Hello, and welcome to the wonderful world of Nascar! If you’re a new fan of stock car racing, this is the place for you! In this ten-part series we’ll take a look at what you should and could know about America’s #1 auto racing organization. Let’s get started!
1. THE VERY BASICS—in which we take a look at what this thing called Nascar really is.
What is Nascar? Nascar is an auto racing series based in the United States.
What does Nascar stand for? National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
Who owns Nascar? The France family. Specifically, Jim France (son of founder “Big” Bill France Sr. and brother of Bill France Jr.). He took over from his embattled nephew Brian France.
What’s the point of all this? First off, nice unintentional pun there. Drivers try to accrue as many points as they can by finishing as good as they can throughout the season. Obviously the best way to do this is by winning, but you can also earn points through good finishes in the in-race stages.
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| Nascar's season format simplified |
How does the season work? Simply put, if you’re a full-time driver and you get a win in the first 26 races (OR you’re otherwise in the top-16 in points), you make the Playoffs. The Playoffs are a four-stage ten-race elimination phase where you want to finish as high as you can—again, if you win, you advance to the next round.
What are the levels of Nascar racing? The easiest way to describe it is to compare it to major and minor league baseball:
Nascar Cup Series—Major Leagues (the highest point)
Xfinity Series—AAA baseball (second-highest)
Truck Series—AA baseball or international leagues (third-highest)
ARCA Series—A baseball (various series grouped at the fourth-highest)
Weekly Racing Series—Rookie/independent baseball (lowest/entry level)
Who owns what? As stated above, the France family owns Nascar itself, while also owning about 2/3rds of the tracks Nascar competes on through its ISC subsidiary. A good portion of the remaining tracks are owned by SMI, controlled by the Smith family headed by O. Bruton Smith. A handful of tracks (Dover/Nashville, Pocono, and Indianapolis) are owned by others. The cars themselves are owned by team owners with a limit of four cars per team.
So what exactly is a “stock car”? In its earliest days, Nascar was all about racing the kinds of cars you’d be able to buy off a lot—hence “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”—with limited modifications. As years went by safety and competitive balance concerns have made stock cars much less “stock”, although they still superficially resemble the kinds of cars you’d see on the highway.
Who makes the cars themselves? Well, the teams themselves usually make the literal race cars you see on-track. But the three manufacturers involved in Nascar today are Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota, running Mustangs, Camaros, and Camrys respectively in the Cup Series.
What are “Stages”? During races drivers can earn extra points by finishing in the top-ten of either of the first two stages of the race. Races are broken into three stages, with the first two stages ending with a caution-flag break period.
Ah yes, caution flags. What do the flags mean? Here you go—and fun fact, these flags are pretty much universal throughout worldwide racing:
Green flag—racing has begun or caution period has ended. “Normal” racing is said to be “green flag conditions” even though it isn’t waved continuously. The race start typically features a dignitary waving the green flag.
Yellow flag—race is under caution—slow down and line up behind the pace/safety car. Waved when there is some sort of hazard on the track—typically a crashed/disabled race car, debris on the racing surface, or inclement weather.
Red flag—race has been stopped. Waved when there is either a hazard on-track blocking cars from coming through or severe inclement weather.
Green-and-white checkered flag—Stage 1 or Stage 2 has ended (note that this flag is unique to Nascar).
White flag—one lap to go. Note that when the yellow or green flag is displayed in a “point” (i.e. wrapped around its stick) this means one lap to go till green flag racing.
Checkered flag (black and white)—race has ended.
Blue flag with yellow (or orange) diagonal stripe—move over. Typically displayed when a lapped car is blocking the progress of a lead-lap car.
Black flag—report to the pits immediately. This is usually due to excessive damage or a serious penalty.
Black flag with white X—car has been disqualified. Only used when a car ignores the black flag for a number of laps.
What about pit stops? What about them?
Well, can you describe to me what they’re all about? Gladly! Drivers have to stop several times a race due to tire wear and to refuel their cars. These pit stops are made in pit stalls on pit road. Drivers have to maintain pit road speed, but the pit stops themselves are made incredibly fast. Pit crew members—formerly team mechanics, now usually athletes from other sports—change tires, fuel the car, fix damage, and make adjustments in a highly-choreographed sequence, typically in under fifteen seconds. Drivers can pick up (or lose) spots on the race track via a fast or slow pit stop.
Alright, I think I got the basics of the races. What about the tracks themselves? The majority of race tracks Nascar races on are asphalt ovals, ranging in size from just over a half mile long to just over two-and-a-half miles long. Two races are held on road courses (with various twists and turns) while a third is held on a “Roval”—a road course inside of an oval track. Three tracks (Dover, Bristol, and Nashville) have concrete surfaces, while Martinsville has both—concrete in the turns but asphalt elsewhere.
Alright I think I’m good to go—where can I watch races? Races are almost always held (well, when we’re not in the middle of a pandemic) on Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. The first half of the season is aired on Fox and FS1, while the second half airs on NBC and NBCSN.
Thanks! No problem—there’ll be plenty of more detail to come, but you’re caught up on the basics.