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.
Debuting an all-new physics engine with US Legend Cars, Street Stocks, and Big-Block Modifieds along with 26 brand-new dirt tracks, Tony Stewart’s All-American Racing was an average entry into the genre in terms of overall quality on PC. It had a Career Mode, a paint kit, various race modes such as 25-player Online Multiplayer, Championships, Quick Race, and Split Screen.