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ATARI PITSTOP | The 8-Bit Home Computer Successor to Activision’s Enduro?

GenXGrownUp | April 25, 2026



Pitstop is a 1983 racing video game developed and published by Epyx for the Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, Coleco Adam, and Commodore 64. It was followed by Pitstop II in 1984.

Pitstop is played from a semi-first-person perspective, placing the player in a bird’s-eye perspective slightly behind a race car. The game features three difficulty modes and three gameplay modes: Single, Mini-Circuit, and Grand Circuit. In Single, the player can choose from one of six tracks and learn how to play the game. In the game’s Circuit modes, the player races against other drivers and earns a certain number of points and money depending on the place he finishes in each race. The Mini-Circuit features only three tracks, while the Grand Circuit features all six.

Pitstop implements pit stops, a concept not featured in many other contemporary racing video games. Color-based damage is shown on the player’s car whenever it hits another vehicle or a wall on the track, both of which wear out the tires. The player also has a fuel meter that gradually depletes during each race. If the player’s vehicle displays a red color from taking too much damage, or if it is running low on fuel, it must make a pit stop. Unlike other racing video games, the pit crew is fully controlled by the player, who must refuel the vehicle and replace its worn-out tires. Up to four players can play by taking alternating turns.

#retrogaming #atari #fridayplays #genxgrownup

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Written by GenXGrownUp

Comments

This post currently has 41 comments.

  2. @jnoble12

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    My friend had this in 1984 and his father had to load the game via a cassette which seemed to take forever. By the time the game was up and running we were almost ready to do something else😂

  3. @Splusmer

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    I remember seeing the Pitstop games in our store (that Epyx packaging was really neat and eye-catching), but I’ve never actually seen one played before, and I don’t know why I didn’t try one as I loved Pole Position on my 800.

    Here’s a racing game take of woe… not mine, but my editor’s, who was also our sports game editor. He was reviewing one of the realistic (for the time) Indy sims (I think from Papyrus?), and for the review decided to do the full Indianapolis 500 in real time—the full 500 miles played over around three hours.

    He did it… almost—on lap 499 the game crashed! (And I think he was in the lead, too)

  9. @exidy-yt

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    You have just made me fire up Pitstop II on the C64, the greatest 8 bit racing game ever made. The original Pitstop was great and really genre-defining for it's time, but Pitstop II improved on it in every way, especially in the split-screen 2 player races and the interface menus. Good choice Jon!

  10. @MegaDeth859

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    I remember that, as a kid, could never figure out the pits 😢. Didn't have the manual and I don't know how to interact with the pit crew. I'll go back to it and try again. Thanks for the great memories.

  16. @dumo2043

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    I loved playing pitstop on my commodore 64 but the first time I played it was in middle school and it was on a green screen computer I don't remember the brand but I also played B.C. quest for tires 😂

  18. @aaronloo207

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    Nice video Jon! I played my share of Pitstop on the Colecovision as a kid when I got tired of Turbo. I ran those tires out until they turned red for maximum use and best times. 😂 Another one of my racing favorites you might want to check out is The Great American Cross-Country Road Race. Similar where you had to determine the best route when driving cross country in different weather conditions, day and night, and when to get gas. If you ran out you would be pushing the car to the next station. And the cops would stop you and waste precious time when you were caught speeding. Good time for classic video games. Really brings back the memories! ❤

  19. @Seventizz

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    Shouldn't pitting cost you extra money from the purse? Racing tires and fuel aren't cheap. Seems like an added strategy could've been easily to added to the game and really make you think twice about pit stopping.

  22. @gator-freighterlpd-1334

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    Back in the 80's, "I knew a guy", and had many disks (which I had to supply) of bootleg game compilations he copied for me. I found this game on one of them, which I ended up playing quite a bit. I still have said disks and recently backed them up to a computer to use them on an emulator, or if I hook up my 130XE I can plug in my 8-bit pico, or disk drive and play off of those.
    What amazes me is that all but 1 of my 40+ year old disks (including blanks) still work, as well as the 1050 drive. My computers worked also, but I completely restored my 130XE, and I'm currently restoring my original 400 as well as a working landfill 400 I found.

  28. @Alpha5119

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    I heard of it, but I never played it. And I think the game looks really good. Although I love the 5200. I know nothing about the atari 800 . Which I know is almost the same thing. I'm so glad that the Fridays plays are back. that was a torturous, 2 months lol

  29. @DrDavelope

    April 25, 2026 at 3:17 am

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Thanks Jon! Your Friday plays are Soooo valuable to anyone playing old games and old consoles. Yes, there are other channels who play old games but not with the “instructions based” rules detail you provide. Without these videos, I wouldn’t attempt half the games on my consoles. It doesn’t even matter which ones you do. Any old console game is great!

Comments are closed.

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