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!
9. FAQ’s—Quirks and Questions
There’s plenty of questions you may have when watching a race. Here’s some of the most-common ones
Are Nascar drivers athletes? Its a subjective question, but the short answer is YES. The long answer is that driving a race car requires split-second reflexes, perfect hand-eye coordination, and the ability to survive temperatures up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit HOTTER than outside the car. While not all drivers look like the picture of physical fitness, there is a definite athletic aspect to racing in Nascar. And hey—its a heck of a lot more taxing on the body than golf.
Why are the races so long? When Nascar moved into the “modern era” in the 1970’s the races were all about showing the endurance of the cars and drivers. Once the sport moved onto TV on a regular basis, networks saw 3-4 hour blocks of sports broadcasting that they could pack full of commercials. So the less racing there is, the less commercials there are, and the less money Nascar gets from their TV deals.
What if a driver has to…go? Ah, the age-old question. Its excruciatingly hot in a race car—it can reach over 130 degrees Fahrenheit on a hot day. This, combined with layers of fire-retardant safety gear, means that a driver can sweat out literally POUNDS of fluids. So even if a driver is gulping down water, they’re likely to sweat it out. But yes, if nature does call, they’ll likely, well, pee in their suits. Thankfully its usually so hot in there that it evaporates in minutes.
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| Standard Nascar oval track |
Why are most Nascar races on ovals? American auto racing has its roots in the early-20th century, back when the biggest sport in the country was still horse racing. Since most horse tracks were ovals—and had the largest grandstands for paying fans—auto racing developed on these same ovals as well. When Nascar started, founder Bill France Sr. used Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a benchmark of success, at a time when Indy-style racing was done primarily on ovals. Furthermore, ovals provide fans with the best view of most of the race track, while taking up the smallest amount of space as opposed to a winding road course.
Why don’t they turn right once in a while on ovals? First, cars turn left on ovals for a pretty simple reason—because horses turn left on ovals in North America (the reasons for this are unclear). Because race cars are more purpose-built than ever before, safety measures in the car are made to protect the driver assuming that they’re on the side of the car closer to the infield, as opposed to being closer to the outside wall.
What’s the “free pass”? When the yellow caution flag comes out, the field is frozen in reference to position—so a car in, say, ninth place is automatically locked into ninth place as long as they can maintain pace car speed. Previously, a caution flag wouldn’t come into effect until the leader crossed the start-finish line. This would allow drivers laps down to possibly “unlap” themselves by passing the leader. A number of dangerous situations where lapped cars nearly collided with crashed cars saw Nascar implement the current “frozen field” rule. However, to allow cars to unlap themselves, the Free Pass Rule was put into effect—this states that the first car a lap down when a caution comes out is put back on the lead lap, as long as they themselves didn’t cause the caution. This is sometimes called the “Lucky Dog” since when introduced, it was sponsored by Aaron’s, which had a mascot named “Lucky Dog”.
What’s the “Wave Around Rule”? Say a caution flag comes out. The lead lap cars all pit. Any cars a lap down who don’t pit would file behind the pace car, followed by the lead lap cars once they leave pit road. This led to these cars that hadn’t pit unlapping themselves, but being on the tail end of the lead lap. To eliminate confusion, the Wave Around Rule was put into place, which sees any of these formerly lapped cars allowed to be “waved around” the pace car and join the lead lap in the back of the pack.
Why are most of the drivers white guys? In the early days this was simple—it was because the sport was predominantly followed by white southerners at a time when women were discouraged from pursuing a career in motorsports—not to mention that race team owners weren’t the most “woke” people in the world. As the world and sport have modernized the makeup of the driver roster has changed somewhat, but has remained mostly white and male. This is mostly due to sponsorship—it costs lots of money for a driver to make their way from the local tracks to the Cup Series, and few companies are willing to take a risk on someone they could feel the race fans could reject. To mitigate this, Nascar has instituted the Drive for Diversity program, a sort of racing scholarship program for women and minorities.
Can you pass a car under caution? Not really. If a car stays on the track during the caution period—and doesn’t fall below pace car speed—it cannot gain or lose position. However, this car can gain or lose positions if pit stops are involved. If a car stays on the track, any cars ahead of it on the same lap who pit will fall behind it. If a car pits, the opposite is true—any cars on the same lap that stay out will be ahead of it. If multiple cars pit on the same caution lap, positions can be gained or lost with a fast or slow pit stop, putting a quality pit crew at a premium.
What’s the difference between the different kinds of pit stops? The most-common by far is a four-tire pit stop—all four tires are changed, the car is fueled, and, if necessary, adjustments are made. A two-tire stop sees only the right-side tires changed—these are the “outside” tires which take the brunt of the car’s weight in the turns, so they wear out faster. The car is still fueled on a two-tire stop, although there is less time to get it full (and, by extension, make any adjustments). On a fuel-only pit stop (also known as a “Splash and Go”), no tires are changed—the car only pits for the amount of time necessary to add the fuel needed to get to the finish. The only other kind of pit stop seen is the unscheduled variety, when a car pits in order to have damaged parts and pieces repaired.
What’s with the trophies? Older trophies were typically designed by the tracks themselves and tend to resemble, well, trophies. Newer trophies are usually designed in tandem with the track’s sponsors and can be less of a metal bowl and more like a miniature sculpture. One notable exception to both these rules is Martinsville Speedway, which instead gives out a grandfather clock to race winners.
What can drivers be penalized for during a race? The most-common in-race penalty is for speeding on pit road, or crew members violating rules during a pit stop (coming “over the wall” too early, letting a tire get away, etc.). The standard penalty for these is a “pass through” penalty—driving down pit road during a green flag. Other penalties are made in-race for jumping the restart (hitting the gas too soon on a green flag start), intentionally causing a caution, or intentional rough driving.
Why can’t they race in the rain? Unlike other racing series, Nascar does not race in the rain (except on very rare occasions on road courses). This is because banked tracks require maximum grip to keep the car steady, which in turn necessitates a treadless “slick” tire. Running on a wet surface in a car with no tread would cause the cars to hydroplane.
What does it mean when they say a car is “loose” or “tight”? Loose means the car’s back end wants to fishtail out. Tight means the car’s front end doesn’t want to turn. If you hear people joking about this, its because once Nascar got a national TV deal, the announcers seemed to explain this every single race.
What’s the difference between “sticker” or “scuff” tires? Brand-new tires are said to be “sticker” tires, since they still have their labels stuck on them. Occasionally, teams will run a few laps during practice then immediately take the tires off. This not only rubs off the smoothness of the tires (hence the term “scuff”) but also, once the tires cool down, the rubber becomes much harder. This results in a tire that is much less grippy, but much more durable.
What’s the deal with the two non-points races? The season-opening Busch Clash is a short exhibition race consisting mostly of Busch Pole Award winners from the previous season. The All-Star Race is an exhibition race typically held the weekend before Memorial Day Weekend, consisting primarily of race winners from the previous and current season in a shorter-than-usual race.
How are car numbers assigned? If a new team starts, it can request a number from Nascar. If that number is available, Nascar will usually assign it without question. However, if the desired number is NOT available, Nascar reserves the right to assign another number (typically the lowest number available). Once a team has a car number they have the rights to that number in perpetuity, as long as they continue to run their team at least on a part-time basis. If a team stops running, that number becomes available except in rare situations (most-famously when Nascar chose to keep car number 3 out of circulation after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr.). All single digit (0-9) and double-digit (10-99 and 00-09) numbers are eligible, although triple-digit numbers were used in the past.
Wait—if every number is available, then come come nobody uses number 69? Two reasons—one, most sponsors don’t want to be associated with such an innuendo-laden number. Also, pornographic sponsors have historically been banned from Nascar. Besides, Nascar would be likely to refuse to assign it in the first place.
What types of tracks are there? There’s four categories of tracks in Nascar Cup:
—Short Tracks: Tracks less than a mile long (Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond)
—Super Speedways: Tracks so long and fast that they require measures to keep speeds down (Daytona, Talladega)—these are also called “Restrictor Plate Tracks” for the restrictor plates used in the past to keep speeds down.
—Road Courses: Non-oval tracks that involve both left and right turns (Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Charlotte’s “Roval” layout)
—Intermediates—Tracks longer than .99 miles and less than 2.5 miles (everything else).