How does NASCAR racing work?

Question

I've been a fan of football and baseball all my life and never really saw a full NASCAR race but, only bits and pieces of it. So I have a few questions to ask from a non critical perspective. I know the object is to get to the finish line first but how do they determain the place they start out in with 30 different cars? How many professional race teams are there? How many courses? Do they have some sort of championship yearly? Is NASCAR bad for the air? And my last question is based on my point of view of never actually seeing a race: Does it get boring going around in oval the whole time? And the reason I ask these questions is: I want to here it from the fans.

Answer 1

1. They determine the place that the cars start by "qualifying". In qualifying, each car does 2 laps around the track that they would be racing on in the real race. The fastest car starts first, the second fastest car starts second, etc. This usually happens around 2 days before the actual race.

2. Only 43 cars are allowed to race in the race, but about 50 cars come to the track to qualify. However, sometimes a few different cars are owned by one person, making a "team". For example, Rick Hendrick owns the #5, #24, #25, and #48, so that would be a "team". There are about 20 teams in racing.

3. In 2007, NASCAR will race 36 races on 22 tracks around the country.

4. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship has been awarded to the top NASCAR Nextel Cup driver of each year since 1949.

5. A regular NASCAR (average 4 hours) race emits about the same amount of fumes as a mile strip of highway for 2 hours.

6. It is not boring if you look into the complication of the race...the pit crew, the engines, the drivers. One of the most exciting races of the year is at Bristol Motor Speedway, August 25 at 7 pm EST on ESPN.

You have to be an open minded person to start liking NASCAR. The people who call it boring have never been open-minded enough to see it for what it really is...a very exciting sport.

Answer 2

I will do my best to answer all of your questions but from a fan here is it straight up. NASCAR is the best sport around. I love baseball and football and hockey but this is my life. I love it.

1. The drivers qualify on the track and the fastest 43 cars get to race and the top 35 drivers in owner points get locked in and the other 7 have to qualify in on time and there is one spot left for a past champion.

2. There are alot of major race teams but the biggest are Hendrick, Gibbs, DEI, RCR, Evernham, Penske, Ganassi, Yates, Roush, Michael Waltrip Racing, and there are others but those are some of the biggest teams.

3. There are 36 races a year but some of the tracks have more then one race a year and others dont. The big ones are Talladega, Daytona, Bristol, Darlington, Richmond, Martinsville, Homestead, Dover, Chicago, Indy, Kansas, Watkinds Glen, Las Vegas, Fontana, Infineon, New Hamshire, Pocono, Charlotte, Texas, and Phoenix. I think those are some of the major events but there are others.

4. Yes they have a yearly championship and after the first 26 races the drivers in the top 12 in points get reseeded based on the number of wins they have and for each win get 10 bonus points and then they race the final 10 races for the Championship. This is a new thing as this year is the first year this Chase has been used but they have used the Chase Format for a few years but this year it was modified. Jeff Gordon has the 3rd most championships with 4, and Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. both have 7.

5. They use unleaded fuel now, and IRL uses all ethanol and NASCAR is trying to switch to ethanol by 2008 or 2009. I think that it would help the envirornment but I dont see it hurting the air.

6. It does get boring sometimes during long green flag runs but the wrecks and the passing and the lead changes make the race the best. I love the racing even though it can be boring at times. Go #24!!!!

Answer 3

NASCAR currently has three national touring series, and a slew of regional and local series. The biggest and most prestigious level, the Nextel Cup Series, currently races 36 point races and two exhibition events on 22 different tracks across the country. There a 20 oval tracks ranging in size from 1/2 mile to 2.5 miles long, plus two road courses. There are currently 47 full time race teams competing in the Nextel Cup series. There are also many Busch Series (the AAA league) and Truck series teams.

The series runs from Feb-Nov with each race going towards the season championship. A driver is awarded a certain number of points for his finishing position in each race. The higher the finishing position, the more points awarded. There are also bonus points for leading a lap during the race, as well as leading the most laps. At the end of 26 races, the top 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the Championship. This is a 10-race runoff where each driver starts with the same amount of points (5,000) as a base, and then are seeded by the number of races won during the first 26 (a race win is 10 bonus points, so having 4 wins gives 5,040 points). The same system is used to award points based on finishing positions in those last 10 races, and the driver from that group of 12 with the most points after the last race of the season is crowned the champion.

Before each event, a qualifying session is held to determine the lineup of the 43 car field. Each driver is given two laps by himself to run the fastest lap possible. The fastest car starts the race on the inside of the front row, which is known as the pole position. The rest of field is filled sequentially behind the pole sitter. With 47 full time teams, and only 43 spots, several teams fail to qualify each race. NASCAR currently has a rule that its top 35 teams in owner points (different from driver standings which determine the championship) are automatically locked in the field. The remaining 12 teams must compete with each other for the remaining 8 spots available in the field.

As far as watching the race goes, there are times where the field can get strung out and there is not much racing going on. But theres usually always a battle for position going on somewhere on the track. Add it the strategy, lightning quick pit stops, and the occasional wreck and its a very exciting sport to follow.

To get some more information about the points system, the cars, the teams, the tracks, etc., check out www.nascar.com and go to the NASCAR 101 section.

Enjoy and welcome to the NASCAR nation.

Answer 4

Ok well since everyone has explained qualifying and teams as well as the cup i will discuss wether it gets boring. Sometimes the watching televised races is boring. Its hard to get into the sport just watching it on tv. I would suggest going to a local track or Nascar race and watching there. Almost every moment at a track is fun and exciting. Races always have their less exciting times such as cautions but its minimized live versus watching it on tv.

As far as pollution goes Nascar has made great strides to cut down on the impact to the enviroment. The NFL currently puts out more pollution in one season then Nascar does in 3. This is based on jet fuel, limosines, and rental cars used to get to and from games vs Nascar's travel pollution and race pollution. In one study it was shown that school buses in most cities put out more pollution in one morning then Nascar does in a 4 hour race. Yes Nascar DOES cause some pollution but it is less then most people realize. Many everyday things that people don't consider cause a lot more pollution.

Answer 5

OK. First off in order to determine starting order they do qualifying. At most tracks each driver gets 2 laps on the track alone to do this. Only 43 cars make each race so to make things easy without going into provisionals lets just say they place them in starting order based on qualifying time from fastest to slowest.

There are roughly 21 different race teams. Each team has its own make of car(Chevy, Ford, Toyota, or Dodge) that they run an engine and car model of. Each team has anywhere from one car to five cars each car having a specific driver. The bigger teams are Roush (Ford), Hendrick (Chevy), Gibbs (Chevy), Waltrip Racing (Toyota), and Penske (Dodge), to name a few.

As far as tracks go there are Speedways, Super Speedways, Short Tracks and Road courses. There are about 22 or so tracks in all and a select few host 2 races per year.

Points are handed out in every race based on the finishing position and if the drive led any laps. After the first 26 races, the top 12 driver are entered into the Chase. All other cars still race weekly, but the top 12 compete to get the most points in those last 10 races in order to win the Championship. It is kinda like a playoff.

Nascar does emit pollution like all cars, but over the past number of years efforts have been made to lower the amount of bad stuff put into the air from the cars.

For your final question yes and no. Every race has crashes that make things exciting. Along with crashes, pit stops, battles for position, and restarts after a caution are all very exciting. When a race goes on for a long stretch with none of those, it can get kind of boring but eventually one of those things will happen and it gets exciting again.

That was long, but I hope it helped.

Answer 6

They qualify to determain the place they start. The fastest gose first. THey race may have 30 cars racing but more came to the race to qualify. Not sure on the number of team and tracks. Yes they have a championship. To me it would seem to be boring driving in a circle for hours, but if i got paid to drive like they do then i would.

Answer 7

Nascar is the Most Exciting Sport, and I do Love Football too! It's not to long till Football Season!!!!
Sounds like you've got some great answers, some are only being little assholes. But anyway hope you understand it some better.

Answer 8

for those who try to get a ride live and breath the TV and race track need for speed But is is not easy yet the oval is not the only thrill how fast you can hit a wall and keep on going how fast a tire can be changed how many cars can you past how fast you go how the engine is put together how much gas you get and how much you need this is not a easy sport this is a life for many

I love the race but need to be in the car for the thrill it a GIRL THING

I have a ride have a car and Saturday night I am there with my two grandchildren yelling "Tiny Mom FAST PAST "

Answer 9

That's a good question!

Answer 10

Need more info to answer