How The Crew Motorfest delivers its “own take” on NASCAR

NASCAR is no longer reserved for iRacing’s official game series.

Part of the substantial Season 9 update, The Crew Motorfest now lets you drive the Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Toyota Camry XSE Cup Series trio, each featuring official team liveries.

“We wanted to integrate NASCAR into our experience for a long time. It’s one of the most important and entertaining motorsport licenses in the world,” Creative Director Julien Hummer explained to Traxion.

NASCAR comes to The Crew Motorfest

Across 10 events, a themed playlist sees you play as a rookie driver in the fictional Henson Racing team. The Cup Series cars aren’t restricted to the playlist either, as you can also drive them in free roam. Tearing around Hawaii in a 700-horsepower oval racer not designed for road driving is certainly novel.

After clashing with a rival and destroying your car, you are coached by Roy Henson, a veteran driver who teaches you the fundamentals of NASCAR racing in a series of training challenges, with you driving a vintage Chevrolet Impala. It’s a classic mentor-rookie trope, mirroring motorsport movies like Days of Thunder.  

Instead of real-world circuits like Daytona, NASCAR races take place on a fictional speedway within the new stunt-filled Playground Island, accessed via an underwater bridge.

This new environment is best showcased in the final event, which puts you behind the wheel of the fictional Proto Henson Custom (unlocked as a reward for completing the playlist), on a rollercoaster-style track filled with boosts, twists and loops.  

“Part of the playlist approach we have with The Crew Motorfest is having our own vision and take on specific car culture elements. When we met them, we presented how we are approaching their experience with a dedicated playlist and a full season [dedicated to NASCAR] with the Main Stage element.

“It was a perfect formula for them to expand their brand out of a traditional NASCAR experience. We are very happy to work with them. They were very reactive when we shared our created assets, narrative and cinematics. They clearly understood how we wanted to deliver the NASCAR experience within The Crew Motorfest’s love letter to car culture.”

It’s an unexpected collaboration, but one that Hummer feels is a good fit for The Crew Motorfest. “It’s very popular, not necessarily only in the US. It’s a worldwide experience you can enjoy,” he said, pointing out that the motorsport is often depicted in films such as Talladega Nights, Days of Thunder and Disney Pixar’s Cars.

“We wanted The Crew Motorfest to give everyone the opportunity to discover a car culture they weren’t familiar with. It’s what we did in season four for low riders, and what we are going to do in the future with other themes.

“It’s [NASCAR] about tension, drama, competition, rivalry, and intense strategic decisions on the racetrack. This is what we wanted to deliver,” Hummer explained, to show “why some people love NASCAR.”

Rubbing is racing

Adapting NASCAR for The Crew Motorfest meant introducing several new gameplay elements.

“When we deliver an experience, we try to work on every element from the art to the music, design and gameplay. When we were dealing with NASCAR, we worked on specific elements to craft the experience for our players.”

Races, for example, last around ten minutes. While calling them “endurance” races seems like a stretch, they are noticeably longer than most standard events.

Like the real-world motorsport, drafting behind opponents is an essential tactic, particularly in later events on higher difficulties. This technique is represented with exaggerated wind visual and sound effects, but can be disabled.  

Hummer notes that the camera angles have been modified with new shake effects, enhancing the sense of speed. New physics have also been developed specifically for the Cup Series cars, which feel suitably cumbersome to drive and sound thunderous.

It’s the interactive pit stops that stand out, however. During races, you must monitor your damage, fuel and tyre wear. When pitting, you can choose to repair vehicle damage, replace the tyres, or refuel, with the option to request one, two, or all three.

Making a pit stop triggers an interactive minigame. On PS5, refuelling requires holding down R2 with an on-screen indicator showing how many laps the fuel will last. Changing tyres has you repeatedly tapping the face buttons as fast as possible. Vehicle repairs, on the other hand, see you follow a sequence of d-pad prompts, forcing a restart if you make a mistake.

While it’s not as in-depth as hardcore simulators, it’s simple yet involving. It forces you to make strategic decisions, rewarding fast timing. “We wanted to shape something that is very specific and different from a pure racing experience,” said Hummer.    

Spectacular crashes are also a staple of NASCAR. The Crew Motorfest captures this spectacle with “more physicality in terms of impact when you touch opponents.”

“If you are touched by opponents, you can still keep your trajectory,” Hummer explained. “But if you are touching your opponents, it’s you who will have a spectacular crash.” 

As a result, the crash physics feel more exaggerated: hit an opponent or slam into the wall at high speed, and you will almost certainly roll over.

AI opponents are aggressive and often ram into you. This can be frustrating, but it’s an accurate portrayal of NASCAR, where “rubbing is racing” and contact with other drivers is rarely penalised.   

Smaller grids are a “technical constraint”

What isn’t accurate, however, is the grid sizes. Cup Series races typically feature large grids of 36-40 cars battling it out, depending on the event. By contrast, The Crew Motorfest’s take on NASCAR racing is reduced to just eight cars on track.

It’s a shame, because the smaller fields fail to match the intensity of the real motorsport. According to Hummer, this was due to a “technical constraint.”  

“We were aware that we weren’t going to deliver the full experience with the number of vehicles,” he said.

However, this allowed Ubisoft Ivory Tower to increase the visual fidelity and adjust the playlist campaign accordingly.

“From a narrative perspective, we decided to change how to tell the story. It’s more like a competition with a quarter-final, semi-final and final,” Hummer explained.  

Likewise, the smaller track means you “always have something to do,” according to Hummer: “It’s still chaotic compared to what you see in NASCAR.”

It may not be authentic, but Hummer revealed that players favoured the smaller grids. With The Crew Motorfest appealing to a broad audience, it’s a more accessible introduction to NASCAR.

“When we did some playtests and said it’s only eight players, a lot of players thought this was better because you can focus on other elements,” Hummer revealed. “There are always vehicles on screen, and you can be in control of your strategy. It’s our take on NASCAR.”    

“We will have more partners in the future”

Overall, NASCAR is another excellent addition to the ever-expanding Motorfest. It may not be the most authentic take on the motorsport, but its unique mechanics and polished presentation make up for it.

It’s also free for all players, which is surprising considering the licensing costs. Ubisoft could have easily justified selling it as a premium expansion – perhaps more so than the upcoming remote-control cars DLC.

This could just be the beginning, too, as Hummer hints it will pave the way for more motorsports partnerships in the future.

“We are open to working with all kinds of car culture partners that might come to the festival to expose their fantasy and specificity to our players,” he said.

“I’m more than open to welcoming other partners in The Crew Motorfest. I am 100% sure we will have more partners in the future and more surprises for our players.”