NASCAR Thunder 2003 (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox)

Prototype Info Bugs

Playable Pace Car#

As in the rest of the NASCAR Thunder trilogy, the pace car (listed as Buster Auton in-game, as he was the official pace car driver during that era) is supposed to be an unlockable bonus car. However, due to a bug in definition of his Thunder Plate unlocking condition (he is supposed to be unlocked by winning three Career championships, but that instead unlocks the fantasy drivers, normally unlocked by the "Extra Drivers" name in Create-A-Car), it is impossible to unlock the pace car as a playable driver without use of a cheat device. This also means his Thunder Plate goes unused.

Unused Audio#

To do: Rip Joe Nemechek's voice call and his pre-race intros. Re-rip without the PRN commentary - these are currently copies from the NT2004 page.

Some audio calls corresponding to several unused drivers, including tens of legend drivers, can be found.

Some drivers are also present as playable drivers, but their voice calls go unused.

Unused Portraits#

Dale Earnhardt and Jason Leffler has unused portraits, matching the style that used in NASCAR Thunder 2002, indicating that they are leftovers from that game.

Unused Number Graphics#

Several leftover number graphics from NASCAR Thunder 2002 were left unused. Most of the textures are for teams that either did not return for NASCAR Thunder 2003 (e.g., Eel River Racing's 27, driven by Kenny Wallace), or whose numbers did not change between the 2001 and 2002 seasons (e.g., Brewco Motorsports' #27 and #37 entries).

In a case of cross-game cut content, one of the number graphics (CNID 85) corresponds to Tim Sauter's #61 Xpress Motorsports car - a team that did not appear in NASCAR Thunder 2002, likely due to Xpress Motorsports closing their NASCAR Busch Series team halfway through the 2001 season.

Oddities#

Tobacco and Alcohol Sponsors#

The Daytona infield course (which is not actually based on the real-life Daytona road course) has an explicit NASCAR Winston Cup Series billboard in one of the corners. This would be fixed in the sequel, but the sequel still has traces of the Winston Cup logo somewhere...

Additionally, Timber Wolf, Jeff Purvis' smokeless tobacco sponsor, is explicitly mentioned by name in the paint scheme changer menu in the Season mode. (Busch Series drivers do not have a visible paint changer when selecting a driver, except for Dale Earnhardt Jr., being the only second-tier series driver to have multiple paint schemes.)

Furthermore, Tim Sauter and Brian Vickers has explicit, unedited Busch Series logo, whereas most second-tier series drivers had edited logos where the NASCAR logo is in the center, where the Busch logo was. (Unrelated to this, Tim's car is also listed as unsponsored in the Season mode's paint scheme selector.)

Kasey Kahne's Profile#

Kasey Kahne's profile (birthday and hometown) in this game is actually a copy of Elton Sawyer's from NASCAR Thunder 2002, presumably due to the number belonging to the same team. This can result in Kahne retiring earlier if he appears in the Career mode.

NT2002 Elton Sawyer	NT2003 Kasey Kahne

Jeff Gordon 2001 DuPont Scheme#

The rear quarter of Jeff Gordon's 2001 paint scheme is almost completely identical to his 2002 scheme, with GMAC on the bottom of the "driver" (ahead of the rear wheels) slot and Lowe's on the rear end of the "team" (at the sides of the rear bumper), as well as the 2002 Quaker State logo on the rear greenhouse. Lowe's was never a Jeff Gordon sponsor in 2001, with Fritos being where GMAC was on the 2002 scheme and Quaker State's old logo being on the "team" slot instead of the rear greenhouse, among others.

2002 DuPont Chevrolet	2001 DuPont Chevrolet

Jimmy Spencer#

Jimmy Spencer's menu car number graphics uses a different number font from what he actually uses in his car, an issue that would be carried over in NASCAR Thunder 2004 (when the #41 was driven by Casey Mears).

Coy Gibbs#

Coy Gibbs' car uses a different font number instead of what he uses in real life, the standard Joe Gibbs Racing #20 font also used in the Cup Series by Tony Stewart. The origin of Coy Gibbs' font used in this game is unknown.

Bobby Labonte Rookie Texture#

Due to an error in the NASCAR.DB file (Bobby's RTOF value is set to 13, his pit box ID for the PBNR field, while it should be set to 45), if Bobby Labonte ever retires in the Career mode and a new driver takes over the #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, the replacement will have no rookie stripes on the car.