Here is a legit question then. Maybe they did that on purpose, to encourage gamers to actually play the game and race instead of just wrecking on purpose (because in the end, Nascar doesn't want their game to be just violent, fiery wrecks, they want the focus to be on the competitiveness on racing). Have you been able to get into the meat of the pack, while racing, and purposefully hit a car in the quarter panel and cause a nice pile up? If so, how was the damage, or was it just like the wreck where you went the wrong way and hit the pack? Maybe this could clear up confusion.
You said earlier you was racing, and the AI wrecked and caused a big one, how was the damage there? Was it toned down, or real time like the replay?