NASCAR Thunder 2003

Tiburon Speedway track:
Use a memory card with a saved file from an EA Sports 2003 game.

Thunder Plates:
Select the Thunder Challenge or Lightning Challenge at the game
mode screen. Complete the various challenges to get new Thunder
Plates. Note: The Plates are awarded randomly from game to game
-- winning a certain track with a particular driver will not unlock
the same Plate between games.

Dale Earnhardt:
To unlock Dale Earnhardt, enter his name at the create a car screen.

Fantasy Drivers:
To unlock fantasy drivers, enter the name Extra Drivers as the name at the car
creation screen.

Richard Petty:
To unlock Richard Petty, enter his name at the create a car screen.

Tiburon Track:
To unlock the Tiburon track, insert a memory card that has another EA Sports
save on it.

NASCAR Commentary
If you want to bend the rules a bit turn off caution flags, turn on unlimited fuel and
tires, move the race progress past 5%, and then do a quick race. When the race
starts, go to the side of the track or just go backwards on the track. Either way,
you'll hear some really funny commentary from your pit crew as you break the
rules of NASCAR.

Eight Championships:
Win all eight championships and get the Eight Championships video with a New
Lightning challenge.

Easy paint schemes:
Use the following trick to unlock your favorite driver's paint schemes easily. First,
set the difficulty level to veteran or legend. Then, set the race length to 3%. Turn
on unlimited tires and fuel and turn off damage. Go into quick race and choose the
driver whose paint scheme you want to unlock. Choose Daytona Night (Pepsi 400).
Before you qualify, go into car setup and set the transmission to manual. Set the
gear ratio to 5. Exit out and qualify. You will notice your car is much faster than
the others. You are running it at over 9500 rpm (about 193 to 198 mph). No one
will be able to catch you. The race is very quick. In less than an hour's time, you
can unlock many driver paint schemes.

To unlock paint schemes, instead of using the veteran difficulty setting, go to the
rookie setting switch the speed one level to the right. It will become custom. This
will also unlock paint schemes.

Win two titles to unlock the Driver Kitt paint.

Get pole position:
Before running a veteran race in quick race mode, take the Thunder license and
complete all three levels of the test for the desired track. This will give the first
(pole) starting position.

Better acceleration and easier handling:
For all of the tracks except for Daytona and Talledega, go into car setup before the
race. Change your tire pressure down to 15 psi for better acceleration and easier
handling. For Daytona and Talledega, leave it at 25 psi.

Pass easily:
Draft with the car in front of you for awhile. When you just come out of a turn,
move over and you should pass him. You can also do this on a straight away, but
it works much better coming out of a turn. Also, drafting helps fuel mileage and
your speed.

Faster donuts on celebration:
When you win a race and start to celebrate, begin to do a donut. When you are
spinning, hold the brake and your car will spin even faster.

Bristol: Easy win:
First, turn on the running line, and unlimited fuel and tires. Qualify as you would
for any track. During the race, when the running line turns red, wait a moment
before letting off the gas. Then, press the gas when you reach the green again.
The car will automatically go high, and the other cars will slow down. You can go
around them. It may take a few laps, but eventually you will be running in the
front. This tactic can be adapted for all short tracks.

When at Bristol Motor Speedway on the second lap, on the second turn the other
cars will slow down.

Bristol: Great crash:
Go to Bristol, turn around, and run directly into the lead car. If yellow flags are on,
you will not be able to turn around.

Daytona: Easy win:
Make sure the race is set on ten percent race length. Then, cause a crash on lap
four. If done correctly, there should be a caution. Go into the pits, and ignore that
fact if no one else also enters. You will probably be last, but there will soon be
another caution and the leaders will come in. Stay out and do not pit. After the
stop, you should be in first or second place. You will run low on gas, but you will
not run out. Block and you will be able to win.

At Daytona in career mode in the Datona 500, when you pit instead of taking four
tires or right side tires, take on left side tires and enough fuel to make it to the
finish. You should leave the pits in first place, providing that you came in first or
near it.

Daytona: Super speed:
Go to Daytona Super Speedway at any length. At a round of pit stops, before you
enter, go to speeds of 71 to 75 mph. Do your pit stop with a penalty; your speeds
should be at around 207 mph. This will work about 50% of the time.

Set your gear ratios to preset 6 and tire pressure at 21 psi. You will go up to 194
mph. Note: It will take your car some time to get up to speed, but on the second
lap you might even reach speeds of 197 mph (because you will be drafting).

Lowe's Motor Speedway: Car setup:
The following setup is to be used with caution. With this setup, your car can and
will slide out of turn four and hit a wall if you are not careful. Change the car setup
to the following settings. Tire Pressure: 23 PSI; Down force: Fender Flare, 74";
Rear Spoiler, 51 degrees; Suspension: Front and Rear Springs at 100%, sway bar
at 1/4 ", and Wedge at -4.0; Gears: first to 1.30, second to 1.10, third- 2.00,
fourth- .80; and Rear End to 4.60. This setup takes away the handling needed to
succeed on Lowe's, but the speed will give you an advantage. The acceleration
combined with the speed will get you up to about 195 mph by turn four, lap one.
Also, this setup allows you to not let off the gas if you have all assists on. Use
unlimited gas/tires for this, as it will eat your tires.

Talladega: Easy win:
Go to the car set-up then select the gear ratios. Set the ratio number to "5". Make
sure damage is off, and tire wear is unlimited. Also, use a manual transmission.
Note: This can also be used at Daytona.

Talladega: Car setups:
Go into car setup. Go into "Gear Ratios" and change the two down at the very
bottom to "89" and "4.45" respectively. Note: "4.45" for the bottom one and "89"
for the one above it. Accept the changes, start the race, and by the end of the
back stretch on the first lap, you can get up to and over 200 mph.

Go into car setup. Then, select "Auto Transmission". Set the tire pressure to "30".
Loosen or tighten the car as desired. Finally, go to the gear ratios. Leave the first
gear as is. Set second gear to "1.85", third gear go "1.35", fourth gear to "1.01"
or "1.02", and leave rear end as is. When you start the race, second and third
gear will be a little slow, but when you get to fourth you will blow them away. At
the end of the first lap you should be going about 190 to 195 mph.

Tiburon: Great crash:
Let all the cars pass you at the star of the race. Line up on the start/finish line so
that the front of your car is facing the wall and the back of it is facing the pits. Hold
the brakes and wait for the other cars to come around. With you parked out on the
track and the other cars coming around, they will hit you. When they do, you and
other cars will go flying up in the air. Sometimes this takes out four or more cars,
and perhaps even all of them.

Watkins Glen: Easy win:
Set the race length to 5%. On the first lap, cause a caution. When asked to pit, do
not. On the second lap, cause another caution. This time when asked, pit. You will
be 43rd place, but just before lap 4 everyone else will have to come in and pit.
You will coast to an easy win with enough fuel and tires.

Bud Shoot Out:
On the first lap, go into the pits and take on left side tires only (no gas or repairs).
When you leave the pits, cause a caution. After all of the caution laps, there will
only be one lap remaining and not enough time for anyone to pit.

Pay At The Pump lightning challenge:
During the Pay At The Pump challenge, step on the gas all through the track. Put a
big enough lead on Bobby Labonte and Sterling Marlin so that it is about a two to
three second gap. You will run out of gas at the exit of turn four, depending on
how hard you have been pushing the car. If the lead is big enough, just block and
you will win the challenge. This may take a few attempts, but if you drive the car
correctly it will be an easy way to win.

Pocono thunder challenge:
Press Start during the race. Go to the settings and set "Auto Brake" to "Off".
Set "Stability Control" to "Limited". You will be able to catch your opponent. Try to
stay off the wall; if you hit it too much you car will be gone.

The Big One lightning challenge:
At the start of the challenge or a few seconds after, slow the car to 181 to 183
mph. Do not let the meter at the top of the screen transfer below 24th or you will
be out of contention. When you feel that you have enough room between the cars
that will wreck and yourself, accelerate. You should have enough speed to get to
about 4th place. Stay alert to dodge the wrecking cars. Do not slow if you happen
to drive through some smoke. You have to time it correctly in order to catch the
lead pack.

Rookie stripes:
When in career mode, the back of your bumper has yellow stripes on it. When you
get to the second season, they will be gone.