Welcome to the official NASCAR 26 Career Mode walkthrough! In this series, we’ll give you the inside line on making the most out of your NASCAR 26 career, working your way up from a start-up team in the ARCA Menards Series to the upper echelons of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Today, we’re starting from the beginning. We’ll guide you through your very first steps towards stardom, starting with getting your license to run your first ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona.
Get Licensed
There are all sorts of ways to work your way up to NASCAR superstardom, but it helps to have some big names in your corner. Fortunately, you’ll have three: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte, and Jamie McMurray. All three are past Daytona 500 winners, and that’s crucial, because before you can start your career in ARCA, you’ll need to get licensed to run at Daytona International Speedway.
With the coaching of McMurray, you’ll take the wheel at Daytona for a Peak Performance coaching session focused on drafting. You can either ride with Jamie for a lap or jump right into the cockpit, but either way the end goal is the same when you get behind the wheel: you’ll need to catch another car and meet a minimum lap time goal while following them to get your NASCAR license.
After you pass, you’ll be able to review your data to see where you excelled and where you might need to improve. From there, the stage is set: Dale’s lined up a season-long sponsorship for you from Jerky Boys, and you can focus on starting the season.
Dropping In
Now that you’ve had a taste, there’s no time to waste—we’re dropping you right into the General Tire 200 at Daytona to get your first ARCA season started. Again, you’ll have a straightforward goal: finish in the top 20, so you can lock in the best possible sponsor contract. Use the drafting skills you just practiced to navigate through the pack and meet the goal.
When the race wraps, you’ll get to see the results, your Driver Assessment, and what social media is saying. You’ll also learn more about your sponsorship, and finally, you’ll see a Week 1 Recap breakdown of the wear and tear you put on your car alongside your race earnings and the current championship standings.
Next up: we open up your Race Shop. Stay tuned!