Thunder Plates:
Select the Thunder Challenge or Lightning Challenge at the game mode screen. 
Complete the various challenges to get new Thunder Plates. Note: The Plates are 
awarded randomly from game to game -- winning a certain track with a particular 
driver will not unlock the same Plate between games. 

Night tracks and alternate tracks:
Race at the desired track in quick race mode under the veteran difficulty setting. 
Win the race to unlock a night or alternate version of it. 

Paint schemes:
To get all the paint schemes for all the drivers, race with the desired driver. Select 
any track in quick race mode under the veteran difficulty setting. Win the race to 
unlock one paint scheme. To get more, go to another race track or the same one 
at a different time (for example, Bristol day or night). This will not work if its the 
same time of day, such as the two Richmond races or the two Loudon races. 

Eight Championships:
Win all eight championships and get the Eight Championships video with a New 
Lightning challenge.

Easy win:
Make sure all races are set on ten percent race length. Drive into the grass and 
spin out on lap four, rather than crash. This way, your car is not damaged and you 
are better able to draft. It also works on lap 7 of all 26 lap races under the 10 
percent setting, and on lap 12 or 13 of 39 to 40 lap races. 

Go to career mode and set it up at either 12, 24, or 36 races at 25% or more. 
Turn cautions off and when you start, slam on your brakes and turn around. Hit 
the cars at high speed (especially in the back by the fuel tank, which is their weak 
spot) and they will sometimes catch on fire. When this happens, the car on fire is 
out of the race. You can also do this by hitting the car and blocking its movements 
while it is up against the wall. This will also knock a car out of the race after about 
a minute. Keep on doing this, and if you are good enough, you can knock all the 
cars out. Then, turn around and finish the race by yourself in first place. This is a 
good way to increase your prestige and earnings, especially in the early years of 
your new career. 

At any short track, set your psi (tire pressure) all the way to 60 and just run on 
the wall. Keep the wheel turned all the way to the left and you should have an 
easy win.

Hint: Easy paint schemes:
Use the following trick to unlock your favorite driver's paint schemes easily. First, 
set the difficulty level to veteran or legend. Then, set the race length to 3%. Turn 
on unlimited tires and fuel and turn off damage. Go into quick race and choose the 
driver whose paint scheme you want to unlock. Choose Daytona Night (Pepsi 400). 
Before you qualify, go into car setup and set the transmission to manual. Set the 
gear ratio to 5. Exit out and qualify. You will notice your car is much faster than 
the others. You are running it at over 9500 rpm (about 193 to 198 mph). No one 
will be able to catch you. The race is very quick. In less than an hour's time, you 
can unlock many driver paint schemes. 

To unlock paint schemes, instead of using the veteran difficulty setting, go to the 
rookie setting switch the speed one level to the right. It will become custom. This 
will also unlock paint schemes. 

Win two titles to unlock the Driver Kitt paint.

Get pole position:
Before running a veteran race in quick race mode, take the Thunder license and 
complete all three levels of the test for the desired track. This will give the first 
(pole) starting position.

Better acceleration and easier handling: 
For all of the tracks except for Daytona and Talledega, go into car setup before the 
race. Change your tire pressure down to 15 psi for better acceleration and easier 
handling. For Daytona and Talledega, leave it at 25 psi. 

Pass easily:
Draft with the car in front of you for awhile. When you just come out of a turn, 
move over and you should pass him. You can also do this on a straight away, but 
it works much better coming out of a turn. Also, drafting helps fuel mileage and 
your speed.

Tiburon Speedway track:
Go into the Lightning Challenges. Choose the one with Jimmie Johnson (Home 
Sweet California) and win the race to unlock the Tiburon Speedway and another 
Thunder Plate.

Bristol: Easy win:
First, turn on the running line, and unlimited fuel and tires. Qualify as you would 
for any track. During the race, when the running line turns red, wait a moment 
before letting off the gas. Then, press the gas when you reach the green again. 
The car will automatically go high, and the other cars will slow down. You can go 
around them. It may take a few laps, but eventually you will be running in the 
front. This tactic can be adapted for all short tracks.

When at Bristol Motor Speedway on the second lap, on the second turn the other 
cars will slow down.

Daytona: Easy win:
Make sure the race is set on ten percent race length. Then, cause a crash on lap 
four. If done correctly, there should be a caution. Go into the pits, and ignore that 
fact if no one else also enters. You will probably be last, but there will soon be 
another caution and the leaders will come in. Stay out and do not pit. After the 
stop, you should be in first or second place. You will run low on gas, but you will 
not run out. Block and you will be able to win.

At Daytona in career mode in the Datona 500, when you pit instead of taking four 
tires or right side tires, take on left side tires and enough fuel to make it to the 
finish. You should leave the pits in first place, providing that you came in first or 
near it.

Talladega: Easy win:
Go to the car set-up then select the gear ratios. Set the ratio number to "5". Make 
sure damage is off, and tire wear is unlimited. Also, use a manual transmission. 
Note: This can also be used at Daytona.

Talladega: Car setups:
Go into car setup. Go into "Gear Ratios" and change the two down at the very 
bottom to "89" and "4.45" respectively. Note: "4.45" for the bottom one and "89" 
for the one above it. Accept the changes, start the race, and by the end of the 
back stretch on the first lap, you can get up to and over 200 mph. 

Go into car setup. Then, select "Auto Transmission". Set the tire pressure to "30". 
Loosen or tighten the car as desired. Finally, go to the gear ratios. Leave the first 
gear as is. Set second gear to "1.85", third gear go "1.35", fourth gear to "1.01" 
or "1.02", and leave rear end as is. When you start the race, second and third 
gear will be a little slow, but when you get to fourth you will blow them away. At 
the end of the first lap you should be going about 190 to 195 mph.

Bud Shoot Out:
On the first lap, go into the pits and take on left side tires only (no gas or repairs). 
When you leave the pits, cause a caution. After all of the caution laps, there will 
only be one lap remaining and not enough time for anyone to pit.

Pay At The Pump lightning challenge: 
During the Pay At The Pump challenge, step on the gas all through the track. Put a 
big enough lead on Bobby Labonte and Sterling Marlin so that it is about a two to 
three second gap. You will run out of gas at the exit of turn four, depending on 
how hard you have been pushing the car. If the lead is big enough, just block and 
you will win the challenge. This may take a few attempts, but if you drive the car 
correctly it will be an easy way to win. 

Pocono thunder challenge:
Pause game play during the race. Go to the settings and set "Auto Brake" to "Off". 
Set "Stability Control" to "Limited". You will be able to catch your opponent. Try to 
stay off the wall; if you hit it too much you car will be gone. 

The Big One lightning challenge: 
At the start of the challenge or a few seconds after, slow the car to 181 to 183 
mph. Do not let the meter at the top of the screen transfer below 24th or you will 
be out of contention. When you feel that you have enough room between the cars 
that will wreck and yourself, accelerate. You should have enough speed to get to 
about 4th place. Stay alert to dodge the wrecking cars. Do not slow if you happen 
to drive through some smoke. You have to time it correctly in order to catch the 
lead pack. 

Rookie stripes:
When in career mode, the back of your bumper has yellow stripes on it. When you 
get to the second season, they will be gone.