NASCAR Special

Living in the south I learnt one thing quick and that is; NASCAR is big in the south. Reported to be the worlds biggest spectator sport I can believe it after living in North Carolina for the past 4 years. I think this motor sport is highly under-appreciated around the rest of the world and even in the US. From listening to friends, watching races and reading up about this type of racing its clear that its certainly not just guys with big engines driving in a circle cause they cant negotiate anything harder than a left turn. Which is a how many people view the sport. Actually compared to many other types of racing NASCAR sprint cup series mite be the purist racing series on this kind of level. Yes its plastered with sponsors, you can watch a race for 5seconds without seeing some kind of promotion but the racing is pure. No traction control, no supercharged or turbo charged engines here. No computer telling the driver tire temp, no way he can change aerodynamics whilst racing, he cant use a boost system for extra power when he needs it. The regulations are fairly simple without going into the nitty-gritty details. Bring a 5.8 liter, naturally aspirated engine ripping out 650-700 (hp) horses on a simple 4 speed manual gear box, get some slick tires and a roll cage… and you are set to go racing. It has been his simple since the sport became official in the late 1940’s. Of course the sport has developed and aerodynamics has become a factor as you can modify the cars set-up before hitting the regulations. Example the simple side spoiler placed down one side of the roof to help torn combined with the inside tire pressures being different to the outside to help pull the car around the corner. A front splitter to keep the car glued to the road for traction as the drivers go around corners in speeds of up to 200mph. Then the cost itself for racing is not cheap but compared to other premier race series NASCAR is cheap. Team owner Kenny Wallace says the cheapest he can race for on a weekend in $100,000 including travel, tires, mechanics, car, expenses and the list goes on. When the cheapest you can race is $100k then the reason for all the advertising comes clear.  He estimates it costs roughly 5.5-6.5million a season which sounds expensive but again this is all still simple and easy compared to say F1 who don’t release exact figures but the top teams are estimated to be spending $400 million a season and the lowest budget teams are still spending $140 million a season.  That’s a massive difference but two very different styles of racing too.  The talent level in NASCAR is not too far behind the F1’s and Touring cars with highest budgets. NASCAR is a legit motorsport that I think does not get the full credit it deserves, as they stay loyal to its routes and fundamentals of racing. It’s a raw engine with a few miles of open track and nothing between the driver and the engine to reduce the experience.

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