Highland Raceway Grand Prix (17 Laps), 1st place finish, manual transmission
Pit stop at 9:50 - expand the description for Grand Prix strategy!
Nebula Model 2 Emulator nebula.emulatro...
IMPORTANT! The Nebula Model 2 Emulator does not give good support for this game: there are some graphics bugs. For the Nebula Emulator, be sure to use the Twin cabinet revision A rom "indy500" for the best game experience, NOT the deluxe sit-down cabinet rom. Follow this link for a file to place in your 'scripts' folder that enables a widescreen hack. Rename the file "indy500.lua" to use the widescreen hack with the Indy 500 Rev. A Twin rom.
/ nebula_model_2_enable_...
Similar to Daytona USA's Grand Prix mode, Sega's Indy 500 also has one, allowing drivers to try a 15 minute test of endurance. It is important to note that Daytona USA and Indy 500 were created by different Sega development teams; while both games offer an extended Grand Prix mode, the modes vary greatly in their rules.
In Daytona USA, you got a tire and fuel gauge that showed the current state of your car so that you knew when to pit. In Indy 500, you do not have a gauge for these statistics. Thankfully, fuel is not a factor in Indy 500, your car will never run out of fuel. However, tires wear down similarly to Daytona and will need to be changed if they wear down too far or go through a major crash. Stop in the pit lane to get them exchanged for fresh tires with better grip; pit stops are faster in Indy 500 than they are in Daytona too.
Your tires start to lose grip very quickly; you will even notice this in a regular length race. They will grip best for about 3/4 of a lap before they start to degrade; they will be difficult to drive on after 6 laps on Highland Raceway and will be almost impossible to drive on after 12 laps. Keep track of how the car changes as you drive and choose to pit around laps 9-11 when you feel the car is getting too difficult to control. Because of the Indycar's quick acceleration, running off the track or slowing down for a corner does not hurt your time as much as it would in Daytona USA, so worn out tires are easier to work with. Be comfortable on old tires and just remember to downshift quickly if you do run off the track so that you can accelerate back up to top speed as fast as possible. You could even pit twice because stops are so short, but remember to leave about 6 laps to catch up to the lead car again.
General strategy is the same as Daytona USA: drive careful, clean laps because one mistake could mean a major crash that ruins your chances for first place early on. Don't forget to pit around the third quarter of the race to get fresh and fast tires, and the top spot can easily be yours.