A Beginner's Guide to NASCAR

If you have a friend who likes NASCAR and you find you are going to be watching lots of races, you might want some help to understand what is going on. Honest, it isn't just cars going around in circles. I started watching racing because my husband loved it. Now I do too. When I started, I followed a young rookie, Kasey Kahne, who came from near where my brother lives. Fortunately for me he was a very good driver. If you start to pay attention to what happens to one driver, you can translate some of that to other situations. Eventually the whole thing will make sense.

Unlike the stick and ball sports you won't be able to follow a "home team." That isn't the only difference. Because NASCAR is a privately owned corporation they can have a prayer before every race as well as the National Anthem. I don't think that there can be as much gambling associated with racing as with other major sports. You just can't predict the finish of any individual in any race. Anyone can wreck out of the race and anyone can win. The other thing that you don't see in NASCAR is anyone showing off, as if they are super stars. The race winner is always thankful for the help of those who prepare their vehicle as well as for the pit crew, crew chief and sponsor.

There are three divisions of NASCAR. The Truck Series has wily veterans and fresh faced newcomers racing against each other. The trucks are pretty sturdy and there is lots of beating and banging as the youngsters learn how to race in the big leagues. There are fewer truck races, they cost less to run and the drivers are paid less. Occasionally some of the Cup drivers will drive in the Truck Races and some are team owners.

The Truck Series drivers graduate to the Nationwide Series (formerly the Busch Series). There are restrictions on things, like the number of tires the teams get to use for the weekend. That saves the teams money, but also means that the crew chiefs have to calculate the best time to get new tires. - cars go faster on new tires for a few laps and they can be a big advantage. There are a few Cup drivers that drive all the Nationwide Races and some that drive only when the two series appear at the same track on a weekend. These drivers used to be called "Buschwackers." It was a great term, but doesn't work with the change of sponsorship for the series. Each team usually has a back up driver who might qualify the car for the Cup driver, or Race the car if the cup driver isn't coming.

Cup is the senior series. They have the best cars, the best drivers and the biggest sponsorships. It is the most expensive to race and is generally available to watch on television. The other two are shown on the Speed Channel. As of 2010 cup teams are limited to 4 cars. But many of the teams sell motors and some technical help to other teams that are associated with them. There is also assistance from the car manufacturer. Currently there is assistance from Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota. Until 2009 Dodge also gave assistance, but with the torn up economy it has been discontinued.

NASCAR fans are among the most brand loyal of shoppers. There is an old saying - "win on Sunday, buy on Monday." NASCAR fans do indeed listen to what the drivers say about their cars. They buy from the company that sponsors their favorite driver. This applies to the products advertised during the races too. There are often drivers appearing in those ads and they are often funny. We try to keep track of how many times a sponsor's name and car brand are mentioned during an interview to see who does it most. We also notice when they omit the sponsor or car brand.

One of the things that should be acknowledged can only be described as "the Earnhardt Effect." Dale Earnhardt Senior has become a kind of legend in racing. People who didn't like him when he was alive, now believe that he is a saint. His son, who races, is simply called Junior. If anyone wrecks with Junior, some fans believe it is the other driver's fault and they will boo him at the next race and never forgive him. If Junior takes the lead during a race, the cheers from the crowd increase in volume.

Unlike stick and ball sports where you either win or lose, in racing, you get points for your finishing position, all the way to last place. In the Cup series, the winner gets 185 points and then 2nd to 5th decrease in 5 point increments, 6TH to 10th decrease in 4 point increments. After that the decrease is 3 points a position. That means that although the winner gets most of the attention, a top ten finish is considered good. It also means that cars which have no chance of winning will go out and try to pass cars that are off the track. In Cup after 26 races the points are reset for the top twelve drivers and the chase for the championship takes place over the last ten races of the season. Since the points are all reset to 5000 with 10 additional points for having won a race earlier in the year.

The only thing it took me a long time to figure out is how important the crew chief and pit crew are. The pit crew changes the tires and makes adjustments to the car during the race. The speed and precision with which these men work is important in determining how long a car takes on pit road. The crew chief is the strategist, who tells the driver when to come to pit road, and tells the crew what adjustments to make. They are as decisive in determining where a car finishes as the driver is. The chemistry between these men is important in determining where a car finishes.

At the race track there is one other person who determines how a car does in the race. The spotter is in some high position at the track where he can see everything that is happening on the race track. He will ask other spotters to have their car move out of the way, or arrange alliances between drivers. He tells the driver about the cars coming up from behind that the driver can't see. He is the voice whispering in the drivers ear, telling him what is happening on the track. Road courses take two or more spotters to see all the places on the track. A good spotter keeps his driver out of trouble.

There is some information that is common to all three series, and some that you will pick up quickly, but what I have written about should make things a little clearer. If you have time to watch "Wind Tunnel" or "This Week in NASCAR" after the race, you will learn a lot more about racing. Pre-Race shows have varying degrees of information and entertainment. They can help you learn about different drivers and about the track that they will be racing. As in everything, you will find that the more you learn, the less you know. That will stay true for a while, but if you keep watching, after a while, you should be able to understand what your friend is talking about. Eventually you will be able to contribute to the conversation without getting laughed out of the room. Enjoy the racing.