NASCAR Arcade is a stock car racing game and the first NASCAR game to be made for the arcades. It's officially licensed through Electronic Arts (who had the license at the time) and is based on the 1999 Winston Cup series. There are three different race tracks to choose from each with a different difficulty level: Talladega Superspeedway, Richmond International Raceway and Watkins Glen International. A secret Team SEGA track exist too but it's not made available until 700 races have been made on the machine. Before racing the player can choose from real life cars and drivers that all have different strengths and weaknesses. The cars included are Pontiac Grand Prix, Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Firebird while there are more than 30 drivers to choose from.

The game can be played from a first person perspective or several different third person views. It's possible to choose automatic or manual transmission. The objective of the game is to race against the clock and reach a top three position and the finish line before the time runs out. By climbing up to a certain position the player can get a time extension. In time attack or multiplayer the player needs to finish a lap to get a time extension. A race ends when the time is up or if the player reaches the finish line. The multiplayer mode can be played by up to eight players.