iRacing 2025 Season 3 Update Brings New Cars, Track Overhauls and Expanded AI

What the official release confirms

The Steam news post for iRacing’s 2025 Season 3 release says the build has passed tech inspection and is officially prepared for the season launch on June 17 at 0000 UTC. The same release notes list new content, features, improvements and fixes across the sim.

Confirmed additions include three new cars in the vehicle garage: the Ferrari 296 Challenge, plus the NASCAR Gen 4 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Ford Taurus, both from 2003. The release also says the iRacing overworld map gains Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend near Adelaide, Australia.

The update notes describe a broad performance, tires and physics overhaul for the entire GT3 class, along with dramatic performance updates for the NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7 class cars and the Dallara IR18. The release also states that hundreds of new vehicle setups have been added.

Why the update matters for competition

For drivers in leagues and official series, the biggest practical impact is not only new content but balance and handling changes. A class-wide GT3 overhaul can alter pace, tire behavior and setup work, which affects race preparation, strategy and comparison across a season.

The NASCAR Gen 7 and Dallara IR18 updates may be equally important for organized racing because performance changes can influence fixed-setup events, endurance races and weekly championships. New cars also widen the range of official and community-run events that can be planned around a fresh content cycle.

For tournament organizers and streamers, the new track and the refreshed circuit list may help diversify race broadcasts. The release notes say the Track Art Team completed full art overhauls for 12 NASCAR circuit tracks: EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Lime Rock Park, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Martinsville Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Phoenix Raceway, Pocono Raceway, Richmond Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.

AI, rain and platform features expand

The release also expands Adaptive AI, which is now available in Hosted Racing Sessions as well as AI Seasons. iRacing says nine completely new AI Seasons were added, including IMSA, NASCAR and Production Car Challenge.

AI Drivers have been expanded to new cars, including the Audi R18, Ferrari 296 Challenge, Porsche 919 and Silver Crown. They also gain support for eleven new track configurations, including Daytona International Speedway - Moto - 2008, Daytona International Speedway - Short - 2008, Iowa Speedway - Oval, Richmond Raceway and all seven configurations at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend.

Rain racing is now unlocked for five formula cars: the Dallara IR18, Lotus 79, Skip Barber Formula 2000, Super Formula SF23 - Honda and Super Formula SF23 - Toyota. The notes also mention direct paint kit support for vehicles with multiple body types, including the Dallara IR18 and the new NASCAR Gen 4 stock cars.

Systems updates and social features

Beyond content and physics changes, the release says Clubs has been fully sunset and replaced by the new Flags feature, where users can select and wear colors. The update also adds support for Fixed Foveated Rendering for Open XR, which iRacing says can improve rendering speed.

The notes further mention tuning improvements to the Connectivity Black Flag System, a High CPU Usage Warning, and support for 360 Hz Force Feedback for more devices. These are the kinds of backend and hardware-facing updates that often matter most to serious sim racers, especially those running long sessions or broadcasting with overlays and peripherals.