NASCAR Racing
Cars, speed, racing and the action of wreckage have always brought the masculine kind to speedways and race tracks. The feminine kind is not far behind in taking interest in this brawny sport. It's where speed demons, engines and machinery converge and the rumbling beneath their feet takes everyone for a thrilling ride. Racing NASCAR has been here for more than half a century and NASCAR will remain as long as we all fuel it.
This manly sport started in 1948. While some countries battled wars during those days, Bill France Sr. introduced this form of racing initially with three divisions: Modifieds, Roadsters and Strictly Stock. Stock car racing is traditionally a race running around on oval tracks using stock cars. NASCAR endorses over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 states, and Canada. NASCAR has had their presence felt in exhibition races in Suzuka City, Japan, Motegi City, Japan, Mexico, and Melbourne, Australia.
Simply put, stock racing is having a car speed around an oval and points are allocated in every lap they finish. But it's not just about racing cars; it's about the car itself. Stock cars, in the beginning, were automobiles that have not been modified from its original factory settings. It eventually changed to mean building an automobile uniquely different from the ordinary commercially produced vehicles. Their sole purpose was to race.
Because these stock cars are based on American four-door sedans, they pretty much look like the Ford Fusion, Dodge Charge, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Toyota Camry. But that's just the frame. These stock cars have NASCAR-regulated modifications to its chassis, suspension and engine. Take for example the engine: ordinary sedans use fuel-injection while NASCAR babies use carbureted engines.
I noted the difference in body design of NASCAR stock cars versus the ones in the Formula One, CART or IRL series. The latter is sleek, pointed-nose and open wheel cars. Racing NASCAR vehicles on the other hand have fenders which somewhat protects the car's wheel to hook up with another car's just in case they came in contact. Cars in contact are almost equal to a huge wreck: which is a bonus for the crowd. It's the part of the action.
My friends told me that being in the race ground itself is a thrilling experience because it calls for all your five-senses to work. I was skeptical about it until I actually went. The colors of these cars are so vivid with sponsors blaring their own hues. Then the sound of the engines revving up and as they speed through the oval, fans would be screaming like there was no tomorrow. The air will be dusty bringing with it the smell of burnt rubber and fuel. You take a whiff of it as you drink from your cold beverage. The sun on your face wouldn't bother you as much as the reverberation of the ground beneath your seat. Some folks just got hooked to it. I still ain't.
This can also be a glamour sport since TV networks, newspapers and magazines cover this event. TV shows and movies have been produced in honor of racing NASCAR. Those NASCAR drivers are celebrities in their own rights as women go crazy over their naughty reputation. That's NASCAR for you.
