It’s an exciting time to be an oval racing fan, as rFactor 2’s Stock Cars are nearing release! SimHQ published an interview today with Tim Wheatley, talking extensively about the notNASCAR content coming to ISI’s flagship racing simulator later this year.

The full interview can be read here, although we’ve trimmed it down below to get to the good bits.

• The car itself is slightly ahead of where it was, almost release ready now. It is really more the core that has been developed over that time for the car.
• We have our generic manufacturers back again. The Centennial, the Titan, and the Edgar EVO. They are a Cup-level stock car.
• The stock cars will naturally use all the latest developments in the rFactor 2 code base, chassis flex, special stock car chassis adjustments (truck arm height and ackermann setup options for example).
• It has also forced us to look at existing things and optimize them even further, such as drafting. That is very important in all racing, but absolutely critical in stock car racing.
• Indianapolis, notCharlotte, and notDaytona are three ISI oval tracks compatible with the new Stock Cars.
• Modders are currently working on scratch-made versions of  notKentucky, notDarlington, and notRichmond.

While I wasn’t a fan of the notNASCAR series found in the original rFactor, advancements in the engine and ten years of working on rFactor will hopefully let ISI blow everybody away when these cars are finally released, and hopefully re-ignite interest in rFactor 2, which is practically a ghost town online at this point.

Currently, the best place to drive stock cars in a virtual environment is in ARCA Sim Racing, a freeware title based on the original rFactor game engine.