NASCAR Totally Explained

Everything about Nascar totally explained

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, and the Whelen All-American Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 states, Canada, and Mexico. From 1996 to 1998, NASCAR held exhibition races in Japan and an exhibition race in Australia in 1988.
   With roots as regional entertainment in the Southeastern U.S., NASCAR has grown to become the second-most popular professional sport in terms of television ratings inside the U.S., ranking behind only the National Football League. Internationally, NASCAR races are broadcast in over 150 countries. It holds 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S.,¹ and has 75 million fans After an historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, the beach became a mecca for racing enthusiasts and fifteen records were set on what became the Daytona Beach road course between 1905 and 1935. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the premier location for pursuit of land speed records, in 1936, Daytona beach had become synonymous with fast cars. Drivers raced a 1.5 to stretch of beach as one straightaway and beachfront highway A1A as the other.
   Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made in Appalachia. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, and some of them came to love the fast-paced driving down twisty mountain roads. One of the main 'strips' in Knoxville, Tennessee, had its beginning as a mecca for aspiring bootlegging drivers.
   The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then Southerners had developed a taste for moonshine, and a number of the drivers continued "runnin' shine," this time evading the "revenuers" who were attempting to tax their operations. The cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, and they're most closely associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina. Most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced.

Significant people

William France, Sr.

Mechanic William France, Sr., moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, DC, in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II.
   France had the notion that people would enjoy watching "stock cars" race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all the money before drivers were paid. In 1947, he decided this racing wouldn't grow without a formal sanctioning organization, standardized rules, regular schedule, and an organized championship. On December 14 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach, Florida, that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21 1948.
   NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr., on February 21 1948, with the help of several other drivers of the time. The points system was written on a bar room napkin. The original plans for NASCAR included three distinct divisions: Modified, Roadster, and Strictly Stock. The Modified and Roadster classes were seen as more attractive to fans. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained the "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer. ABC Sports aired partial or full live telecasts of Grand National races from Talladega, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, Charlotte, and Nashville in 1970. These events were less exciting than many GN races, and ABC abandoned live coverage. Races were instead broadcast, delayed and edited, on the ABC sports variety show "Wide World of Sports."
   Beginning in 2009, the Nationwide cars will adapt somewhat to the current "Car of Tomorrow" (or COT) design used by Cup cars, although initially only minor changes will be made. Some critics hope that the discrepancy between the Nationwide and Sprint Cup cars will help solve the Buschwhacker problem by reducing the advantages of running both series.

Craftsman Truck Series

pickup trucks. It is one of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup. The most recent series champion was Ron Hornaday in 2007; Hornaday also won championships in 1996 and 1998.
In 1994, NASCAR announced the formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman. The first series race followed in 1995. In 1996, the series was renamed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to emphasize Craftsman's involvement. The series was first considered something of an oddity or a "senior tour" for NASCAR drivers, but eventually grew in popularity and has produced Sprint Cup series drivers who had never raced in the Nationwide Series.
It was reported that Craftsman would pull out as sponsor of the series after the 2008 season.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

Canadian racing series CASCAR in September of 2006. The CASCAR Western Series will become NASCAR's fourth-tier series starting in the Fall of 2007.

NASCAR Corona Series

NASCAR Corona Series, replacing the existing Desafío Corona Series, to begin in 2007.

Regional racing series

In addition to the five main series, NASCAR operates several other racing circuits. Many local race tracks across the United States and Canada run under the Whelen All-American Series banner, where local drivers are compared against each other in a formula where the best local track champion of the nation wins the Whelen All-American Weekly Series National Championship. The Whelen All-American series is split into four divisions. Each division champion receives a point-fund money payout and even more goes to the National champion (driver with most points out of the four division winners). The Whelen All-American Series is the base for stock car racing, developing NASCAR names such as Clint Bowyer, Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, the Bodine brothers and many others along the way.
   NASCAR also sanctions two regional racing divisions. The Whelen Modified Tour races open-wheel "modified" cars in Northern and Southern divisions. The Camping World Series, which consists of East and West divisions, race cars that are similar to Nationwide Series cars, although they're less powerful. In the past, NASCAR also sanctioned the AutoZone Elite Division, which raced late-model cars that were lighter and less powerful than Sprint Cup cars, and was originally split into four divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest. At the end of 2005, NASCAR announced that the AutoZone Elite Division would be discontinued after the 2006 season due to having trouble securing NASCAR-sanctioned tracks to successfully host AutoZone Elite Division events, plus escalating costs of competing and downsizing of the Division in recent years.
   In 2003, NASCAR standardized rules for its AutoZone Elite and Grand National divisions regional touring series as to permit cars in one series to race against cars in another series in the same division. The top 15 (Grand National) or 10 (AutoZone Elite) in each series will race in a one-race playoff, called the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to determine the annual AutoZone Elite and Grand National champions. This event has been hosted at Irwindale Speedway in California since its inception.
   Many drivers move up through the series before reaching the Sprint Cup series. In 2002, over 9,000 drivers had licenses from NASCAR to race at all levels.
   The winners of the Dodge Weekly Series National Championship, the four AutoZone Elite Divisions, the two Whelen Modified and Grand National Divisions, and the three national series are invited to New York City in December to participate in Champions Week ceremonies which conclude with the annual awards banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

NASCAR compared to other forms of motorsport

NASCAR races take place predominantly on oval tracks of 3 or 4 turns, with all turns to the left. Oval tracks are classified as short track (less than 1 mile), intermediate or speedway (1 to 2 miles) or superspeedway (over 2 miles). Road courses are any tracks having both left and right turns. Depending on the track, typical race speeds can vary from at Martinsville to over at Talladega. As of 2008, the Sprint Cup series includes 36 points races, comprised of 34 oval-track races and 2 road course races. The schedule is one of the longest in motorsports; by comparison, the 2008 schedule for Formula One has 18 races and the IRL schedule has approximately 20 races. Many Cup drivers also participate in Nationwide and Craftsman events, and some drivers, such as Kyle Busch, have run more than 60 NASCAR races in a single year.
NASCAR races are different compared to the rough terrain and sharp turns of Rally, as well as the complicated twists and turns seen in the Formula One course that put up to 5 or 6 g's of stress on the driver's body. NASCAR isn't the only racing league to run a large number of races on oval tracks; the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series also runs many oval track races, although IndyCars usually average over 30-40 miles an hour faster than Sprint Cup cars due to lighter cars, high downforce designs, and wider tires.
NEXTEL Cup events start with 43 cars having qualified to race, compared to 22 for Formula One and 18-20 for the IndyCar Series. NASCAR teams must endure a 36-race schedule over 41 weeks. Teams usually only have about five days to prepare before arriving at any given track.

Crossover drivers

While most NASCAR drivers get their start in local events and work their way up to the major series, some drivers have experienced success in other forms of auto racing as well. The most famous might well be Mario Andretti, who is the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), NASCAR's Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship (1978). Juan Pablo Montoya is the only other driver with wins in all 3 series, with an Indy 500 win (2000), 7 Formula One wins and 1 Sprint Cup win (2007).
The end of 2006 saw a major migration of drivers from other series into NASCAR. Montoya initially surprised the auto racing community by leaving F1, but he was quickly followed by other drivers. Open wheel stars like Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villenueve and A.J. Allmendinger all made the move to the Sprint Cup series, with varying degrees of success. Two-time Australian V8 Supercar Champion Marcos Ambrose has competed in Truck and Nationwide Series events since 2007.
Other drivers compete often in NASCAR but are well known for their success elsewhere. Ron Fellows and Boris Said are champion road racers and are often brought in by teams solely to compete in NASCAR's road course events. Robby Gordon is one of NASCAR's few remaining owner-drivers, but he's most famous for his numerous off-road championships and his 3 Baja 1000 wins.

Driver safety

Although NASCAR frequently publicizes the safety measures it mandates for drivers, these features are often only adopted long after they were initially developed. The impact-absorbing "SAFER Barrier" that's now in use had been proposed by legendary mechanic Smokey Yunick during the 1970s, but his idea had been dismissed as too expensive and unnecessary. Only after the deaths of Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper, and Dale Earnhardt in 2000 and 2001 did NASCAR revisit the idea of decreasing the G-forces a driver sustained during a crash. Other examples of slow reactions include the mandating of a throttle "kill switch" (mandated after the death of Adam Petty) and requiring anti-spill bladders in fuel cells and improved fire-retardant driver suits following the death of Glen "Fireball" Roberts. Dale Earnhardt was killed after he received massive head and neck trauma from a hard crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt's death prompted NASCAR to require all drivers to use the "HANS Device" (Head And Neck Restraint System), a device that keeps the driver's neck from going forward in a wreck. Also with the introduction of the COT(Car of Tomorrow), safety features of the car itself has been greatly improved. Foam is inserted between the sheetmetal and the driver`s cage to help absorb some of the shock during a collision. The driver`s seat has also been moved closer to the center of the car to help minimize injuries resulting from side collisions.

Criticism

Similar to other professional leagues and sanctioning bodies, NASCAR has been the target of criticism on various topics from various sources. Some critics note the significant differences between today's NASCAR vehicles and true "stock" cars. Others frequently cite the dominance of the France family in NASCAR's business structure, policies, and decision making. Recently, the increased number of Cup drivers competing consistently in the Nationwide Series races has been hotly debated. Another general area of criticism, not only of NASCAR but other motorsports as well, includes questions about fuel consumption, emissions and pollution, and the use of lead additives in the gasoline. As NASCAR has made moves to improve its national appeal, it has begun racing at new tracks, and ceased racing at some traditional ones — a sore spot for the traditional fan base. Most recently, NASCAR has been challenged on the types and frequency of caution flags, with some critics suggesting the outcome of races is being manipulated, and that the intention isn't safety, as NASCAR claims, but closer racing.

Education

NASCAR Technical Institute located in Mooresville, North Carolina, is the country's first technical training school to combine a complete automotive technology program and a NASCAR-specific motor sports program, and is the exclusive educational partner of NASCAR.

Further Information

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