It is about that time again folks.

Forty-three drivers and teams all have hopes of winning the Great American Race, better known as the Daytona 500. If you’re a video game fan of the sport than you already knew that, and you also know that Eutechnyx and new publisher Deep Silver are on the verge of releasing NASCAR The Game 14', a fully licensed title that gives people the chance to jump behind the wheel of their favorite 800 horse-powered machine and hit the track.

We had the chance to sit down with Ed Martin, the Executive Vice President of Eutechnyx, to discuss NASCAR '14 and why fans should be excited to get their hands on this year’s title.

Operation Sports - What are the biggest differences between this year’s game and last?

Ed Martin - One big change is that NASCAR ’14 is shipping just as the 2014 season gets underway. In terms of major new and improved features:

Online leagues. This is our #1 requested feature from the community. Now, you and your friends can run a scored league online.

Dynamic matchmaking. The game aligns you with other online racers of similar skill – so online racing is better for everyone.

NASCAR Highlights. Expanding on what we did previously, we use telemetry for the actual races to recreate the most exciting moments and then let the player jump into the action and play out the ultimate “what if?...” scenarios.

OS - What was the reasoning behind leaving Activision and partnering with Deep Silver?

EM -We always try to find the best distribution partners for our games. Deep Silver came to us with a very robust plan to get behind NASCAR ’14.

OS - Will NASCAR drop on the PS4 and Xbox One next year?

EM -We’re still looking at the right timing for PS4 and Xbox One. It’s a huge investment to create a next-gen engine for a NASCAR game so we need to do it at a time where there is a lot of next-gen hardware in the hands of NASCAR fans. Even Sony released the latest Gran Turismo only on PS3.

OS - Was releasing the PC version a success for the company, and will that continue for the foreseeable future?

EM - Absolutely. PC is a great addition for us and Steam has been a fantastic partner. We definitely see that continuing.

OS -Will the PC users be able to mod the game at least a little this year? Creating skins, tracks, other series, or different era cars?

EM -By default, PC is much more open than console. But adding features like creating tracks are a pretty tall order!

OS -Could you talk a bit about how career mode has changed and what are some of the new features?

EM - We’ve taken a lot of ideas from our mobile game, NASCAR Redline, about how the investment plays out in Career Mode. The goal is still the same – to win championships. And the metrics are similar – attract sponsors and invest. But the underlying way it plays out has been enhanced.

OS - Will the game ever have a full announcing team for the whole race, describing the action that is taking place on the track?

EM - It’s something we tend to talk about for each new game. In a game like Madden where the player is controlling the entire team, that type of things makes sense. But in a NASCAR game, you are the driver – and only the driver. So we’re trying to set you up in that reality as opposed to a view at home. But maybe some day!

OS - Will users be able to download other user’s created paint schemes and use them?

EM - Sony and Microsoft both have rules on user-generated content. So we’re kind of limited on console. PC is a lot more open, though.

OS - Could you please talk about car physics and if they have been improved this year?

EM - Yes – a lot of work has gone into the physics model. It’s something that we’re always working on. And now that we have a full season of the gen-6 cars behind us, we are able to use real world data instead of theoretical or test data.

OS - Has the damage model been tweaked and improved this year?

EM - Damage has also been tweaked and looks a lot more realistic given the specifics of the contact.

OS - Will the user have the ability to import sponsor images on either the console or PC version?

EM - Sponsor logos are licensed properties… and we are a massively licensed product. So we have to protect and abide by the rules
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OS - What changes have been made to the internal paint booth?

EM - The paint booth is pretty much the same… that said, it’s perhaps the most robust paint booth in a racing game.

OS - Will there be online leagues(that keep track of stats and standings) or online co-op seasons?

EM - Yes, online leagues are a major new feature for NASCAR ’14.

Has the online portion been worked on this year? It has been a real struggle to race consistently online the last couple of years. Tons of work has gone into online gameplay – from multiplayer matchmaking to online leagues, players will notice huge improvements. This is our fourth iteration of our NASCAR engine so it’s an ongoing effort. And online racers should be sure to grab the day-1 update… We always continue to work on multiplayer and the first update has a lot of goodies for players headed to the tracks online.

NASCAR '14 will be available on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, and is due out on February 18th. Look for our review of NASCAR '14' early next week.