NASCAR for Rookies

The saying “NASCAR is a team sport” was coined by team owner Rick Hendrick in 2004. The reason this has quote has such a big meaning to NASCAR and especially Mr. Hendrick’s team is because on October 24, 2004, 10 of Mr. Hendrick’s family and team members were killed in a plane crash. The plane was en route to Martinsville Speedway, where NASCAR was racing that day. While this was a horrible incident, it made the entire NASCAR community grow closer and realize that NASCAR wouldn’t be what it is without teams. There are individual teams, of course, but NASCAR as a whole is a team, too.

NASCAR teams can be as simple as a one-car organization to a four-car corporation. Some teams struggle to make the races each week, while others are extremely dominant. Some can’t find sponsorship for the whole season, but others have companies knocking at their doors to sponsor a car. While teams range in size, NASCAR set a four-car cap on teams in 2005 to even out the playing field a little.

The company that is the largest and is worth the most money is Hendrick Motorsports, owned by Rick Hendrick. Mr. Hendrick owns four cars: Jimmie Johnson (#48), Jeff Gordon (#24), Mark Martin (#5) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#88). This is by far the most competitive team on the track, as Jimmie Johnson is a four-time champion. Jeff Gordon is a three-time champion, and Mark Martin has been called “The Best Driver Never to Win a Championship” – with claiming the runner-up points position five separate times. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR.

The Hendrick Motorsports Drivers, from left: Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon. Photo courtesy of: http://photos.upi.com/

The next largest organization is Roush-Fenway Racing, which owns four cars: Matt Kenseth (#17), Carl Edwards (#99), Greg Biffle (#16) and David Ragan (#6). Currently, the only past champion in this stable is Matt Kenseth (in 2003), although the other three are still very competitive.

Richard Childress Racing is another larger organization. Richard Childress currently owns three cars: Kevin Harvick (#29), Clint Bowyer (#33) and Jeff Burton (#31).

Joe Gibbs Racing currently owns three cars: Denny Hamlin (#11), Kyle Busch (#18) and Joey Logano (#20).

Penske Racing currently owns three cars: Kurt Busch (#2), Brad Keselowski (#12) and Sam Hornish, Jr. (#77).

Stewart-Haas Racing currently owns two cars: Tony Stewart (#14) and Ryan Newman (#39).

The Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, from left: Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart. Photo courtesy of: http://www.finallapradio.com

Red Bull Racing currently owns two cars: Brian Vickers (#83) and Scott Speed (#82).

Richard Petty Motorsports currently owns four cars: Kasey Kahne (#9), Elliott Sadler (#19), AJ Allmendinger (#43) and Paul Menard (#98).

There are multiple other one, two, and three car organizations, but none as competitive as the ones listed above, and especially the first two listed. You can always bet that one of the drivers in the Hendrick or Roush lineup will be at the front.

Total, there are eight flags used in NASCAR and each one of them have a completely different meaning.

The Green Flag Waves! Photo courtesy of racintoday.com

The green flag is the first flag flown at the beginning of a race, signifying the start.  Other times when the green flag is waved is when the field is returning to green again having come off of a caution. When the green flag is displayed (whether it starts the race or resumes the race), there is a rule that the first driver to the start/finish line MUST be the leader. If someone else reaches the start/finish line before the leader, NASCAR will issue that driver a penalty.

The Yellow Flag is Displayed. Photo courtesy of speedtv.com

The yellow flag is displayed when there is caution on the track. While there is only one flag stand and only one person who waves the flag, there is a special rule with the yellow flag. Since the flag stand is on the front stretch, there became a need for drivers on different areas of the track to be able to immediately see that they need to slow down. A few years ago, NASCAR put yellow lights all the way around every track, so at the touch of a button, each yellow light is illuminated and no matter where a driver is on the track, they know that they need to slow down.

Cars Stopped On-Track for a Red Flag. Photo courtesy of autoracing1.com

When a red flag is displayed, that means all cars must come to a stop. Depending on what the red flag is for, NASCAR will decide whether or not the cars will stop on the track, or if they will come to a rest on pit road.

When a black flag is displayed, there is also a scoreboard on the flag stand that displays the number of the car that the flag was intended for. When a driver receives a black flag, that means that either they have not served a penalty that was given to them. When the black flag is shown to a driver, they MUST come to pit road that same lap, or they will suffer more severe consequences.

The black flag with a white stripe is the flag that is shown to a driver when they fail to come to pit road after a black flag has been shown to them. This flag means that the driver has stopped being scored by NASCAR until they come to pit road to serve their penalty.

The blue flag with a yellow stripe is usually shown to only one or a couple drivers at a time. It means that the leader is coming and the slower driver(s) should move over to let them pass safely without competition.

The white flag is only used once during a race – to indicate that there is only one lap left in the race.

The Checkered Flag is Shown to Jeff Gordon at Daytona. Photo courtesy of danspitstopracing.com

The checkered flag is also only used once during a race – to indicate that the race has ended.

One important piece of information about the flags is the Green/White/Checkered rule. In order to please the fans and to stop races from ending under caution, NASCAR implemented this rule in 2004. If the caution comes out and  the race were to go back to green with two or fewer laps left, the race is automatically restarted with two laps left. At the beginning of the second-to-last lap, the green flag is displayed. At the beginning of the last lap, the white flag is displayed. Finally, at the end of the last lap, the checkered flag is displayed. There are three possible attempts at a Green/White/Checkered. If at any point the caution flag is displayed after the white flag has been displayed, the field is frozen and the race is over!

The crew chief is the supervisor of the “over-the-wall group”. These team members are the ones that travel with the driver to the track and take care of his on-track needs. Besides the crew chief, these team members are: tire changers, tire carriers, the jack man, the gas man and the catch can man. NASCAR has strict rules that only allow seven team members to go over the wall of the pit road during a pit stop. The crew chief is the go-to man during a race, he tells the “over-the-wall group” how to adjust the car and also serves as a motivator for the driver.

Jeff Gordon's "over-the-wall group" performs routine pit stops in 15 seconds or less. Photo courtesy of zimbio.com

Other important members of a NASCAR team are the spotter and the semi-truck driver. Without the truck driver, the cars would never arrive to the track that they are supposed to be at. Each team brings two cars to each race: their primary car and a backup, in case something happens to the primary. Besides the crew chief, the spotter is probably the most essential team member to the on-track family. The spotter is in constant radio communication with the driver to let him know what his position is on the track. Since the only mirror in a NASCAR car is a rearview mirror and the HANS device limits the mobility of a drivers head, the driver has very limited visibility. This is where the spotter comes in. Whether there is a car low, car high, or a fast car coming up behind the driver, the spotter is there to let the driver know what to do and where they should go. The spotter is also usually the first one to let the driver know when there is caution on the track.

Without the team, the driver would have to do all the work himself. While most drivers know a small amount about the mechanics of the car, the car chief and crew chief know far more put together than any driver could ever know. Between these two highly-important team members, they are able to direct their respective teams and get their car into victory lane.

There is always a lot of debate on the types of tracks NASCAR visits every year. Although most people have complaints on the different tracks NASCAR chooses to go to, I commend their decisions and agree with the majority of them. They really do try to visit a lot of different tracks, so that that aspect of the racing stays intense and interesting. There are basically four different types of tracks that NASCAR visits: Superspeedways, Intermediate Tracks, Short Tracks and Road Courses.

Superspeedways are the tracks that are typically the fastest, although they are categorized as superspeedways if they are over two miles in length. The speeds reached at these tracks are usually about 185mph. The most popular and most well-known superspeedway is Daytona International Speedway which is 2.5 miles long. Other superspeedways on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit are:

- Auto Club Speedway in California (2 miles)
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5 miles)
- Michigan International Speedway (2 miles)
- Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania (2.5 miles)
- Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama (2.66 miles – the longest on the circuit)

Talladega Superspeedway. Photo Courtesy of: edtylerinc.com

Intermediate tracks are sometimes referred to as “cookie cutter tracks” because a lot of them happen to have the same shape. Intermediate tracks speeds vary somewhere between 120-150mph. Some intermediate tracks are called “quad-ovals” or a “D-shaped oval” because there is a slight curve on the front stretch, almost making five turns. These tracks are between one and two miles long. The intermediate tracks on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit are:

- Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54 miles)
- Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina (1.5 miles)
- Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois (1.5 miles)
- Darlington Raceway in Virginia (1.366 miles)
- Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida (1.5 miles)
- Kansas Speedway (1.5 miles)
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada (1.5 miles)
- Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee (1.333 miles)
- New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058 miles)
- Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 miles)

Texas Motor Speedway. Photo Courtesy of: cache2.asset-cache.net

Short tracks always end up producing the most crashes. With 43 cars on a track one mile long or less and speeds of 75-110mph, it is easy to see how the wrecks happen. Short tracks always offer lots of excitement, and the night race at Bristol is always at the top of a NASCAR fan’s To Do List. The short tracks on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit are:

- Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee (0.533 mile)
- Dover International Speedway in Delaware (1 mile)
- Martinsville Speedway in Virginia (0.526 mile – the shortest on the circuit)
- Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona (1 mile)
- Richmond International Raceway in Virginia (0.75 mile)

Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo Courtesy of: thatsjustbristol.files.wordpress.com

Finally, the last group of tracks on the circuit is road courses. Only the most talented of drivers are able to conquer these types of tracks, as most NASCAR drivers have spent their entire life concentrating on left-hand turns, and road courses require them to go right sometimes. Currently, there are only two road courses on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit:

- Infineon Raceway in California – this track has 12 turns and is 1.99 miles long. The average speed is about 70mph.
- Watkins Glen International Raceway in New York – this track has 8 turns and is 2.45 miles long. The average speed is about 80mph.

Infineon Raceway. Photo Courtesy of: griggsracing.com

The difference in tracks makes for exciting races since no two tracks are exactly alike. Every fan and driver has their favorite track or type of tracks, but there is never any lack in exhilaration.

Something that has been the topic of conversation the past few weeks is the dominance of the number 48 team, headed up by driver Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has won the past four championships in a row, and although this season has barely begun, he is the favorite to win the championship again. He made history with winning four in a row as it had never been done before, but I don’t think he’s done breaking records. So, I think this is a great time to talk about the points system in NASCAR.

The points system changed just a few years ago, beginning with the 2004 season. Before this, points were accumulated throughout all 36 races, and at the end of all of the races, the driver with the most points won the championship. This sometimes allowed one driver to get a huge points lead over everyone else, for example, Jeff Gordon won the championship in 1998, finishing 364 points ahead of the second place driver.  Technically Gordon could have completely skipped a race and still could have won the championship.Now, the championship point rules have changed a little, which I will explain in just a second.

Jimmie Johnson: 4-Time Champion. Photo Courtesy of: jayski.com

First, we’ll start with the basics of the championship. Each race, the maximum number of points a driver can earn is 190 – this can only be achieved if this driver leads the most laps AND wins the race. Each driver who leads at least one lap earns five points, but they still only earn five if they lead the multiple laps, unless they lead the MOST laps, then they are able to earn an additional five points. There is a maximum of 10 bonus points available. If the driver who wins doesn’t lead the most laps, he only earns 185 points. Before bonus points are added, the second-place driver earns 170 points, and then it goes down by five point increments through the sixth place driver. Then, the point amounts go down by four point increments through the 11^th place driver. Finally, the increments go down by three points all the way through the 43^rd-place driver, who earns 34 points.

The new part of the championship is called “The Chase for the Spring Cup” or “The Chase”, where the drivers who are in the top 12 in points at the end of 26 races are the only ones eligible for the championship. The playing field is evened at this point, before the 27^th race begins, and each of the top 12 drivers has 5,000 points, with 10 extra points for each win so far that season.

At the end of the 36 races, the driver who has accumulated the most amount of points is the champion. Most years it is very close and comes down to the very last race (whereas in years before the Chase was implemented, the championship could be decided multiple races before the final race, like Gordon in 1998). For example, in 2004, Kurt Busch won the championship by only 8 points over Jimmie Johnson.

Although Jimmie Johnson’s dominance sometimes makes for boring races and boring seasons, you have to admit he’s good at what he does.

Driver safety is a huge concern for the officials in NASCAR. At Daytona, drivers are going at speeds of 185+miles per hour, and this leaves very little room for error. In recent years, NASCAR has made great strides in making these cars safer for the drivers. With the invention of the HANS device (head and neck restraint system), there has been a significant decrease in injuries. SAFER barriers (steel and foam energy reduction) absorb the kinetic energy that is released into the wall when a car makes contact with it. Also invented was the COT (Car of Tomorrow), which was a little larger than the previous stock cars NASCAR was used to, but also a lot safer. Now, it takes a lot more to do significant damage to these cars, for one car to bump into another and lift it off the ground, and for a car to become airborne.

SAFER Barrier. Photo courtesy of: ntc.unl.edu/programs.php

All of these inventions came after NASCAR lost one of the greatest men to ever grace the sport, the late Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt died in the 2001 running of the Daytona 500, after a seemingly normal crash. Still today, crashes like these happen every day on these tracks and no one thinks anything of it. Earnhardt ended up hitting the wall at about 160 miles per hour — he was killed instantly. It will be a day that I will never forget — I still remember it like it was yesterday. No one is still quite sure what happened that day — some say that Earnhardt’s seatbelts failed, but we’ll never know.

So, now that we’ve ended on a sad note, you can go back and study those acronyms!

Welcome back! First, lets make sure that we understand that NASCAR is an acronym. Maybe it’s because I am such a big fan, or because I’m a grammar freak, but all the letters must be capitalized! So, NASCAR stands for: National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing.

Since the Daytona 500 is the biggest race of the year (biggest track, biggest number of spectators, biggest purse, etc.), we’ll talk about some history of the race and of NASCAR in general.

The Daytona 500 is the first official race of the season. For veteran fans like myself, this is something we wait all winter for, as NASCAR doesn’t hold races between the middle of November to the middle of February. Unlike most professional sports, NASCAR has its biggest race of the year as their first event. This year marked the 52nd year of the Daytona 500. This race was originally held on the actual beach in the early years of the sport. When Daytona International Speedway was built and the inaugural race was held in 1959, drivers would circle the track 200 times – equalling 500 miles.

The winner of the first Daytona 500 was Lee Petty, the first generation driver of a now-famous family. To prove this point, his son, Richard Petty, is the winningest Daytona 500 winner, with seven victories – just at that race. Combined, Richard Petty has 200 wins and also seven championships – still a record today, that no one is even close to breaking.

As for general NASCAR history, the organization was founded in 1947 by Bill France Sr. There are many different series underneath the NASCAR banner, although there are primarily three tiers. The top tier is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (the series in which the Daytona 500 is run), the NASCAR Nationwide Series (a step down from the previous, but still stock cars), and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (another step down, although this series races with trucks). NASCAR also oversees many local and regional series, as well as series in Canada and Mexico.

NASCAR Logo. Photo courtesy of: wx-man.com/

That’s about it for now, but I’ll be back soon!

Welcome to NASCAR for Rookies! This blog is intended to give newcomers to the sport (yes, sport) an overview and introduction to the organization. Although NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the world, there are still many naysayers! I am here to guide YOU in the right direction…to becoming a fan!

My name is Stacy Rowan and I have been a fan of NASCAR since I was 10 years old – that’s 13 years! I began my “fan-dom” in 1997 as a little girl who sat herself in front of the television and studied the cars, subsequently matching them with their drivers, numbers, sponsors and owners. Throughout my 13 years as a fan, I have met a few of my favorite drivers and have been to one race — the 2007 Brickyard 400 (the second biggest race of the year).  That was an experience I’ll never forget. I pride myself on being a female who is very knowledgable on the sport — I can talk circles around most men who consider themselves fans! The sport itself is very complicated and intricate and it has taken me a long time to get where I am, but I am here to help you get there too!

As for my educational background, I am a fifth year senior, double majoring in art – graphic design and English professional writing and book publishing. I am graduating in December of 2010 and from there I have no clue what I’ll do. I love grammar and I love to edit, but I also love student leadership, so I am thinking about getting my masters in higher education (or something along those lines). Since I have been a student at UW-Whitewater, I have been involved in many things, including: Leadership Involvement Team, Residence Hall Association, National Residence Hall Honorary, French Dip Conference 2008, Homecoming Steering Committee, Nursing Home Visitation Program, Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority and the Student Entertainment Awareness League. I’ll be sad to leave it all behind but I have to grow up sometime, right?!