Today we have 2 new additions to our Utilities page. The newest tools include a ride height patch application that will allow you to modify the AI & human cars’ ride heights. Along with that, we also have a well thought out and tested AI ratings formula from friend of the page, AI_Line_Mod. I will include each tool in this post below, and they will remain available from the Utilities page for the future!

• Ride Height Patcher – WastdTrashPanda
A long overdue and welcome utility is this Ride Height patcher. With this small program, you can patch your NR2003 executable to correct the ride heights for both the human and AI cars. A number of mods have ride height issues with human/AI cars sitting either too high or too low, and this very simple but powerful application takes care of everything. There are no presets, but you’ll find workable ride heights very quickly with how very easy it is. As always, make sure to read the readme!

• AI Line Mod Ratings Formula (v4.2) – AI_Line_Mod
This AI ratings formula has gone through several revamps and now finds itself in its final version. This is a great formula. These ratings were developed and are intended to be used with the default papy_ai.ini. They were tested mostly on papyrus tracks with all physics types, primarily around 50% race length (though all race lengths were tested). They were modeled after the winston cup era, with the 80s, 90s, and early 00s races/seasons being the stats that were most heavily referenced during development. Expect single race variability but overall season accuracy. You can use this rating system with NRatings or the NR Roster Studio.

Today is full of updates and new tools so check out the full update post.

• The NR Roster Studio has so far been a popular download! Creator Jacob noticed the version available here previous may cause some users issues with being able to start it & update it the first time, so a new version has been posted. That version is v1.4.7.2 which you can download here now. It will also be found in the future, as always, on the Utilities page.

• Our recently released 1987 & 1988 templates are PSD (photoshop) files. However, we still have a lot of users who are still running older versions of Paint Shop Pro. PSP has a much lower limit of available layers, so the PSDs won’t open. With that said, there are now PSP versions of the templates available. You can download them here now as well as from the Aero88 Mods page.

• Wind Tunnel v1.0 – James Pinkerton
James has created an incredible tool that allows for AI cars to (finally) blow over. James does has plans for new versions, so keep an eye on the NR2003 Reddit as udpates will be available there first. As written by James, the program contains the following features:

• 2 Physics Models for control over each stage of the blowover sequence.
• Adjustable takeoff speeds anywhere from 0 to 360 mph.
• Force multiplier to keep blowovers on the lazier side or push them to the physical limits of NR.
• Set limits on concurrent airborne cars.
• Adjust cooldown periods after a flip before another can be initiated.
• Disable AI braking during a spin (!!!)

WARNING: This program may be falsely flagged by Windows defender or other cloud services as malware due to the intrusive nature of the add-on (accessing memory) similar to others like FreeCamera which are also commonly flagged. We recommend downloading with Firefox if Chrome based browsers refuse the download.

This version and future version of Wind Tunnel can be found on the Utilities Page.

• AI Enhanced v0.2 BETA – NR2003_Ryan
This new tool from Ryan gives you the ability to modify the AI driver’s lines and characteristics as well as the track’s grip to allow for things such as aggressive and/or multi-groove racing. There are a ton of features as well as a ton of custom-ability. Reminder: This is a BETA version so it is still in its infancy. A helpful guide from Ryan can be found here. Updates to the final version will be posted here as they are released.

Future AI Enhanced versions will also be available from the Utilities Page.

From the team here at Dr. Noise Paints, we officially release to the public a full 2048 high resolution template pack for all car types from the 1987 & 1988 seasons. These templates are the combined work of CC#48 (Chris), Lastlap (Darrell), and Dr. Noise (Bill). Also, the images below were created using the new NR Roster Studio. Huge new tool for painting, screen shots, and so much more:

These will be permanently made available on the Aero88 mod page, but also from this update post below:

• 1987 & 1988 Winston Cup Templates – CC#48, Lastlap, & Dr. Noise
These new templates are high resolution (2048) templates from the crew at Dr. Noise Paints. This download includes all makes/models that ran in the 1987 & 1988 seasons. These templates also include contingencies from both years. The included templates are:
► 1986 & 1987 Buick LeSabre
► 1986 & 1987 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2
► 1988 & 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix
► 1985 – 1988 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
► 1987 & 1988 Ford Thunderbird
► 1988 & 1989 Buick Regal
► 1986 & 1987 Oldsmobile Delta 88
► 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass

For those who may not have noticed, I snuck a new link into the carsets section about a month or so ago. In the future, all carsets for each class are going to be archived into their own sections separated by their years in order. As of today, I have updated the list to include carsets from 1948 through 1986 (and 2018, I felt like doing it… shut up. lol).

Once I have completed the task of archiving the Cup Series, I will then move onto the other NASCAR series (Busch/Xfinity/etc. & Trucks). I may also move onto to the ARCA series.

Obviously this is a huge task and I am but one humble enthusiast. Each carset uploaded is checked for the ratings formula used (and given a ratings formula if the carset is not fully rated). Any spelling errors in the driver’s names are also corrected. In some cases, when pit crew graphics are missing on some cars within a set, I will complete the pit crew graphics in most instances.

This is why it takes longer. But, I feel the extra time spent is worth it to ensure the best possible version of each carset is available. You can find the master list right at the top of the ‘carsets’ link when you hover over it.

A whole new version with a bunch of new features for the NR Roster Studio by JacobVersus has been released. Whether you’re editing rosters & ratings, need to view the cars in your carsets without entering the game, painting new cars, this tool is made for you. Along with all that, you can take photos & videos with modifiable cameras & lighting. Additionally, version 1.4 will also self-update. To get the tool, it’ll living on the Utilities page.

You can also get it right here from this update post!

• NR Roster Studio v1.4.7.2 (09/26/2026) (self-updating) – JacobVersus
The NR Roster Studio allows you to do a wide variety of tasks:
• Car Viewer: Much like the carviewer program, with active lighting that you can control, including a turntable you can export videos with. You can also edit the camera angles for taking screenshots of your work.
• Ratings: You can edit the ratings much like you can with the nRatings program.
• Live Painting Updates: Painting a car and need to see the car on the model? When you save your working file (PSD for example) it’ll immediately refresh on the car model. You can also export your TGAs right in the car viewer.
• Roster Builder: Visually view every car in your cars folder(s) and create rosters as you desire easily.
• Tire Graphics: Need a more period accurate tire? You can update the tires to match the mod or year of the cars you’re using.

This week in updates include new things for the Cup90 Mod, WinstonCup98 Mod, & the Cup2000 Mod. Resident artists for Dr. Noise Paints Lastlap & CC#48 have brand new ground up creations for tire MIP updates & some new high resolution template options.

New tire graphics include: 88 & 89 Hoosier, 90 McCreary, 93 Goodyear, & 94 Hoosier all available on the Cup90 mod page. A new 2000 Goodyear tire is available on the Cup2000 mod page. Lastly, a new 1998 Goodyear tire is available on the WinstonCup98 mod page (this one was previous available but has been updated). All of these great new tires are the work of Lastlap.

New templates options are available for the WinstonCup98 Mod. This includes a 1995 Template for the Pontiac Grand Prix along with some 1995 Ford Thunderbird grilles that can be used with the original SnG template. These creations are all the work of CC#48.

Two new tools are now available from a new name on the block, and it’s JacobVersus. He’s created 2 great new tools which can both be found on the top of the Utilities page. Both tools are also available here in this update post:

• NR Roster Studio v1.0 – JacobVersus
The NR Roster Studio is an all around huge update with significantly more options to the Car Viewer program. You’ll be able to instantly load and view any car from (just about) any mod without actually loading the game. Lighting/camera options are available to change the composition of the car. There’s even an option to load a car and see it update live as you paint it (in Photoshop), after you’ve saved the file of course. This is a great application with a bright future for those of us who paint cars.

• NR Season Generator v1.5 – JacobVersus
The NR Season Generator is a great program that will allow you to generate seasons as well as manage your tracks. This includes making tracks active/inactive which is a very handy tool for those who tend to hang out around the track number limits the sim allows. Another great tool, strongly recommended.

The high grip tracks formerly hosted by RogueToad27 have now been archived and made available for here. If you’d like to download these tracks, they can be found on the Eyjix Tracks page located here.

Additionally, I have simplified the Tracks links page. You’ll find you can now click directly on the Tracks link and get a much easier to read list of all the tracks archived and available here.

Mr. Caddell has completed another release version of his overlay application. If you’d like to get the details as well as a video showing how it all works in action, you can visit this link to his reddit post or his facebook post.

You can download the new version for free or tip the man for his efforts by visiting his download link location here.

Regular Dr. Noise Paints contributor Lastlap has created 2 new tire MIP updates. One for the 1990/1991 seasons for the Cup90 Mod. The other for the WinstonCup98 Mod.

The first photo above is for 1990/1991. It can be found on the Cup90 Mod page located here.

The second photo is for the 1998 era tire. It can be found on the WinstonCup98 Mod page located here.

Download Here:
Project Steelhorse Beta 0.9.5 – by Johnathon Caddell

Johnathon has created a new beta version already. Here is what he has listed as fixed from the previous version as well as new additions to the application:

Bug Fixes

• Retired cars now display correctly: Cars that retire mid-race remain in the standings with their retirement reason shown (ENGINE, ACCIDENT, etc.) rather than being removed from the field
• Multiple laps down now reported accurately: Cars more than one lap behind the leader now correctly display -2L, -3L, etc. instead of being stuck at -1L
• Lapped cars on pit road now update correctly: A car sitting stationary on pit road will now show increasing laps down as the race continues, without requiring them to cross the start/finish line first
• NR2003 crash-to-desktop recovery: PSF now detects when NR2003 has crashed and handles the shim process gracefully instead of hanging indefinitely
• Special characters in driver names: Names containing accented characters (ñ, é, ü, etc.) now display correctly via Windows-1252 encoding fallback
• Hyphenated driver names resolve correctly: Player name matching now handles surnames containing hyphens and punctuation
• Alternate NR2003 executables supported: PSF can launch NR2003_Fast.exe or any custom executable via the browse dialog
• Overlays no longer disappear on Intel integrated graphics: Added periodic always-on-top reassertion to prevent Intel GPU driver interference
• Config file error on window move resolved: Moving the PSF window during a race no longer throws a file permission error
• Multiplayer driver resolution fixed: Player car is now correctly identified when returning to a new race weekend on a dedicated server without restarting PSF

New Features

• Telemetry Refresh Rate: Five-tier setting (Ultra 288Hz, High 125Hz, Medium 64Hz, Low 16Hz, Very Low 8Hz). Lower the refresh rate if you experience performance issues
• Scoring Mode: Choose between Official Standings (updated once per lap, always correct) or Live Calculated (continuously updated between lap crossings). Live Calculated is automatically disabled in multiplayer
• Live Standings Sync: A configurable hotkey resyncs Live Calculated standings from official data at any point during a race. PSF freezes on the current official standings and seamlessly resumes live calculation after the leader’s next lap crossing
• Position change animations: Cars that gain or lose positions in the Live Standings and Scrolling Ticker now animate smoothly with green (gained) and red (lost) highlights on each lap update.

Download it here:
• Project Steelhorse v0.9.0 – Johnathan Caddell (SteelhorseLive)

A new project has formed in the way of a live ticker (and so much more)! This creation comes from Johnathan Caddell, better known on the net as SteelhorseLive. The program is not in its final state, but it does need some rigorous testing, so a beta version is being released to help discover what might still need fixing before a final version is officially available.

The program includes a load of goodies:
• Customizable Series graphics – Also the option for personalized number graphics.
• Dashboard overlay – for all your dash readouts.
• Input overlay – Shows your wheel/clutch/gas/brake inputs live.
• Relative – Similar to the F2 menu with some extra additions.
• Track map – Shows where you & all the other cars are on the track.
• Delta Bar – Compares your lap times as you’re running them.
• Live Standings – Vertical live standings similar to how you see them on television.
• Battle Box – Showing the next position in front of you and behind you with live intervals.
• Live Ticker – A ticket like you see running across the top of the screen on television.
• Radar – Really cool addition that shows the 2 cars closest to you and whether or not you’re clear.
• Stage Racing – BTZero’s stage racing is integrated into the application allowing for stage racing and the use of Better Cautions (Tyler Mallon) automated.
• Hotkeys to allow you to actively move all overlays around on the screen, similar to how it works with iRacing. Hotkey also exists to refresh all overlays.
• Pit Road Speed Warning – When you hit the pit road speed limit, a beep will warn you you’re at peak speed to keep you from speeding.

If you have any bugs you’d like to report when using this software, please join our Discord (link in the top bar) and use the Project-Steelhorse channel to report them. Updates will also appear in this location from the man himself.

New templates from Bill Anderson (Bill1947) have been added to the Project Wildfire CTS Mod page. New templates included are all 4 makes for the 2023 season (Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and even Dodge!). Along with that, Bill has also completed a 2025 RAM truck template.

Click the green link above to navigate to the CTS mod page to get them.

The NASCAR (Craftsman) Truck Series mod archive has been completed. There are currently 6 different truck series mods that have been released over the course of the NR2003 history. And, all are now represented in the trucks series mod section.

— Dr. Noise

The O’Reilly Series mods has officially been archived. Under the mods menu on the side menu, you will now see a new section created for the O’Reilly Series. This will encompass all mods available to recreate each season all the way back to its first year in 1982 to the present day.

I am going to continue creating these sections for the Truck Series, Modifieds, Late Models, Sprint Cars, Indycar Series, and an ‘other’ section for anything that may not fit those series listed.

Please note, carset sections will not be done until after the mods sections are completed.

— Bill

All NASCAR Cup series mods for all 7 generations are now archived. The mods section has been consolidated to make things more organized and much easier to find. Under the Mods section, you’ll find all generations organized by their years. As usual, each section will include all files that were released with the mods (templates, Car Viewer files, render scenes, additional textures, etc.)

To see the new section, hover ‘Mods’ and click ‘All NASCAR Cup Series Mods’. Presto, welcome to the new section.

Carsets sections will appear similarly in the future. All carsets per series will be listed by year and include details about the carsets, including which mod they’re specifically for.

–Bill

Hello all. I am in the midst of revamping how the carsets & mods sections are currently set up. It is a hell of a process, but I am definitely making progress. I am going to be setting up the mods section to be separated by series & years, rather than by individual mods. This will make it much easier to functionally find what it is you’re looking for.

Along with that, the carsets sections will also be broken up into specific series with each year present that has a carset available to it.

Once everything has been finished up, you will see the sections change. Previous sections will not be deleted/removed, so if folks have linked to pages in the past directly, those links will continue to work. However, those sections will no longer be able to be seen on the menus as they will have been replaced.

Looking forward to getting through this and offering far more archival support for this sim for years to come.

• Bill Martin