Dirt Track Racing 2 (DTR2) is a video game by the now defunct Ratbag Games. It is the third and final game in the dirt track racing series by Ratbag, which includes Dirt Track Racing (DTR), Dirt Track Racing Sprint Cars (DTRSC), and Dirt Track Racing 2 (DTR2).
History[ | ]
Dirt Track Racing 2 features the ability to run against up to fifteen opponents in single-player, and up to nine others in multi-player. The game was released in 2002. There currently are over twenty leagues that still run weekly events in the game. Perhaps the two largest websites devoted almost entirely to the dirt track racing series of games are those of Dirtwizard and FUO Motorsports.
Game modes[ | ]
Career Mode[ | ]
You start off at the absolute bottom in Dirt Track Racing 2. You're given enough money to buy a pro stock machine and enough to pay for your entry fees and buy a couple of parts. You have to earn the rest of the money you get by performing well and knowing which parts to buy to keep yourself ahead of the competition. Several series are available to join, and each are different from the others. From there, it's a constant struggle as you battle the field for the chequered flag, and simultaneously try to keep your car in racing condition. Winning races will not only earn you much-needed cash, but it will also attract the attention of various sponsors. Eventually, you'll earn enough money to buy a better car and join the better series. The better the series, the tougher the competition, so it is up to you to make your name known in the world of racing.
Multiplayer[ | ]
Multiplayer allows you to race against up to nine human opponents and prove that you have what it takes to be the best dirt racer in the world. The Multiplayer asset of Dirt Track Racing 2 is what keeps many racers coming back for more and many of the drivers are willing to help out with setup tips and with line help for the tracks. The Multiplayer mode has allowed many people to form leagues with hopes of being recognized as the best group for dirt racers and leagues often trade setups and car skins with each other and work together at other league events.
Tracks[ | ]
The game features fourteen default tracks ranging in size from 3/8 to 2/3 of a mile in length. It also features two figure 8 tracks. The famous Knoxville Raceway is included, as well as the Terre Haute Action Track, and Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. Despite a very large group of dirt racing supporters in the southeastern United States, no tracks, real or fictional, were included by default with the game. However, track editors have since made a few of the famous tracks from the south, including the former Atomic Speedway in Tennessee, which has now been demolished by the sites new owners, Crete Trucking. There are hundreds of other tracks available at nearly all websites associated with the game.
List of Default Tracks[ | ]
- 41st Street (Fictional, Based on 16th Street Speedway Bush Stadium)
- Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, Indiana) (Real)
- Eagle Raceway (Eagle, Nebraska) (Real)
- Harrison (Fictional)
- Huset's Speedway (Brandon, South Dakota) (Real)
- Knoxville Raceway (Real)
- Parkside (Fictional)
- Peakview (Fictional)
- Rodeo (Fictional)
- South Central - Figure 8 (Fictional)
- Spindale (Delaware International Speedway) (Real)
- Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, Indiana) (Real)
- Weaver Park - Figure 8 (Fictional)
- Williams Grove Speedway (Real)
Track editing has been very limited in this game because no new 3d models or objects could be added. However in 2004 Tony Senese shared released information about a method of editing using Rhino 3d (.raw file format). This opened doors to a whole new level to what was possible. This was shared first with the development team at DirtWizard and was used in the release of the first version of Bakersfield. As things progressed, other innovative ideas was formed such as adding new alpha objects, complete recreation of AI files, track grip control (when a track is resized or reshaped). Some of the tracks that have been created using these methods are McKean County, Great Lakes Raceway, Cumberland "The Rock", Thunder Vallery Raceway, Sharon Speedway, and many others. These tracks have a detail level to where they look like an "out of the box" track that came with the game.
Another obstacle in tracks has been the conversion of those from the other games from Ratbag. Due to some formatting issues, these could not be directly converted over without some warping issues at most tracks. Finally after years of trying, all of the tracks (originals and addons) for the earlier games can be converted. In order to do this with no fear of error they will only show up for online use. Also due to those tracks being built on a smaller scale, the grip is reduced in order to slow the lap times and keep them within scale. This allowed developers to convert tracks from not just DTR and DTRSC but also from Leadfoot and even the first of the Ratbag Games, Powerslide. Many of the Powerslide tracks were converted for the NSARA Thunder Trucks (offroad racing) and the one oval from that game was converted and edited to make PA Motosports Complex.
Chassis[ | ]
Dirt Track Racing 2 allows players to choose from three different chassis by default. Players can choose to race Pro Stocks, which are comparable to modified street cars. These are the slowest of the chassis available in the game. The choice for RatBag to use the term chassis is very misleading since it is not really chassis that are being changed as much as it is car class and car 3d model. The Generation III late models from DirtWizard actually were a grouping of late models that offered four different physics packages that were mirroring real life chassis makes.
Many leagues prefer the late model chassis because its use seems to be most prevalent over the United States. The fastest division of cars are the Concept Modifieds and a few racers prefer these machines. Some video gamers from Australia and New Zealand play the game and they are more interested in using chassis that have been modified by editors, such as Sprint Cars. Designers at Dirtwizard.net have created amuch more realistic looking chassis, which they call the NSDRA Generation III Late Models. This was the 3rd complete body redesign of the late models by this group. This particular chassis as noted above also included various physics packages for the racer to choose from. This allowed the driver to pick which suited their driving style the best. The Gen III late model has by far been the single most popular add on chassis for DTR2 since its release as seen with the wide use among so many different leagues. They have also created many more chassis, including one based on the WoO Late Models in real life, that has the same name, and is reportedly very different in handling. It was designed to appeal to the taste of the online racer that was used to the much more aggressive feel that was found in the dirt racing game mods for NASCAR Heat. Other chassis include Outlaw Dirt Trucks, NSDRA Super Stocks, Super Modifieds, Outlaw Modifieds, and many others.