Mario goes to Nascar
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Mario Kart 8 hitches a ride with NASCAR

Nintendo will make its way to the Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend as Mario Kart 8 hitches a ride on the NASCAR circuit. Mario will be on the hood of driver Matt Kenseth’s car in the Nationwide Series History 300.

The No. 20 car has GameStop as its sponsor, and it features images from Mario Kart 8, the new game for the Nintendo Wii U video game console. The art shows Mario defying gravity and racing upside down, which is one of the things you can do in the Wii U game.

Mario Kart 8 launches on the Wii U on May 30. It is one of Nintendo’s highest-profile games of the year. Sadly, we don’t think the NASCAR racers will be driving as crazy as video game fans will.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the car being outfitted. Fans can try out their own racing skills at Mario Kart 8 gaming kiosks and get their photos with Mario and Luigi costumed characters at the speedway’s fan zone.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdzfzOFIZWI&w=560&h=315]

 

 

 

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.