“Hi, I’m Kyle Busch” “Hi, I’m Austin Dillon” “Hi, I’m Kyle Larson” “Hi, I’m Brad Keselowski” “Hi, I’m Jimmie Johnson”
Narrator: “These drivers don’t have a lot in common, but they do have one common thread
All Drivers In Unison: “Hi, I’m a Nascar driver, and I was inspired by Daytona USA!”
(Daytona USA theme starts as “attract mode” screen is shown) “Doo doo doodoo doodoo doodoo DOO DOOOOOOO DayyyyyTONNNNNAHHHHHH!!! DayyyyTONNNNAHHHHH lets go away…”
(Title screen is shown)
Kyle Busch: “When I was growing up my brother would take me to the mall. He’d go to hit on some girls over at the weapons store and leave me at the arcade with five dollars in quarters. I used to play NBA Jam or Virtua Fighter, but then one day that Daytona USA console showed up. Just think what might have happened otherwise. (image shown of Kyle Busch’s head superimposed on a basketball player’s body) Before then, racing was just something my dad and my brother did on the weekends. But from the moment I put in that first dollar’s worth of quarters, I knew that racing was something I could do, and do as much as I wanted to, no matter what.”
Austin Dillon: “I remember seeing a Daytona USA console for the first time, oddly enough, at Daytona USA, the old exhibit they had down at the track in the 90’s. I guess you could say my introduction to the game was just like anybody else’s—I played it once, said I thought it was cool, and next thing you know it, my pop-pop has a four-seat unit shipped to my parents’ house for my birthday. (image shown of Austin Dillon’s head on a kid’s body, a clipart party hat cocked at an angle) It was great because before, to me, racing was what my my dad did with my pop-pop watching his every move. Now, pop-pop was focusing his attention on ME, making sure I never screwed up, and was always learning about what it meant to be a racer. You know, I still have that unit today (shot of a Daytona USA unit in a ‘man cave’, with one seat well-worn, the other three in pristine condition).”
Kyle Larson: “Daytona USA—well, to be honest, i didn’t really play it that much. I think my dad played it with me a few times when I was really little, but by the time I can remember going to the mall with my mom, the arcade was replaced by a Chipotle. (image shown of Kyle Larson in cartoon form showing up at a mall, seeing “ARCADE CLOSED” sign, and walking off despondently). In fact, I’ve never really been much for video games at all. I thought most people knew that—why am I being interviewed for this? Oh, wait, *I* get it—you think just because I’m part-Japanese, that I’m really into video games? Huh? Well I’m sick and tired of that stereotype!!! I grew up like a redneck and spent every waking hour on the track, not watching anime or having Pokemon battles! And another thing—“
Brad Keselowski: “Growing up in racing, we weren’t like most families. I knew I’d go down to a restaurant down the block with a little ‘arcade’ section and play Daytona USA till I ran out of money. I earned myself quite a reputation down there, taking on all challengers for the title of ‘Jerry’s Grill & Sports Bar Daytona USA Champion’. (image shown of Brad holding up an animated championship belt as an unseen crowd cheers) Yep, me and some stranger would sit down, start the race, and just go back and forth. He’d say something about my car looking slow, and I’d say something about how the general acceptance by most of the public of an omniscient being makes free will truly an illusion. He’d ask me what my problem was, and I’d say that it’s wondering how we can go on knowing that there are likely whole other planes of existence and consciousness yet to be explored by man. Funny thing was, win or lose, they’d never want to play me again."
Jimmie Johnson: “It’s funny—when I first moved to North Carolina to pursue my dream of being a Nascar driver, it was hard to meet new people. So on Friday nights when I didn’t have a race to run, I’d go down to a mall near my condo and just play Daytona USA for an hour or so. It gave me a chance to clear my head, think things through, kind of like what running and biking does for me now (image of Jimmie’s head on a cartoon body in a Daytona USA console, steering with his arms but pedaling a bike with his feet). You know, the strange thing was, I’d always see Ray Evernham down at that mall too. It was kinda weird, I mean, him being a world champion crew chief around a bunch of teenagers, but he’d always say he was ‘scouting for his next project’. Me being a nobody trying to become a somebody, I’d ask if he was looking for a driver, but apparently he was only looking for female drivers for some reason."
Narrator: “Daytona USA—one of the most-popular, most-successful, and most-influential video games of all-time, especially amongst Nascar’s ‘Young Gun’ crowd. Well, most of them.”
Chase Elliott: “I wasn’t allowed to play Daytona USA—my dad made me play Bill Elliott’s Fast Tracks on a Game Boy. I kept telling him that nobody HAD Game Boys anymore, but he really wanted me to learn how to win in an Oldsmobile for some reason.”