EA SPORTS: What are some of the changes and improvements in the A.I. racecars this year?

Scott Stutsman: In NASCAR Thunder 2004, we have taken our fantastic racing A.I. cars and given them some personality by integrating Grudges and Alliances. Teammates and Allies will draft with you and not battle you as hard for position, but the really cool element is what we have done to create such great rivalries in the game. If you bump someone out of the way, you can expect the "favor" to be returned with a little retaliation.

EA SPORTS: Have there been any alterations to the physics model?

Scott Stutsman: We've tuned the game to be more "pick-up-and-play" friendly, so the initial experience for newcomers to the game will be a fun and exciting one, and not frustrating trying to learn how to drive the cars. We have scaled the level of difficulty so that the game experience can always be challenging, regardless of the user's experience level.

EA SPORTS: With NASCAR's templating system increasingly making most of the cars very similar, how can one get an advantage in NASCAR Thunder 2004?

Scott Stutsman: Practice, Practice, Practice. In all seriousness, though, with the depth of gameplay modes that we include in NASCAR Thunder 2004, by going in and trying out each of them, players will unknowingly improve their skills to the point where they will be winning races pretty regularly. They will then be ready to run a season or build a dynasty race team in Career mode.

Thunder License, which gives you great information on how to get around each track with coaching by your favorite driver to learn the ideal race line, is the place to start. We have also added new NASCAR 101 tutorials that get you up to speed with the game features and the nuances of NASCAR racing.

EA SPORTS: Talk to us about the new Speed Zone. How will that affect a driver's skill, and will it have any effect on career mode?

Scott Stutsman: We challenged ourselves to come up with something that was quick-hitting and fun and on top of that, teach the user racing skills that will help them out when they load up a race. We have passing mode where the objective is to pass as many cars as possible within a set number of laps. As you progress, the tracks become a little more crowded and passing becomes more of a challenge. We have Blocking where the objective is to keep cars from passing you.

The Drafting challenge requires you to stay behind another driver and "Share Draft" with that car to gain points. Share Draft is a new racing feature that locks you onto a car because two cars can go faster than one. It also helps you build Allies out on the track as when you do Share Draft, the other cars become more respectable to you. The final Speed Zone game mode is Time Trials. These are basically getting from point A to point B within a certain period of time, but this game mode introduces you to our new Fantasy Tracks. The finished product really shows that we met our goal that we set out to creating a game mode that is quick-hitting and fun.

EA SPORTS: What does a racer have to accomplish in the Lightening Challenge?

Scott Stutsman: A new feature last year, we really focused on expanding the Lightning Challenge game mode by introducing 40 new challenges of events that have occurred over the past year and put the user in the driver seat to experience the same situations that NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers got to experience. We brought in 2003 Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip to host this year's Lightning Challenges and sent him out to interview the drivers to get their unique perspective. What we deliver this year in NASCAR Thunder 2004 Lightning Challenges are some great racing moments.

EA SPORTS: How will online play work? Will people be able to have their own virtual Winston Cup seasons?

Scott Stutsman: This year, we take NASCAR Thunder 2004 on the Playstation 2 and give the users the opportunity to race online head-to-head on both broadband and modem. Players will get together in chat rooms and be able to challenge each other, send instant messages and track their racing stats to determine who is the best virtual driver out there. For broadband users, you will also be able to talk smack against your opponents as you race around the high-speed turns with EA SPORTS Talk.

EA SPORTS: What is new and improved in terms of the details and graphics in the game?

Scott Stutsman: Our team continues to squeeze every bit of processing power that our console units can provide in trying to render the most detailed, beautiful tracks possible. We've done this by giving each track great unique sky environments that add depth. We have also enhanced our lighting and textures to bring out the colors of the sport and to improve upon the users sense of speed. Plus, we have tweaked our cameras to ensure that the player is provided with many different racing angles to give them a great driving perspective.

EA SPORTS: Can you tell us anything about the new custom courses you've added?

Scott Stutsman: In NASCAR Thunder 2004, we turned our artist loose to create some of the most exciting racetracks that you can find in a racing game. What they came back with were four challenging road course tracks that are not only fun to race, but are also great-looking, with the likes of New York, Devil's Canyon, Dockside and Sawmill.

EA SPORTS: Anything else about the game that we haven't covered that you'd like to add?

Scott Stutsman: The team is very excited about NASCAR Thunder 2004. We've continued to add depth to our ever-popular Career mode along with adding some great new features that will appeal to the casual racing gamer, like online play and Speed Zone. We've raised the bar on the sounds of racing with great engine sounds and crashes that almost feel like you are involved in them. Finally, we have added a great soundtrack to the game with bands such as Fuel, Memento, Iggy Pop and Sum 41 that will give the user the opportunity to race to some of today's newest hit songs. The depth of our game will make NASCAR Thunder 2004 one of the best racing games ever made.