NASCAR Racing 3 is a racing simulator produced by Papyrus Design Group and published by Sierra Sports for Microsoft Windows in 1999.
Gameplay
Players can compete in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 1999 NASCAR Busch Series. The game had an expansion called Craftsman Truck Series Expansion, featuring content from the 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Patches were available for updates for both the main and expansion games on the Sierra Entertainment website.
A CD-ROM given away as part of 2000 Daytona 500 official program includes a demo of the game (and NASCAR Legends) featuring Daytona International Speedway, which would make its official debut in the sequel, NASCAR Racing 4.
Development
Originally, NASCAR Racing 3 was to feature physics that debuted in Grand Prix Legends and to be released in fourth quarter of 1998, according to the teaser included in the Busch Series expansion pack for NASCAR Racing 2. This version of NASCAR Racing 3 was cancelled in favor of the final version, which was closer to the predecessor, and the Grand Prix Legends-style physics was pushed back to NASCAR Racing 4.
Reception
NASCAR Racing 3 received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.
The game won GameSpots 1999 "Driving Game of the Year" award. The staff called it "as ambitious as driving games get". It was also a nominee for CNET Gamecenters "Best Racing Game" award, which went to Need for Speed: High Stakes.