NASCAR

Despite showing up in numerous titles over the past few years — Gran Turismo 6, Forza Motorsport 6, Project CARS, iRacing — NASCAR has yet to enjoy a dedicated game on current consoles. That will finally change in less than two months, with NASCAR Heat Evolution set to arrive on PS4, XB1, and PC September 13. Check out the trailer above.

https://youtu.be/hGem4uzZPFM

Fans of American stock car racing will soon have a new option on consoles: Forza 6 will include them in an upcoming expansion. As we reported last week, the upcoming pack (the second of its kind, after the Porsche Expansion Pack) should have 24 cars from the current 2016 season, alongside Homestead-Miami Speedway, as well as new HUD features for drafting and car spotting.

It looks like the upcoming Forza Horizon 3 isn’t the only big thing Microsoft has planned for the franchise. While Forza 6 receives monthly DLC packs (the most recent being the Hot Wheels pack that released earlier this week), and the series makes in-roads on the PC platform, a recent leak suggests a second expansion pack for the current Xbox One title.

The latest version of Gran Turismo 5, 1.11, is now available as a free download, weighing in at 62MB. As Kazunori Yamauchi previously announced, this minor update is focused on fixing bugs and glitches within the game, with more “features and content” expected to arrive in the next few months.

Polyphony Digital has, curiously, announced a special “NASCAR-themed online racing event” to be held in GT5’s Seasonal Events next Monday, August 29th at approximately 8:00PM PST. Though specifics remain sparse, they have confirmed a unique prize for the event will be available in the form of Jeff Gordon’s 2010 driving suit and helmet. Kazunori Yamauchi has also commented on the event via Twitter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7NIynajnEk

A stream of interesting tidbits have been trickling into our Gran Turismo 5 forum today via several new magazine articles. First up is the December 2010 issue of PSM3 magazine, which provides a few details as highlighted by our own Dessy182:

YouTuber MixEPsilon managed to get his hands on a French copy of what appears to be the GT5 Kiosk Demo that’s been showing up in stores around the United States. He plugged in his Logitech G27 steering wheel (which appears to be functional with the exception of the clutch pedal) and has been posting high-quality videos like a mad man ever since. Check out 17 of his latest clips below. For more detailed impressions of this demo, don’t miss this in-depth gameplay evaluation by long-time GTPlanet user, JohnBM01.

Kazunori Yamauchi went head-to-head in a fastest lap shootout with NASCAR driver Joey Logano at a private Gamestop manager’s convention just last week. Logano managed to best Yamauchi’s time on Tokyo R246, winning everyone in attendance will get a free copy of GT5 come November. Thanks to Bryan Cook of Logano’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing, for capturing this video of the event and sharing it with GTPlanet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhWyHyzReg

You’ve probably seen most of these before – I had them posted here for a few hours yesterday until Sony asked me to take them down due to a press embargo on the material. No matter – now I’m able to share the full, original images with you in all their glory at 18 megapixels. Enjoy!

Long-time GTPlanet reader Rob Groove got his chance to play Gran Turismo 5 at the recent PlayStation BETA event, and he made a note to get something on video that we haven’t seen much of: damage on NASCAR cars. Watch his clip above, and be sure to read his full analysis of the demo for his full impressions. Thanks to Rob and all who sent this in!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPg7dXCIqeU

If you watched all the coverage from E3 2010, you’ve probably seen some of these shots before – but, as usual, I’m posting them up again here in their original, watermark-free, 18-megapixel glory so you can take in every detail. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY7pxuKUkX0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC7wpupIP5U&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=746uWpjd85w