An Introduction to NASCAR Rules, Safety, and Strategy

NASCAR came to life in 1947 in the meeting room of the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida under the leadership of Bill France, Sr. The first officially sanctioned NASCSAR was held in 1948 at the Daytona Beach course and people have been enjoying the spectacle ever since. Many things have changed since that inaugural race over sixty years ago; many new rules have come and gone along with racing strategies. Lets go over the basics and see what all is involved in winning a NASCAR race.

One of the issues that NASCAR takes very seriously is the safety of the drivers, pit crews, and fans of the sport. Thus many rules and regulations have been created to protect these individuals. Let's take a look at some of the NASCAR rules and regulations regarding car safety.

The car must be made to exact NASCAR rules, and even though NASCAR does not release the official rule book to the public we can still see some of these rules in the make of the car. The driver's safety is on of the main concerns when designing these race cars that weigh 3400lbs, have 750 horsepower, and can travel over 200mph. The frame is designed to take most of the force during a collision and also to eject the engine out the bottom of the car and away from the driver. Also per NASCAR official rules the seat has to be connected to the tubular frame of the car to keep drivers from being thrown from the vehicle. Window nets of superb strength and durability are installed to keep the driver's arms from leaving the vehicle during a crash. Roof flaps are another rule initiated by NASCAR to keep the car from becoming air borne during a crash. NASCAR windshields are made of a special Lexan glass that does not break or shatter. Drivers are also required to wear fire retardant suits that resist fire if a car catches on fire during a crash. Finally, the gas tank is made according to NASCAR regulations to resist leak and explosion during a wreck.

Now we will focus on the NASCAR rules that have been put in place to protect the ever loyal NASCAR fan base. The first one that we will discuss is the use of restrictor plates on a few of the tracks that are raced each season. These restrictor plates are designed to minimize the air intake to the engine. This reduces the cars overall speed, thus reducing the risk to fans in the event of a crash as well as to the drivers on the faster speedways. Another initiative to protect fans during the race (though detrimental to drivers) is a concrete barrier to stop out of control cars from traveling into the stands.

Once the race teams have checked to make sure that their cars meet NASCAR rules and standards, the team is on to trying to win. It takes more than just a fast car and a good driver to win a race. Several factors are in motion at all times, and must be handled correctly in order for a car the get that coveted checkered flag at the end of the race.

Some consider tires to be one of the most crucial aspects of winning a race. Every track in the NASCAR series is different and causes the tires to wear out in a different way. The longer a car can stay on the track without a stop for tires the better. When the car does come in, the crew chief will decide (based on the drivers description of how the car is handling and viewing turn performance) to replace all the tires or only two of the tires. Even though in most all cases a car with four new tires will travel faster, the crew may decide on only two tires to save valuable seconds on the pit stop.

Fuel is also a factor that requires careful and meticulous calculation during a race. The crew must accurately calculate miles per gallon to have a precise amount of fuel left in the tank. With this number they can decide how much fuel needs to be added to the car, or if the car should try to make it to the finish on what is in the tank. Here again, the time that is required during a pit stop is one of the deciding factors about how much fuel to add (if any) during a pit stop. A calculation that has to be brought into play is the weight of the fuel. As the car progresses around the track and burns fuel it gets lighter. The less weight the car has the faster it can travel.

Lastly, accurate adjustments must be part of the overall strategy in place. Since every track is different, the car will handle differently and adjustments have to be made. The aerodynamics and handling of the car are adjusted by raising or lowering the side of the car, and raising or lowering the spoiler on the back of the car. This allows the car to handle better in crowded conditions that are found on the track.

Those are the rules and strategies shared by all in NASCAR. Here are a few of the strategies that are practiced by most of the drivers while racing: Drafting-this is when a car approaches another car from the rear and is in the wake of the leading car. Since the lead car is catching all the air resistance, the following car can gain speed and try to "slingshot" past the leading car. Passing under-since the inside of the track is the shortest distance, drivers will try to get "under" the car in front of them and gain ground by having to travel a shorter distance around the track.

Enjoy this years NASCAR season.

Sources

"Race Strategy" NASCAR.com

"NASCAR Racecar" NASCAR.com

"NASCAR Racing Car Rules and Requirements" solveyourproblem.com

"NASCAR Safety" entertainment.howstuffworks.com/nascar