With F1 on its summer break, it’s time to take a look at another category of motorsport. Let’s cross the Atlantic to the United States to see what’s happening with NASCAR.
You either love NASCAR or you hate it; it’s very different from Formula 1 and is especially popular in the USA, and this license is undoubtedly designed to appeal to the American market.
And how can we not think of the movie Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise. Well, today, no need to turn on the TV, NASCAR is coming to my living room.
Released a few months ago in the Digital 132 range, the NASCAR Daytona Challenge box set is here, ready to be opened.
Externally, the box set is identical to the design of the other boxes in the digital range, with only the NASCAR and Daytona Speedway logos added to the front.
On the back, there are only advertisements for track extensions; all the main information is on the front.
The big new packaging for this set is the introduction of cardboard packaging, like the GO and First. No more white polystyrene that leaves little balls everywhere! Who hasn’t been annoyed to find those little balls everywhere for a few days?
Just like polystyrene, the cardboard provides a place for each element of the set.
If you remove the upper elements, you can see the tracks, curves, straights (and switches), and the feeder/power supply.
Note that the set could hold four additional rails for the straight tracks, and a spacer was added to prevent the stack from moving. Regarding the curves, eight could be added. Imagine the set Carrera could offer with 12+4 straights and 8+8 curves; that would make quite a track.
Aside from that, the tracks are wrapped in plastic film. Who knows why? Perhaps to protect the components from moisture during shipping. If anyone has the answer to this question, please don’t hesitate to write to me.
The cars
We choose a set primarily for its cars, so here are our two vehicles on the track.
As they appear on the starting line:
- NASCAR Camaro NextGen ZL1 “Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott, No.9”
- NASCAR Camaro NextGen ZL1 « Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman, No.48 »
Two vehicles from the Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR team, of which Carrera is a partner, or rather for which it acquired the license. The vehicles are, as always with Carrera, well represented, nothing to complain about.
An important element is the small number of accessories such as the antenna, rearview mirror, and large spoiler, which means these vehicles aren’t too fragile if they go off the track.
I can’t resist comparing the 1/32 scale models with their smaller 1/43 scale siblings in the GO range. If the Digital 132 scale cars look better, it’s because of the scale; the details are larger and therefore more visible.
A quick trip to the scale for the NASCAR No. 9s in the GO and Digital 132 versions.
40g for the 1/43 scale and almost 115g for the Digital 1/32.
Note: To prevent the magnet from disturbing the scale and the sensor, I placed the vehicles on their roofs.
On the track, I’m not a great expert on handling, to tell you that the car oversteers or understeers. For my part, both cars have classic behavior. Where I would like to test these cars is on an oval with banked curves because it is on this type of circuit that we Europeans like to watch Nascar with pushchairs at more than 200 km / h.
The route
The proposed layout is as classic as it gets, fortunately everyone can create their own.
Carrera therefore chose the classic circuit, but I would have liked a layout like the 2007 set 30123, which also features Nascar, with an oval circuit with banked turns. To ensure fairness between players (which is why Carrera only offers figure-8 circuits), I would have placed a double switch on one straight and a forced lane change on the other straight.
The provided switch is double, allowing you to switch from the left lane to the right lane and vice versa.
The controllers
We’ll cover the controllers in more detail in a dedicated article, as these are new version 2 controllers! But I can still say that I was very disappointed that Carrera didn’t provide 2 AAA batteries for the wireless controllers. RC cars come with a set of batteries for the remote controls. So why not provide them in a D132 box for €300?
Bilan
A classic layout set featuring sturdy vehicles that stand out on a track alongside DTM, GT3, and even the vehicles from the animated series Cars.
D132 NASCAR Daytona Challenge Set
Reference: 20030042
Track length: 7.3m
Recommended retail price: €320