If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
As a direct ancestor of iRacing, the ‘Grand Prix Legends engine’ had multiple stock car racing false starts, before eventually releasing as NASCAR Racing 4. The original NASCAR 3, cancelled and replaced by one that used NASCAR 2’s engine, is barely remembered.
Originally an independent contractor for Papyrus and based in the United States, Shawn Nash collaborated with the legendary studio on the NASCAR Racing franchise titles until persuaded to stick around and develop SODA Off-Road Racing for himself; Software Allies was the small studio created to produce that groundbreaking title.
SODA is a simulation based on the Short Course Off-Road Drivers series, but did not contain any officially licensed cars or real-world tracks.