Competition Structure...

Basically, the people who race on the Realistic side of the NROS are the true "professionals" of this newly created online sport. The competition structure set up by NROS officials reflects that professionalism. The entire season is broken up into quarterly series in which you race for 12 weeks. During each series, there are nine opportunities each week for each of the divisions (Pro, Semi-Pro, Intermediate, Amateur, and Rookie) to race. Figuring that most racers in the NROS have other lives to lead, you are only required to race once a week.

At the end of the 12 weeks, your two worst point totals are dropped—there has to be some flexibility involved. The drops minimize the agony of lost connections, being run off the track by some kamikaze amateur, or just needing to miss a week of racing (you know, for vacations, hot dates, or just leading a somewhat normal life). NROS then takes your 10, yielding your overall score for the quarter.

After 12 weeks, the top 24 point winners (NROS uses the real NASCAR Winston Cup point system...what'd ya expect?) move on to race each other in week 13—a one-time-only race that eliminates ties. The winner of that race gets the additional points added to his of her total score and is crowned the quarterly series champion.

After the four quarterly series are completed and four champions are crowned, a five-week annual championship is held. The top three finishers in each of the quarterly series gain a berth in the annual championship series. Of thousands of racers who join the NROS, it'll come down to a field of 24 finalists participating in each round of the championship series. To fill out the field, NROS officials will take everyone's point totals during all four quarterly series, divide by the number of races the individual completed in, and the top 20 points totals qualify for the championship.

During the five weeks of the championship series, races will be held every Saturday. All 24 racers in the field must participate in the scheduled races—no drops—winner take all. At the end of the five-week championship series, an NROS Series champion will be crowned. Just like other NASCAR-sanctioned series, there will be an NROS series banquet held to honor the champion as well as all of the people who participated in the online sport.

Cheaters Never Win!

Face it, there are some folks out there with too much technical know-how. So how is NROS going to regulate and terminate cheaters—people who go in and hack the system to make their car the best? Think about it; with the right how-to books, anyone could go in and program a car whose tires don't wear down or that doesn't run out of gas. A sure bet for the championship? Nope, a sure catch for Ed Martin and the officials at NROS.

NROS officials are going to do the exact same things that NASCAR officials do to ensure that everyone follows all of the rules. At the end of each race, the top three cars and two random ones will immediately impounded and torn down, just to make sure that nothing funny's going on.

When it comes to cheating, the NROS has an advantage over NASCAR: it's completely electronic. For each race, a computer compiles a baseline for exactly what happened every nanosecond of the race. That baseline comes in the form of a replay file that resides on the race server. Technobabble for some of you—a stern warning for others—and peace of mind for all racers. Once NROS impounds the replay files for those five cars in each race, officials have a way to check your fuel levels, tire wear, car weight, and many other controls that should change during the course of a race.

NASCAR truly is one of the most popular sports these days. These drivers have become celebrities and heros to millions of race fans worldwide. But what every young racer needs is the right training and a big enough bank account to live out their dream of roaring past the checkered flag at Charlotte.

That's all changed with the creation of the NASCAR Racing Online Series. Now there's a completely sanctioned professional sport that anyone can be a part of online. Results of NROS will be covered by popular magazines and webzines such as NASCAR Online and results will of course be posted by NROS officials as data logs. TEN's Datasphere site on the Internet will feature a user-written newsletter and information about pick-up races that you won't find anywhere else. NROS is a very, very, very big deal. A few years ago, this was something that the guys at Papyrus never dreamed of and the folks at NASCAR didn't know was possible.

The marriage of two has brought about the most realistic racing sim ever and now the most exciting possible use for it. If you've ever dreamed of designing, building, and racing a stock car in a NASCAR series, then hold on tight and get ready for the ride of your life. NASCAR Racing Online Series is about to make your dreams reality.