Hot on the heels of last year's NASCAR Thunder, Electronic Arts and developer Tiburon Studios are hard at work on a sequel to the game. We had the chance to take a peek at a very early version of the PlayStation 2 game and were more than a little surprised by what we saw. Rather than offer up a variation on last year's game, NASCAR Thunder 2005 looks as though it's going to get a pretty extensive makeover from its predecessor. While the game is still coming together, we think its safe to say NASCAR Thunder 2005 is likely to be the most ambitious entry in the series to date.

　　In the wake of the success of last year's entry in the series, the Tiburon Studios team reexamined last year's game and picked out the elements that appeared to resonate the most with players. But instead of putting them into the same type of game that NASCAR Thunder 2004 offered, the team has focused its efforts on creating a more lifestyle-focused experience. With the popularity of the grudges-and-alliances mechanic from last year's game, the decision was made to expand it in a big way. In this year's game, you'll be essentially living the life of a NASCAR racer. The career mode will start you out racing production cars on city streets so that you can work your way up to the big leagues. An in-game calendar will let you map out your road to fame. As you make your way to the top, you'll have to manage relationships, which will sometimes lead you to make a rival or two (which can, in turn, lead to altercations after races).

　　Relationships will play a large part of your experience in the game, thanks to their ties to your racing experience. In addition to the grudges and alliances, you'll have to manage fan loyalty, which will be tied to your performance on the track. If you race well and play nicely with the other drivers, you'll earn loyal fans. However, if your driving sucks, and you're an ogre to your fellow racers, don't plan on gaining much of a following. Another key element to your NASCAR experience will be ownership of your vehicle. You'll find an impressive array of cars, from traditional NASCAR autos to more exotic fare, which will help add variety to the experience. Ownership is set to be an important part of your experience in the game, because you'll be able to sell off cars at anytime. In addition, you'll find minigames in the game as well. You'll find nine new tracks added to the mix, for a total of 39, as well as a plethora of unlockable content.

　　As far as the gameplay goes, you'll find an all-new physics engine underneath the hood of NASCAR Thunder 2005. While the core driving mechanics won't deviate much from the previous games, you'll now have the ability to intimidate your opponents. If you come up behind one of your competitors, you'll be able to psych him out if he sees you in his rearview mirror. Additionally, the multiplayer component of the game will now support up to four players online.

　　The graphics in the early version of the game we saw were coming together well enough. The car models in the work-in-progress version we checked out were looking good and featured a solid amount of detail. While we were only able to take a look at one track, it already had many of the hallmarks we've come to expect from the series, including a detailed course, a good sense of speed, and a whole lot of smoke.

　　NASCAR Thunder 2005 appears to be shaping up to be a departure from what most would expect from a NASCAR game, but it should be a very promising entry in the series. The new spin on the NASCAR experience should be interesting and should keep the action fresh. NASCAR Thunder 2005 is currently slated to ship later this year for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox.