NASCAR
NASCAR is an abbreviation that stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. NASCAR is an authorizing body that supervises different types of racing across the United States. NASCAR was instituted on February 21, 1948 by Bill France, Sr. and originally owned three divisions – Modifieds, Roadsters and Strictly Stock.
There are 3 top series under the NASCAR banner:
- 1. Sprint Cup Series
- 2. Nationwide Series
- 3. Camping World Truck Series
When most people say NASCAR, they are referring to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. NASCAR vehicles can run up to 212 mph and the fastest-to-date time is held by Bill Elliott for a 212.809 MPH lap in Talladega in 1987
Three of the reckless qualifying track records in NASCAR history are as follows:
- 1. Bill Elliott’s 212.809 MPH lap in Talladega in 1987
- 2. Bill Elliott’s 210.364 MPH lap in Daytona in 1987
- 3. Geoffrey Bodine’s 197.478 MPH lap in Atlanta in 1997
NASCAR Race Cars
A contemporary NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar has only a passing similarity to its “strictly stock” heritage. These cars are made-up from the ground as pure racing beasts. These are not the glossy open-wheel, pointy-nosed race cars that track Formula One or the IndyCar chains. Contemporary models have fenders that are essential because they permit side-to-side interaction between cars without allowing the wheels to hook, instigating a tragic accident.
A Sprint Cup car weighs in at 3,400 pounds and has a wheelbase of accurately 110 inches. The engine is a 358 cubic inch V8. These powerplants can produce over 750 horsepower. By contrast, a showroom stock 2007 Chevy Corvette generates about 400 horsepower with its V8 engine.
NASCAR Race Tracks
Today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series features 36 different races on 22 diverse race tracks. 34 of those races feature all left turns on ovals or D shaped race paths, and two of the races are held on road courses.
In the start, stock car racing was exactly what it sounds like. Drivers just bought brand new cars from suppliers and went racing. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), organized in 1947, created a standardized set of directions for stock car racing and established an arrangement for choosing a national champion based on performance and presentation at races all across the country.
The original races were run on dirt tracks that got rutted and jerky. The original cars were not tough enough for this type of exploitation, so NASCAR began allowing modifications to the stock cars to upsurge their resilience.
Today, NASCAR race cars have very little in common with road cars. Almost every feature of a NASCAR car is handmade. The bodies are constructed from flat sheet metal, the engines are assembled from an unadorned block and the frame is constructed from steel tubing.