Dialed In: The NASCAR 26 Wheel Settings Our Builders Actually Race On

Your setup can be perfect and you'll still lose time if your wheel isn't talking to you. In NASCAR 26, force feedback and control settings shape how much information comes through your hands; too little and you're guessing at grip, too much and you're fighting noise instead of feeling the car. To help the NASCAR 26 community get the most out of their in-game experience, Michael Conti (Cup), Brandon Hastings (ARCA & Truck), and Nick Ottinger (O'Reilly) are sharing exactly what they run. Three different wheels, three different philosophies, all built through hours of in-game seat time. 

Michael Conti — Cup Builder

Michael runs a MOZA R9 base with the RS V2 wheel (13in / 330mm) and Heusinkveld Ultimate+ pedals — a mid-tier direct drive wheel with high-end pedals. 

His settings lean into a tighter, more locked-in feel: Steering Range 20 with 540 degrees of wheel rotation. On High Torque FFB, he runs Driving Forces at 90 Strength with Collision at 50, paired with 50 Friction and 30 Spring Strength. This provides enough resistance to feel the car load up and take contact without it turning muddy. His Advanced Steering is clean across the board (all zeros) except Speed Sensitive Non Linear at 50, which is a non-factor with steering wheels and only affects users on controllers. Braking sits at 60 Rate and 60 Strength with no non-linear curve, and Throttle is wide open at 100 Rate with a flat response. It's a setup for a driver who wants direct, immediate feedback and inputs from their equipment. 

Brandon Hastings — ARCA & Truck Builder

Brandon builds on a MOZA R5 base with the RS V2 wheel (13in / 330mm) and Fanatec V3 Inverted pedals, tuned for the heavier, more physical feel of ARCA and Truck racing. The MOZA R5 sits a rung below the R9 in the MOZA Racing ecosystem, while the Fanatec pedals are classic load cell pedals, utilized by many sim racers far and wide. 

He runs a wider Steering Range at 30 with a full 900 degrees of rotation. This allows for a slower initial response, but more usable wheel lock to manage the way these cars move. On High Torque FFB, his Driving Forces sit at 90 Strength and 50 Collision, but he pushes Friction to 60 and Spring Strength all the way to 80, giving the wheel a heavier, more planted feel. His Steering Advanced settings are all zeroed out with no smoothing or dampening. Where Brandon's setup really stands apart is the pedals: Braking Non Linear at 35 with a 20 Deadzone and full 100 Strength, and Throttle running 50 Non Linear with a 50 Overshoot. This will provide a drastically different pedal feel in contrast to Conti's settings above.

Nick Ottinger — O'Reilly Builder

Nick's rig is the only Logitech based system across the the TCSP builder spectrum. He uses a Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel base and wheel (11.81in / 300mm) with matching Logitech G Pro Racing Pedals.

His numbers reflect that gear: Steering Range 50 with a massive 1080 degrees of rotation, and Low Torque FFB to keep the wheel manageable through that much rotation. Driving Forces are maxed at 100 Strength with Balance at 75, unusual among the three. Friction is maxed at 100 with Spring Strength at 0, and his Advanced Steering is the most heavily tuned of the group: Speed Sensitive Range at 50, Speed Sensitive Non Linear at 100, and Reduce Damping at 50, all working together to keep 1080 degrees of rotation from feeling sloppy at speed. His pedals are setup completely linear, putting Nick fully in control of his throttle and brake shaping. 

The Takeaway

There's no universal "correct" wheel setting, but there are settings which may be more optimal based on your hardware, the series you run mostly, and how you like to feel the car. Michael's Cup settings are tight and direct. Brandon's Truck settings are heavier and more forgiving of physical, momentum-driven racing. And Nick's settings prove you can extract serious speed even with a wildly different setting methodology. Use these as a solid starting point, then adjust from there until the car is talking to you, not fighting you.

And don't forget - Grab one of our in-game setups from the NASCAR 26 division pages or purchase our NASCAR 26 setup bundle, which includes all setups for all series, for only $59.99!

See you on the track!