How to play

How to Start the Game

Highlight the "NASCAR 09" icon in the games menu on your phone, and press "OK." EA Mobile/NASCAR splash screens are displayed followed by the option to play with sound on or off. Select "Yes" or "No." On initial launch, a tutorial is then presented to the player describing some of the basic techniques and maneuvers used to play the game. The Main Menu will then appear or appear immediately following the splash screens on subsequent launches. Select "Race Now" to start playing instantly with default settings.

Menu

• Race Now - Instant action to immediately start a race using the current settings and bypass the more elaborate race setup screens
• Choose Race - Start a new Single Race, Chase, or Season mode game or continue a previous Chase or Season in progress
• Game Options - Access the game's settings
• About - Display legal info, customer service and copyright information
• Help - Display detailed instructions about how to play the game
• More Games - Find more EA Mobile games for your phone
• Exit - Leave the application

Choose Race

Within Choose Race, you have options to setup a new race mode:

• Single Race
• The Chase
• New Chase: Begin a new Chase
• Continue Chase: Continue previous Chase
• Back: Return to Main Menu
• Season
  • New Season: Begin a new Season
  • Continue Season: Continue previous Season
  • Back: Return to Main Menu

Game Options

Within Game Options, you have options to turn on or off the Music, Sounds, and Vibration:

• Sounds: On/Off
• Turn sounds on or off
• Music: On/Off
• Turn menu music on or off
• Vibration: On/Off
• Turn handset vibration on or off

How to Play

Drafting - By getting behind another car you can gain draft boost. When the time is right, pull out into an open lane and your car will accelerate as your draft boost is depleted.
Aggressiveness - The driver of your car has three aggressiveness settings, defaulting on Green. Yellow and Red will make the driver push the car harder. Be careful, the risk of crashing increases as the car is pushed.
Pitting - At any time the player can elect to enter the pits to work on their car or replace worn items. After a player elects to enter the pits, the car will go around the track until it reaches pit lane and then enter.
Tires - The tire wear indicator is very important as the tires effect the handling of the car. If your tires are worn you can enter the pits and change them.
Fuel - Keep an eye on your fuel gauge, running out on the track is not a winning strategy!
Damage - Throughout the race contact with other cars is unavoidable. If too much contact is made, your car will become damaged. Damage affects the top speed of the car and can be repaired in the pits.

Controls

FUNCTION	KEY
ALL
Navigate Up, Down	d-pad up, d-pad down
Navigate Left, Right	d-pad left, d-pad right
Select / OK	OK
Quit / Exit App	EXIT
ENABLE SOUND SCREEN
No, Yes	LSK, RSK
IN-GAME
Increase Speed	d-pad up
Decrease Speed	d-pad down
Move Left, Right	d-pad left, d-pad right
Driver ID's	OK, RSK
Pit	*
Rear View (3D only)	#
Pause	LSK

Please Note: Controls may differ across handsets.

Saving/Loading

Game progress is automatically saved upon exiting the game after each race. To continue the current game that you've exited, select "Choose Race" on the Main Menu and "Continue" in the corresponding game mode.

Note: Progress is only saved in "The Chase" and "Season" modes after single races are completed.

Tips and Hints

• Effective use of drafting and boosting will give you a decisive edge. Perfect your skills of getting up close behind the car ahead, building boost, and making a quick pass to rocket ahead.
• Try to wait for Yellow Flags to pit. Because the race continues at full speed while you pit under a Green Flag you can lose a lap on the other drivers. Only pit under a Green Flag if you are about to run out of fuel, excessive tire wear is giving you serious control problems, or your car has sustained heavy damage.
• When you pit, keep an eye on how your pit time is effected by your decisions. Fueling up often makes sense, but major repairs or getting a full set of fresh tires is not always worthwhile, especially near the end of the race.
• Driving at RED speed all the time is not smart. You'll burn more fuel, wear tires faster, and are more likely to spin out. Driving in RED on turns is extra risky. If you find that you are losing control, slow down. You can also pit and get a fresh set of tires, which will let you to carry more speed safely.
• Avoid collisions and damaging your car. Light damage is ok, but severe damage will slow you down, and repairs require protracted pit stops. You can reduce the odds of a collision by keeping your car under control, staying out of tight packs, and being quick on lane changes to avoid pileups.
• On each race track, each turn on the track has a "best" lane. "Best" lanes allow you to get through the turn quicker than the other lanes. Try to learn which lanes are the best for each turn. Your spotter will give you hints.
• At PRO and LEGEND difficulty, the other drivers will be more competitive, and the races more unforgiving of mistakes, so you'll have to ramp up your skills to stay competitive!
• After each race if you get a yellow star next to your Best Lap Time this means you have broken your own record for best time. Try to get your lap times lower and lower in order to improve your overall performance.

FAQ

Q. How do the difficulty levels affect the game?
A. Rookie is the easiest difficulty and is a good setting to practice different techniques likes finding the best line on different tracks. The game defaults on Pro and is an ideal difficulty setting for the average player. Legend is the hardest difficulty and requires the most mettle to master. Contenders' aggressiveness intensifies the harder the difficulty.

Q. How do I draft and boost?
A. Drafting is a technique used to reduce the effect of drag. To draft, align your vehicle behind another and your boost meter will begin to fill up. When your boost is completely filled, you can shift your vehicle away from the pack to get an instant speed boost. Use drafting and boosts wisely to get ahead of the pack.

Q. When are the best times to pit and how do pit times affect my race position?
A. To avoid losing valuable track positioning in the race, the best times to pit are when other cars are pitting or under a yellow flag condition. Be mindful when performing maintenance on your car while at the pit-stop. More maintenance equals longer pit times, and the longer your pit time, the farther you'll drop back in the race when back on the track. After a pit, the lap will always advance one and add an additional lap if on the last. Keep in mind that pitting towards the end of the race could result in your placement dropping to last which isn't usually desired.