After months of groundbreaking innovation, bover907 has released the NHRL CUP Series Mod. As the members of the NASCAR Heat Racing League prepare for the 2008 season, the release of the mod concludes a long period of anticipation and speculation. For the creator, however, the finalization of the project signifies the evolution from idea to realization. In the beginning, bover simply sought to refine the painting process for the NHRL CUP Series. Over time, the mod transformed from humble origins into a comprehensive alteration of NASCAR Heat. The NHRL CUP Series Mod contains a host of impressive features, including stunning car models, updated engine sounds, new menus, and over 40 paint schemes from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The mod, designed exlusively for competition in the NHRL CUP Series, can be acquired from the downloads section.

During the 2007 and 2007-08 campaigns, the level of competition in the league achieved new heights for the fifth consecutive season. While the champions in the CUP (Rookiesrock), NBS (lepage71), and CTS (Rookiesrock) divisions remained the same, a talented crop of drivers arrived on the scene to produce unprecedented challenges for the league's titelists. In both CUP and NBS, an innovative points system, one eliminating poor finishes throughout the season, created the closest points battle among the top-15 finishers in league history. In the short, 8-event CTS season, the first-ever winter campaign conducted in the league, Rookiesrock and lepage71 led another close pack of points chasers. Based on the rosters for the 2008 season, few drivers expect winning to become any easier.

On December 1, the NASCAR Heat Racing League returns to Craftsman Truck Series competition for the first time since the 2006 season. During an 8-race "mini series" between the 2007 and 2008 CUP and NBS seasons, players will visit a variety of courses in pursuit of yet another coveted league championship. Official events take place on Saturdays at 11:00 PM EST between December 1 and February 2. Of particular interest, several drivers plan various debuts during the series; T1_Jesse and Trackmaster will make their first NHRL appeances while Big Mike, Donaldson, H8er, jesse rathbun, Jrfan381, MB2, P McSkip and Petty43 will participate in their inaugural CTS league events. CTS Series events will have the following settings: hardcore mode, approximately 25% race length, 3x wear factor, black flags at the pit road entrance, and manual pit road driving.

NASCAR Heat Racing League driver and painting afficionado bover907 is making progress on the NHRLCUP Mod. He has completed the model, driver cockpit, and wheels, leaving only the damage process unfinished. On the forum, bover explained that he hopes to release a beta towards the end of the CUP and NBS seasons: "now, I can finally start the damage model. That's the last thing to do before releasing a beta and templates." He added that the damage model is highly detailed, requiring patience: "It entails making the car into the twelve correct pieces, cloning each of those pieces like 3-6 times each, which gives you some 60 different parts, and all has to stay below the correct polygon count. . . . the damage model is, is the graphical representation of the damage on the car as seen in game. As far as how your car sustains damage from hitting what, how hard, that's all encoded in the game."

The NASCAR Heat Racing League has released IROC Challenge. The mod is intended for use in upcoming IROC series, short seasons geared for close competition between NASCAR Heat players. IROC Challenge includes paint schemes for 47 members of the NHRL and SCCA leagues. The mod will continue to be updated in the future. The initial version is designated 1.0; as new players and setups are added, versions 1.1, 1.2, and so forth will be released. As we transition to a new website, most news will be posted in our forums. Please register a username in order to download IROC Challenge. Announcements about test races and information about IROC Challenge Season I should be forthcoming.

2006 was a great season, producing first-time winners, close battles for series titles, and a new champion in Rookiesrock. Freed from the hindrances and misdeeds of BBFF, Rookiesrock broke out with a banner year, earning the NHRL Cup Series and NHRL CTS Series championships. In addition, he finished third and second in the respective overall points races. lepage71 became the first member to win three overall points titles in the same season and also captured the NHRL NBS Series championship. Both new and old title contenders appeared, as d3efan, efgordon, DavisV, and WildFire challenged Rookiesrock and lepage for various series titles. The competition should become even closer as NHRL enters its sixth season in 2007!

The NASCAR Heat Racing League has released the NASCAR Heat Busch Series Mod. The mod will be used throughout the 2006 NBS Series season. It is available for download on the league downloads page. Visit the forum for other important updates.

Please head to nhrl.net/downloads in order to download the NASCAR Heat Busch Series Mod. Contact lepage71 about installation questions and troubleshooting.

During the 2007-08 CTS Series, a shorter, 8-event version of the traditional truck campaign, Rookiesrock added to his growing championship resume, edging lepage71 1599 points to 1569. In a close battle throughout the schedule, Rookiesrock tied his closest pursuer for the series lead in victories (3) and top-10s (8) and finished with similar totals in +/- (50 to 42) and laps led (230 to 180). He held critical advantages, however, in top-5s (8 to 6) and bonus points (+50 to +40), differences "at the margin" reflecting Rookiesrock's more consistent performance than lepage71. In 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the points standings, veterans Reef, CR49, and Stick77 collected their highest season finishes while 6th- and 7th-place rookies Donaldson and Petty43 impressed with their quick learning and improvement. retroracer, DavisV, and Grove collected the remaining standings positions inside the top- 10.

Rookiesrock captured the 2006 CTS Series title, joining lepage71, TommyW, and GR8-1 as the fourth different series champion. He was dominant in the playoffs, finishing 3rd or better in 9 of 10 events and surging over the final three races. The championship battle was close, but Rookiesrock pulled away from challengers lepage and DavisV with clutch performances, such as late victories at #23 Texas and #24 Phoenix. He topped nearly every playoffs category, collecting 4 wins, 3 poles, 75 bonus points, and 238 laps led. Rookiesrock's 3.10 average finish trailed only Davis (3.00), but his unrivaled consistency fueled a 51-point advantage. He also succeeded during the 25-race regular season, finishing second to lepage in the overall standings (4234 to 4030).

In 2007, Rookiesrock once again finished on top of the CUP Series points standings, fighting as part of a four-car battle in a season filled with tight competition. Rookiesrock, efgordon, lepage71, and d3efan all had outstanding campaigns, each notching at least 3 wins, 13 top-5s, 15 top-10s, and respective points totals 2986, 2964, 2935, and 2880. Despite the close margins, Rookiesrock gradually consolidated his lead with stable finishes, a reliability that would ultimately fuel his road to the championship. efgordon mounted a late charge that came 22 points short, but still walked away with a career-best finish in the standings as consolation. Familiar members claimed the remaining top-10 spots; Stick77 (5th), "Back Row" Skoty Speed (6th), actlabs11 (7th), DavisV (8th), Reef (9th), and bover907 (10th) earned hard-fought standings positions.

Rookiesrock earned the 2006 CUP Series championship after a dazzling performance during the league playoffs. In 10 events, he tallied two wins, 6 top-5 finishes, a perfect 10 top-10s, and averaged a 5.30 finish. The championship battle was close again this season, as Rookiesrock's 1680 points trumped d3efan (1644) and WildFire (1628) in a contest lasting through the final race. d3efan led in points after 7 playoff events, but strong efforts by Rookiesrock in the final four races powered his title drive. Rookiesrock also fared well throughout the regular season: his 3823 points trailed only lepage71 (4015) and d3efan (3900) in the overall standings. d3efan nearly captured the overall points title, closing to within 35 points of lepage after race 21, but late struggles widened the final defecit to 115.

In what is becoming a stranglehold, lepage71 collected his third consecutive NBS Series title during the 2007 season. Despite challenges from Rookiesrock (2954 points) and efgordon (2941) throughout the campaign, lepage71's relentless top-5 finishes extended the final margin to 63 markers. Like the 2006 season, lepage was a model of consistency, tallying 16 top-5s and a perfect 20 top-10 finishes, completing every single lap, and dominating the field in the +/- statistic (+108). Only efgordon could amass comparable totals, earning 16 top-5s, 19 top-10s, and a 0.994 lap-completion percentage. Several other drivers enjoyed successful seasons, as actlabs11 (4th in points), Reef (5th), and Stick77 (6th) earned their highest finishes in the NBS points standings. EagleKeeper, in a military-shortened season, DavisV, kyle, and retroracer earned the other top-10 standings positions.

lepage71 won the 2006 NBS Series championship after a close playoffs competition with WildFire and Rookiesrock. Although a dangerous driving penalty shorthanded WildFire at the final event, lepage was remarkably consistent throughout the season, stretching his overall points lead to 228 and eliminating a 49-point defecit during the final three races. In 25 events, he led the series with 9 victories, 17 top-5s (tied with Rookiesrock), 24 top-10s, finishing average 4.12, and 497 laps led. His average finish was more than two positions higher than the nearest competitor (Rookiesrock, 6.20). And in an interesting statistical oddity, lepage achieved this while winning only a single pole. In 10 playoff events, he tied WildFire with 3 victories and Rookiesrock with 10 top-10s and topped all drivers with 221 laps led.