield Party and Super Party is just a little too much with the single whooping sound effects. It sounds a lot like Doh Frenzy from TSPP but they all sound so much the same and I couldn’t imagine being at a party with whoops all at the same pitch… Kind of nit picking there but having some light hearted speech calls going during those modes would have been better. Test Car does its job. Bang on it a couple of times, raise the scoop, shoot the scoop, enter mode. Multiball music may make Sammy purists cringe. Scanner always seems to be lit and there’s really no reason to shoot at it except for collecting CHAMP1.

Overall. The game excels at what it’s supposed to do. Attract new players who are familiar with the popular NASCAR theme while giving them a pretty good chance to bang on the Test Car and watch the ball loop around the Track. Game isn’t incredibly deep but very good points can be made with multiball, victory laps and scoring CHAMP1. Found it to be a fun experience. Just needs a little more depth considering long ball times coupled with endless extra balls justifying it.

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Pluses: First, the ratings above are *after* the necessary fixes to the game have been made. Very smooth orbits and ramps plus backhanding the drop targets or right ramp with the right flipper on a hard left Scanner kickout is a blast. Left ramp easily makeable with the left flipper. Locking in the jackpot value when a ball is on the track by hitting the captive ball is a cool feature. The drop targets really play an important role in this game which I like a lot. Very cool use of magnets to propel the balls around the track. Cabinet and backglass artwork is nice and bright and the playfield lighting is bright enough for even a blasted bar player to see. Sound is good especially if it's turned up loud. Bonus can be a major factor (I collected a 187M bonus count at the end of a ball) Both "Wizard" modes are fun to play and not too difficult to achieve. Scoring appears to be well balanced although I didn't try to "Milk" any modes or shots. Spinners are always a welcome sight. Wow, a game that has fun modes you actually want to play and not "time out'. The best PLD Stern pin to date IMHO. I might be going out on a limb with the "8" for Longevity because the game might tear itself apart over time (ie: the Race Track turns into a "Canoe" Track , we'll see. The license will always be strong as long as the are Rednecks out there!

Minuses: Did anyone play this game after they came off the line? The entire test staff must have been on vacation. The first game I played I got the ball stuck in two very obvious hang-up areas, one right above the left outlane between the habitrail and left corner plastic. The other one is the plastic on the left side that hangs slightly over the track. I have heard of another hangup area above the one way gate below the "Hauler" area. I've never played a game that sends so many air-balls everywhere. Once you dial into the playfield and can make the shots it get's better. Just don't take a fly shot at the left ramp with the right flipper, you'll think you broke off the habitrail that crosses over the playfield! Installing black flipper rubbers helped reduce airballs. Spacing the left Habitrail up a little above the left slingshot plastic might reduce the airballs smacking the Habitrail. The screws in the top of the test car support bracket fell out in a few days on location. There's a nut under the screw but it's not a nylock nut so the vibration from hammering the test car loosens them up right away. Fix: replace them with nylock nuts! Once the fixes are done that the final testing employees at Stern blew-off the game plays great. We bought five Nascars for the route (alot of Rednecks around here :) and all of them needed ALOT of fine tuning before they went on the route and we're STILL fine tuning them! (Almost as much as new out of the box Cirqus Voltaires needed). Even with all of these minor problems I would still rate this pin the best PLD Stern game to date.

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Pluses:The ramps on this game flow very well and there's lots of post
rubber around the return lanes for the skilled shaker to work with. A
very low playfield captive ball, with a 3-bank of drop targets just
above make for a nice combination on the right side of the playfield.
The feel of the flippers is much more WMS-like than any Stern
predecessor. The game is solid overall, and, combined with the theme, it
should be a very popular game for Stern.

Minuses:Pat (or someone @ PLD) decided to move Town Square up to the top
of the playfield -- if the goal was to disrupt flow, it worked out
rather well. I quickly grew tired of bashing the top center as the
primary method for qualifying mode starts back when SWE1 came out; for
some reason this concept is resurrected on Nascar (I kind of like skill
to be involved with mode start qualification, rather than bashing the
center and praying it doesn't drain afterwards).

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Pluses: Air-Nascar is a pretty fun little game, best PLD game yet. Wow, a PLD game without crippled software! A major improvement from PLD's previous high score formula:

Let S= your score on a DMD stern game Let R=Resistance to Boredom so S=R*3 ---> "S equals R times 3" ---> the greater your resistance to boredom, the greater your score But R itself is a complex function: R={L*[(C*D*F^2) + e^(1/T) + (M*5^M)]} + [Z*B*(10-B)*H*V] where ^=power symbol (2^4 is two to the fourth power) e=2.71 (natural base) T=time spent on game in minutes (must be greater than zero) L=lowest non-factory replay score (or highest default score if no human scores yet) M=Whether or not the game is being played for Money -- a wager or under tournament conditions for a cash prize or machine (0=no money on the line, 1= money on the line) C= the condition of the machine (1 to 10; 1= only coin mechs work, 10= thoroughly dialed in by MWM) D=Rule Depth (1 to 10;1=X-Piles, 10=TSPP) F=Flow (1 to 10,1=Orbitor One, 10=STTNG) B=tilt sensitivity (0 to 10;0=none,10= don't hit the flipper buttons very hard) Z=replay threshold (1st replay threshold if more than one) H=Flipper Aim Repeatability (1 to 10,1=Sears home pin/Spring loaded,10=Williams/Bally DMD) V=time since last played pinball in days (0 to 10,0=I've been playing for 2 years straight,10=What are these buttons on the sides for ?)

What is great about this game are the use of drop targets and fun modes. For so many years we have been tormented by mode based games where the modes are simply shoot the flashing arrows for X amount of seconds. While Air-Nascar has a few of these it does have alot of original modes that are just plain fun, as well as fun multiballs. The playfield itself is pretty lame, but it is in your face (Unless you are unfortunate enough to get the ball in the never-ending jet area) Drop targets are challenging as well as rewarding. Spinners are always fun, artwork is bright and cheery. Should draw the casual player as well as veterans with its fun modes & MB's.

Minuses: Airballs aplenty! Pretty sad when the ball is hitting the bottom of the habitrail from the flippers. Manual plunger just plain sucks. Sound package rivals that of my atari 800 emulating sampled sound effects from Surfin Safari " Threeeeeeeeeee Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiilion!" Sound test is comprised of screeching tires and Roseanne Barr belching out "I can't drive 55". Super party sounds like Doh-frenzy from TSPP with Daffy Duck "Hooting". Sometimes Champ1 mode never ends and just gets old. I have noticed at times the novice player has no idea what to shoot to lite "Lite Race Letter" since the drops have no indication of doing so. It is nice to see PLD try a different layout. even though it is a fan layout... or what I call a "Coriale Fan Layout" with the right loop and ramp flip-flopped, I really liked Pats old style layouts. If these rules and theme AND SOUND where applied to the ripleys game it too would have been alot of fun.

 

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Pluses:

Unusual pf for Lawlor(a fan) but flows very nice...not clunky, nice and smooth. Both ramps backhandable, even on the fly!
Lawlor finally brought up his scoring levels comparable to the other designers. Multiball is actually valuable, unlike RCT!
Rules are pretty solid, especially the drop target rules....YES, drop targets that are actually VALUABLE!!! And fun to shoot too! Drop targets score Super Jackpot and 'Mode Bonus' a nice new scoring idea! Nice looping rules, and the modes are pretty fun too.

Actually the sound is pretty good too, EXCEPT for the Multiball music!! A distorted, to be nice, version of 'I can't drive 55!!'

And yes, the Racetrack is a cool idea, and seems to work pretty well. Would be nice if the balls went faster though.(Pf wear in 1 month instead of two.=P)

Minuses:

"Balls-a-Flyin!!"...Game is airball prone, even over the flippers sometimes.
The Test car is cool, except when the scoop shoots the ball down the middle(no ball save), that gets annoying quick.

BG art could of been better, pf art too, cab art actually looks pretty good.

Seems like a pretty easy game to beat, which hurts it longevity.

Overall:

A pretty nice game overall, a great theme for us operators. Fun to play, exciting sounds and music, and a nice 'flashy' package. Better than Lawlors recent games by far!
Go buy one!