NASCAR Thunder 2002

The theme song for the game on the six-generation systems is "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Notably, it is the first NASCAR game to feature alternate paint schemes on the cars. It featured the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon on its cover and 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte on the disc.

• Title — NASCAR Thunder 2002 • Developer — EA Tiburon Black Box Games (PSOne version) • Publisher — Electronic Arts • Series — EA Sports NASCAR • Engine — enhanced NASCAR Thunder engine • Released — PlayStation October 2, 2001PlayStation 2October 16, 2001Xbox November 15, 2001 • Genre — Racing • Modes — Single-player, Multiplayer • Platforms — Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation 2

Game modes consist of Create-a-car, Quick race, Season mode, Career mode, and practice. Before every race, the player has the option to qualify for a position at the start of the race, get to know the track in practice, or 'race' other cars in Happy Hour. The game has 35 drivers from the 2001 Winston Cup season (minus Dale Earnhardt due to his death, but the game has many tributes to him including a black No. 3 screen on start-up) and several then-Busch Series and fantasy drivers that can be unlocked. The PlayStation version was separate from the PS2 and Xbox versions, included only 36 drivers, and included an instant-replay feature, fantasy tracks, only 18 drivers per race, and all of the alternate paint schemes were removed. It also has a different intro without the #3 shown before the EA Sports logo. A system of power-up/cheat cards and challenges, similar to Chase/Thunder plates and Lightning/Dodge Challenges in later editions, was a major game mode in this version. It also included the Daytona Beach track.