NASCAR: info and hints wanted

I have been playing NASCAR for a couple of weeks and the game is pretty good, but real hard! I had tons of trouble getting a decent setup for my car. I finally got a bunch of car setups from a page on the web (don't remember the page now sorry) and I was wondering if anyone could give me any hints for driving, point me to a FAQ, or tell me any more web sites so I can learn more about how to play this game! I can't seem to take corners at a reasonable speed without going into the walls. I have trouble holding any decent line on the track. I have found that I can get faster laps with manual braking on instead of auto, but this also makes the game more difficult! Any help would really be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff [good job Papyrus!]

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>I have been playing NASCAR for a couple of weeks and the game >is pretty good, but real hard! I had tons of trouble getting >a decent setup for my car. I finally got a bunch of car >setups from a page on the web (don't remember the page now sorry) >and I was wondering if anyone could give me any hints for driving, >point me to a FAQ, or tell me any more web sites so I can learn >more about how to play this game! I can't seem to take corners >at a reasonable speed without going into the walls. I have trouble >holding any decent line on the track. I have found that I can get >faster laps with manual braking on instead of auto, but this also >makes the game more difficult! Any help would really be appreciated. >Thanks, >Jeff [good job Papyrus!]

Start with a decent input device. If you haven't got a really good joystick or a wheel/pedal combo, you're lost. Get your frame rate up as high as you can by turning off all the eye candy (texture walls, grass, objects, etc). I turn on the skid marks (helps you to find the racing line) and set the car textures to auto (I like to know who I'm passing). It's amazing how much better you can drive when you can see what you're doing. Finding the racing line, brake points and the acceleration points is most of the battle. When I first started, I set the opponent strength down to 80% and followed the AI drivers around the track until I could follow their line, and brake and accelerate at the same place. Look for a skid mark or some other unique identifier to mark your spot. Watch replays of the AI drivers and see what they do. If you select a chase view, you can see and hear the points where the accelerate and brake. Start with an easy track like Atlanta with a decent setup. You want to roll gently out of the accelerator and tap the brakes lightly to get into the corner. Get back on the gas by steady pressure on the accelerator, don't jam on it, especially if you're holding a tight line in the corner or you'll smack the wall for sure. It seems counter-intuitive, but driving hard into the corner is usually not the fastest way around the track. Keeping a nice smooth line will usually result in faster lap times and also save the "tars" which becomes important as you increase the length of the race. Good racing! Dave