NASCAR 26 will have an improved paint booth, featuring more shapes and mirror option Side-drafting implemented, with better smoke particle effects Pit stops said to have improved, and track cut penalties relaxed NASCAR 26’s latest Developer Diary episode has revealed more changes fans can expect to see in iRacing Studios’ second stab at creating an authentic stock car video game experience. Thus far, the list of improvements over NASCAR 25 has been fairly minor, with dynamic track rubbering arguably the biggest gameplay-affecting addition. Paint booth updates Developer Diary 3 was more of the same, with Producer Matt Lewis revealing players will now be able to mirror paint designs in the new game. I think we can categorise that under ‘things that should’ve been patched into NASCAR 25’… However, players are no longer limited to just seven shapes per paint job section, with the cap raised to 50, which should encourage a little more creativity with custom liveries (although it still feels rather stingy). Side-drafting was also confirmed, which should make super-speedway racing more realistic, with a new particle system making tyre smoke generation visibly more voluminous. So, the game’s post-race Victory Lane burnouts should look much better. Nice. Dynamic lighting was also showcased, making this year’s game look sharper than ‘25, although some Unreal Engine 5 foibles still remain, most notably wall shadow pop-in (especially at Lime Rock Park). However, car interiors have been overhauled and now look much more detailed and authentic. Pit stops Although pit stop timings are said to have been improved greatly over ‘25, the video evidence seems to suggest there is a delay between stopping in your pit box and your crew changing tyres, with the whole operation still seemingly a glorified cutscene. Career mode and Jamie McMurray The game’s career mode appears to focus