Welcome to the official NASCAR 26 Career Mode walkthrough! In this series, we’ll give you the inside line on making the most out of your NASCAR 26 career, working your way up from a start-up team in the ARCA Menards Series to the upper echelons of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Today, we’re taking you to your fledgling Race Shop. Now that you’ve made it through your first ARCA Menards Series start, it’s time to get to know what makes your team tick as you prepare for the rest of your rookie season.

Preparing the Car

Your first order of business will be to prepare your car for the second race of the season, the General Tire 200 at Phoenix Raceway. After all, you can’t expect the Jerky Boys Chevrolet to be in perfect shape since you just raced it!

You’ll have two options to choose from to get started: Parts and Garage. Garage is where you’ll perform the maintenance work you need to restore your existing parts to full potential, or you can go to Parts to buy new ones.

If you’ve purchased the Gold Edition of NASCAR 26, this is where the first of your additional benefits will have an impact. The extra $10,000 that you start your career with will enable you to buy multiple higher-level parts, up to Level 3, to take to Phoenix. You won’t be a race winner right out of the gate, but you also won’t be stuck with the lowest-performance parts on the grid across the board.

Opening the Office

Once you’ve prepared your car for Phoenix, the Office opens, which will enable you to take a look at your Staff, including your Crew Chief and Agent. Crew Chiefs offer percentage bonuses to your Work Points, which are used to repair your car in the Garage, and Agents offer percentage bonuses to your earnings.

If you’ve purchased the Gold Edition of NASCAR 26, this is where you’ll be able to hire your new VIP Crew Chief and Agent for free. These employees provide larger bonuses that will give your career an additional kickstart. Be sure to hire them before heading to the next race so you don’t miss out on any bonuses moving forward!

You’ll also start out with one Mechanic to go alongside your Crew Chief and Agent. The better of a Mechanic you have, the more Work Points you’ll get. You’ll also see multiple spots on your staff for an additional Mechanic and PR Manager that you can hire as you continue to progress and grow your team.

Before you leave the Office, be sure to check out the other tabs, especially Sponsors. This is where you’ll choose an incentive from Jerky Boys that awards you bonus money on top of your weekly contract. If you don’t choose an incentive before Phoenix, you’ll simply be leaving money on the table. Pick an option that meets the performance level you think you can get out of your car before exiting the menu.

Look Your Best

Last up before you go back to the track is the Team section, where you can customize your look. Chances are you don’t want to stick with the all-black look you started the season with, so head here to choose from a variety of paint scheme, firesuit, and helmet options. This is also where you can admire your Trophies up close once you start winning races.

Next up, we’ll take a closer look at the all-new Facility Upgrade options. Stay tuned!