The game received "generally favorable reviews", just one point shy of "universal acclaim", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3]
According to Edge, the game sold at least 100,000 copies in the United States, but was beaten by NASCAR Racing 4's 260,000 sales in the region.[11] Total US sales of NASCAR Racing computer games released in the 2000s reached 900,000 copies by August 2006.[11]
The game won the award for "2002 Best Racing Game" at the 9th Annual PC Gamer Awards.[12] It was placed second for GameSpot's February 2002 "Game of the Month" award. The staff called it "one of the best racing experiences in any computer game to date".[13] It was also a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Driving Game on PC" award, losing to Rally Trophy.[14]