FirstCuts: NASCAR 09 Party Roundup

Earlier, we posted our interview with Jeff Gordon after he made his red-carpet run at Whisky River at the

Premiere Party. The time with Gordon was just a small part of the evening, so here’s a quick catch-all look with a few other items from the night.
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It was a little cramped, to be honest. This wasn’t exactly, the wide open red carpet you see at major movie awards. It was local news with a few national outlets like G4TV, Speed and NASCAR.com peppered in. ESPN and Sirius had their own setups off the red carpet.
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↵Most awkward moment of the night on the red carpet came as a band called Rev Theory, which is on the

soundtrack, was introduced as P.O.D., another band on the soundtrack, which actually performed last night.
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↵The star of the red carpet had to be the guy from Speed (picture above) who decided to rock a shirt you’d wear with a tuxedo, along with what appeared to be a plaid bow tie. Oh, and he also wore plaid shorts and flip flops. I overheard him saying into the camera that he was conflicted because on the one hand, it was a red-carpet event, but on the other hand, it

Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s nightclub.
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I’m not a nightclub guy, and that’ll probably be my only appearance in this place, but they get a thumbs up from me for what appeared to be a non-smoking environment (Although it may have only been non-smoking for this event).
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Yes, I did spend some time with the game. Because I’m a nerd and was there early, I took a very quick run and came up with a few cursory thoughts.
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↵I still struggle with NASCAR games because ultimately I want to bang into cars like I’m playing

. As it turns out, the emphasis on realism directs you to

do this. That being said, I thought the controls felt smooth, although I didn’t get to spend as much time comparing the two driving models -- normal and pro -- as much as I would’ve liked.
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↵Gordon serves as a mentor in the game. He was doling out life lessons while I was playing the game, except I couldn’t hear them because Whisky River was sort of loud. And like any of the EA franchises, you can play as your favorites, or start from the ground up and make a name for yourself as a created driver.
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↵One of the other big features being touted is the Paint Booth. I did actually spend some time trying to create a hideous car and here’s my lovely creation. For some reason, I think I enjoyed this feature more than anything.
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The full soundtrack for

is out chock full of hits (The Black Keys) and misses. Give it a look and see what you’ll listen to while trying to drive your way to NASCAR groupies.
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Soundtrack:
↵AFI -- Ether
↵Airbourne -- Runnin’ Wild
↵Airbourne -- Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast
↵Christian Kane -- The House Rules
↵The Parks -- Born Into It
↵From First To Last -- Two As One
↵Jet Black Stare -- It’s Over
↵Jet Black Stare -- Ready To Roll
↵Keith Anderson -- C’MON!
↵The Parlor Mob -- Hard Times
↵P.O.D. -- Condescending
↵Rev Theory -- Light It Up
↵The Black Keys --Strange Times
↵Theory Of A Deadman -- Got It Made
↵Third Day -- This Is Who I Am↵