Hi guys, I finally got a GC score on my Nascar...191,400,000! I got 498,000,000 a few weeks ago with some of the settings changed, but I do not count that one. I am wondering a couple things.

First off, does anybody have any advice for general high scores or better yet getting to the Wizard mode(champ1)? I only usually average about 10,000,000 per game which is pretty awful. I have everything set to factory to try to stay fair.

Second, it would really help if I could find detailed info about all modes and things. For instance I just found out what "mode bonus" does, and it is VERY useful in getting high scores. I still do not know what the "special" is and how to get it without draining. I have the manual but it is no help at all. I still do not even know exactly how all the 10 modes work.

Also, every so often the game seems to get "confused" thinking it lost a ball. It seems to recover just fine by the next game and it only happens rarely. Is this just normal and nothing to worry about, or should I be looking for a fix? An example is on my last game, the ball barely made up the left ramp and probably did not trigger the ramp opto. It fell into pit road and never registered there. It looked for the lost ball and could not find it and told me there was one ball missing even though it was sitting right there at the pit road opto. I checked to make sure that opto was fine and it was.

If anyone could help me or point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Yeah I watched that gameplay, it helped a little, but I still cannot find any info about exact rules.

I also really like this machine. Of course it is my only machine so I do not have much to compare to. I was literally shaking last night when I made it to wizard mode, it was so fast and fun. I just didn't really know what to do during the mode

Thanks solar. Do you know if there is an easier way to get champ letters? I can get them pretty easy by speed shots and hard racing, but it seems very difficult otherwise. I can get multi-ball just about every time, so that is not too hard for me. I also noticed getting first and going for victory lap seems pretty good too.

Also, drop targets are really tough for me to get on this game, do you have an easier way to hit them regularly? I can usually get the top 2 targets off the tip of the left flipper, but the lower one is a pain!

Thanks guys...anyone happen to know what the "special" does? During multi-ball, it is normal practice to try to catch an control all three balls? I can usually catch them, but I lose them pretty easy trying to control them.

Oh no wonder I couldn't figure out what it is doing....I have it on free play lol. The hats and shirts and stuff just seem to give you random millions of points. I actually do better with multi-balls when I try not to keep them under control...but I think that is only because I struggle with cradling the balls...(insert dirty joke here )

I was really hoping there would be some trick to getting champ letter easier, but it looks like it is just lots of luck.

Hmmm....you can get more than one letter from that? Sounds promising. That should also light extra ball, which I find to be my favorite way to get high scores.

I see...you had my hopes up

One I noticed, is that occasionally a mode bonus gives you a champ letter. There are a couple others, but I cannot think of them right now. It seems scanner champ letter percent is very low.

Yeah I figured that's what you were talking about. It does not seem like it gives you a champ letter from mode bonus very often though....maybe 1 in 15 bonuses. I had seen that map before, it is very helpful, thanks!

One other quick question, I notice sometimes I have no "collect R-A-C-E" lit. I wonder how I can get a race letter when this happens?

OK, good to know. I saw that on the rules card, but I usually don't have to drop the target in order to get one lit.

Thanks diode for the info on that. Glad to know I do not need to be looking for bad parts. BTW when the balls gets lost like it does, I waited long enough for the machine to actually tell me the ball was lost (maybe 30 sec to a min), then it allows you to keep playing. I was having an amazing game when it happened to me, I was kinda freaking out thinking I couldn't resume play

Its funny you mention victory lap and multi-ball...I just got that combo last night on accident and got a 100,000,000 point game! That does seem like the best strategy so far. Another thing I was working on last night was to try to get multi-ball on my first ball. That is pretty difficult to do regularly because you are forced to drop the targets to get the last race light.

I wonder if it is documented which modes give you bonus? In your opinion what are the modes worth going for? I have made it to that wizard mode once, but it seemed pretty bad compared to champ wizard mode, maybe I just didn't understand what to do.

Thanks for the info about bad switches and the trough. I have had a few issues in the past with the the trough popper not recognizing the ball. When it happens it will usually not sense the ball for a few games then go back to working perfect again for a long time. I was planning on buying a new "fork" switch next time I order some parts. I was wondering if I could just go down to radio shack and buy a generic micro-switch and instal the fork on it? Maybe even try to find some higher quality switches online...I just don't know if they are interchangeable.

The captive ball gives you an advance in place if the "spin" is lit. In my opinion, it is the easiest way to get to first place. It is also used sometimes for jackpots, like right sides only. I read somewhere that its is used to lock in a jackpot in some mode, but I have not figured that out yet.

WOW, you had a nice game going there! I don't know how you guys can even get into championship mode so easy....I have really only got it once, and I was not even able to finish it. BTW, video does not do it justice, it is sooo much better in person.