“Simply terrible; Absolute disrespect”: Fans slam NASCAR 25 game as they reveal drivers’ overall ratings

Fans have erupted after seeing driver ratings in iRacing Studio's NASCAR 25 game, ahead of its October 14 release. The comments highlighted that the ratings didn't reflect real performance.

NASCAR 25 is the first true console NASCAR sim under iRacing. It supports multiple series and features a career mode, track types, and a full driver roster. The rating system also ranks drivers in each of the four national series, Cup, Xfinity, Truck and ARCA.

In a latest post on X, NASCAR shared the full Cup Series ranking of all drivers in the game, and William Byron's 100 rating did not sit right with many fans. Others complained that NASCAR legends, including Martin Truex Jr. (63) and Jimmie Johnson (54), got very low scores.

Byron has yet to win a NASCAR Cup title but is rated below two-time champion Kyle Busch (84) and defending champion Joey Logano (90). Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson share a rating of 99, and Ryan Blaney has a 98 rating. Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe are all ranked above Logano.

"Simply terrible. Whoever did these needs to sit down on Sunday and actually watch a race. Because im convinced they have never done that," a fan wrote. "Absolute disrespect to JJ [Yeley]," another replied. "Truex and Johnson being disrespected as legends is terrible. Also would think SVG should have 100 on Road Courses that should skew his rating to the 80s?" another fan shared.

Meanwhile, some were unimpressed with the idea of rating altogether, and others hoped to have the option to change it like the NFL video game series, Madden.

"Horrible idea to bring ratings into it," a fan wrote. "So taboo to give anyone a 100 rating. In any game, ever. So strange," another replied. "I sure hope I can change these like you can on Madden. Serious adjustments are needed," another commented.

iRacing also opened early access to NASCAR 25 for Gold Edition buyers three days before the launch on Friday (October 10). Players have praised the game's visuals, but some have highlighted serious problems. Weak force feedback for racing wheels was a major issue, which the team said they would fix 'on priority.' Some even reported that the game crashes when customizing cars in career mode.

'100' rating drivers club in NASCAR 25

NASCAR 25 has rated drivers based on their performance across superspeedways, short tracks, road courses, and intermediate tracks. William Byron earned a 100 rating on intermediates with Joey Logano (speedways), Shane van Gisbergen (road courses), Christopher Bell (short intermediate), and Denny Hamlin (speedways and concrete tracks).

Meanwhile, current Xfinity and Truck Series points leaders Connor Zilisch and Corey Heim also got an overall 100 rating in their respective series in the game.

NASCAR 25 will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 on October 14 and PC via Steam on November 11.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam