Top 5 Speedways in NASCAR

There are hundreds of NASCAR speedways in the racing world today that have great credentials and most have produced high class races. From Talladega to Daytona and to Lowe's, they are all over the country and all have their own flavor and feel. The question is, can there be a best stock car racing track out there? I have compiled a list of the top five NASCAR speedways and a few of their stats to support why I think they way I do about these grand NASCAR speedways.

Darlington Raceway is on the top of the NASCAR speedways for one major reason. It is where it all began. It is the essential birthplace of stock car racing. NASCAR speedways were started here and nothing can take that away. Normally referred to as "The Lady in Black," Darlington Raceway will always have a special place in the hearts of NASCAR speedway fans everywhere. And while this 1.366 mile NASCAR speedway has been stripped of many of its big time races, it has still been a sell out raceway with some amazing finishes.

The next on the list of top NASCAR speedways is Bristol Motor Speedway. This track has been one of the most exciting tracks for stock car racing on the circuits. With a nickname like "Thunder Alley" it is no surprise that this short track NASCAR speedway has the always been in the spot light and currently has the title of the fastest half-mile track in the world. It's 36 degree, banked turns make it a NASCAR track that always has plenty of speed and tons of action throughout the entire race.

Following next is Daytona International Speedway. This NASCAR speedway has become a cornerstone of the stock car racing world. The Daytona 500 is one of the most prestigious races in racing today and the winner even gets to display his/her car in the Daytona USA museum for an entire year. This 2.5 mile track has been names "The Great American Race" and this race alone puts Daytona on the list of the top NASCAR speedways.

Next in line is Richmond International Speedway. This NASCAR speedway used to be a half-mile track, but was converted to a .75m in '88. It now is one of the few short track speedways on the stock car racing circuits today. This means that you get all of the excitement of the NASCAR speedway, with the strategy and close racing of a short track.

Rounding out the top five is Talladega Super Speedway. Talladega is the longest track currently raced in the stock car racing world at 2.66 miles. It has also been the fastest track of all of the NASCAR speedways which forced NASCAR to instill restrictor plates. While the drives grumble about these plates, they ensure great races and fairness across the stock car racing board. This make tracks like Talladega one of the top tracks, because despite is length, the plates ensure close and exciting races.

So there it is, Darlington, Bristol, Daytona, Richmond and Talladega, the top NASCAR speedways in stock car racing today.