NASCAR fans are upset that legendary racing driver Jimmie Johnson has only been rated 54 out of 100 in the new video game, although most understand why.
NASCAR 25 was officially released on Oct. 14, featuring the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series. While most drivers were included in the new game, Kris Wright was omitted from the roster.
Cup Series star Chase Briscoe has already tested the game and believes that all fans will be delighted with the final product. However, fans looking for a nostalgic experience were upset to see seven-time champion Johnson toward the bottom of the rankings.
William Byron is the highest-rated driver in the game, after being given the maximum 100 rating by developer iRacing. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are both rated 99, and Ryan Blaney (98) and Christopher Bell (97) complete the top five.
The ratings have been determined based on current racing ability, meaning that legendary players featured in the game are worse than some fans expected. Martin Truex Jr. has been given a 63 rating, but Johnson’s 54 rating has raised eyebrows.
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Fans reacted to Johnson’s rating in a Reddit post, conceding that his later years with Legacy Motor Club were far from successful on the track. “I understand why, but putting 7-time Jimmie Johnson that low still feels criminal,” one fan wrote.
“Both Jimmie and Truex Jr should be higher by default IMO, but yeah, I get why they’re that low,” another added. “Jimmie at 54. I’m crying and throwing punches,” one fan claimed.
“There’s HOF Jimmie and then there’s LMC Jimmie who has an average finish of 32.6 in the 13 races he’s been in since 2023,” a fourth noted. “Jimmie Johnson at a 54 is painful. I get it that they’re talking about 2025 Jimmie and not prime Jimmie, but it’s still rough,” another said.
DON’T MISS
NASCAR 25 is the first standalone console release by iRacing, and developer Matt Lewis believes it’s the best racing game yet. “This is the first time that iRacing is coming to console at all,” Lewis said.
“We have, obviously, a 30-year relationship with NASCAR going back to their early days on sim and PC, but this is the first time on console. So, a lot of the driving aspects and things like that you would expect from iRacing’s super-authentic race physics are in the game, and we’re really excited to bring it to console for the first time.”
“It’s been about six years since there’s been a NASCAR console game at all. In that same span that we’ve been doing sim for about 30 years, there have been five or six different publishers.
“This is iRacing’s first effort on the console, and we expect to build another 30 years doing console games now as well.”