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Fun Trivia: N : NASCAR Rules

Special Sub-Topic: Nascar Basics


What is the event called to determine the start order of the cars for the race?

    qualifying. Typically the qualifier consists of 2 laps of which the fastest lap is the one that is recorded. When qualifier is rained out, the starting order is determined by the points standings.

What is the no.1 position called, that is the car that has the best qualifying time?
    The pole sitter. The "Bud pole award" is given to the driver that wins the pole. The pole position is an excellent way to start a race, but by no means does it mean that the driver will win the race.

There are only 40 cars accepted for each race?
    f. 43 positions (cars) are available in every race. Every once in a while, less than 43 cars will actually be in the race.

What happens if a driver has to go to their backup car before race day?
    they start in the back of the field. Drivers have won races from the back of the field, just because a driver starts near the back, doesn't mean they have no chance of winning.

How many rows of cars are there in a full field?
    22. There are 2 cars in each row, except the last row where there is 1 car. The 2 car row allows more room for the drivers to warm up their tires.

The "pit crew" are the people who change tires, fill gas, make adjustments, and fix the car during the race?
    t. The pit crew consists of 8 people: the rear tire carrier, the rear tire changer, the front tire carrier, the front tire changer, the jack-man, the gas man, the gas runner, and the catch can man.

What is the title of the person in charge of the pit crew?
    crew chief. The crew chief is in constant communication with the driver so he knows what the car is doing. They are also experts in all aspects of the race car and they make the final call when something needs to be done to the car.

What is the name of the area that the car pulls into to make a pit stop?
    pit box. The pit box is simply a taped off, rectangular area, on pit row. The car must be inside the pit box before the pit crew can service it.

The pace car is driven only by Nascar personnel?
    f. Many times a celebrity will be asked to drive the pace car during any given race. The pace car comes out during the parade laps and during yellow and red flags.

What are the laps called that occur directly after the race ends?
    Parade laps. The pace car drives at a certain speed so that the race cars can see how fast they are going at a certain rpm. The drivers also use this time to heat up their tires, but it is not referred to as a warm up lap.

Where does the race begin at?
    the start finish line. There are high speed cameras at the start/finish line that take pictures of all the cars as they finish the race, so that there can be no question as to who won and where everyone placed.

When a yellow flag comes out, the cars must immediately slow down?
    t. In midseason 2003, NASCAR implemented a rule that all drivers may not pass when the yellow flag is displayed. They must follow in order to the flag stand, or they will be penalized. Before this rule change, drivers could race back to the 'yellow'. The rule was implemented in order to get safety crew and vehicles to a car that needed emergency assistance.

What is the color of the flag that stops the race?
    red. The 8 flags are as follows: GREEN-starts the race, YELLOW-caution, RED-stops the race, BLACK-a black flagged driver must pit to fix their car, BLACK WITH WHITE X-after the back flag is shown and a driver hasn't responded within 5 laps, and this flag is shown to tell the driver that he is no longer being scored, BLUE WITH DIAGONAL ORANGE STRIPE: this flag is shown to let a driver know that the leaders are coming up on him and that he should move over and let them by, WHITE-one lap to go in the race, CHECKERED-finishes the race.

What is the term called when a car is using another car to break the wind resistance in turns making both cars go faster?
    drafting. With all the new technology in the car's aero package, drafting has become less important than it has in the past, but it is still a factor.

When a car is loose, the back end of the car wants to overtake the front end of the car in turns?
    t. The pit crew can adjust the car to help this situation. The driver will tell the crew chief about the problem and the crew will have the neccessary tools with them when the car pits.

Due to the constraints of the racing seat in the cars, the driver cannot turn their head to see behind and only limited vision beside them. They depend on people located in the stands to direct their movements on the track. Who are these people called?
    spotters. The spotters are in constant communication with the drivers. They are located up in the stands at different points along the track, and they also talk to each other to make deals if the driver needs help on the track.

What is the term when the front wheels lose traction before the rear wheels do, when turning in a corner?
    tight. When this happens, the driver will have problems steering the car in turns. This condition puts the driver at risk of hitting the wall because the car wants to drift up in the turns.

The valance creates rear downforce?
    f. It is the spoiler that creates rear downforce. The valance creates front downforce. Without these innovations on the cars they would be lighter on the track and would wreck more often. There are also roof flaps that flip up in case the car slides backwards, these also direct downforce to keep the car on the ground.

What is the pit road speed?
    all tracks have their own pit road speed. Most tracks have 55 mph as their pit road speed, but a few are slower. The pit road speed is for the safety of the crews, and they must be at the pit road speed when they cross the line at the beginning of pit road. When you hear the announcer say the the driver is "whoa or whoaing" their car down, this is the driver slowing down at the last possible second to comply with the pit road speed.

What is the name of the device put under the carburetor, that restricts the flow of oxygen and gasoline to the car?
    restrictor plate. This device is used at a couple of the larger tracks to keep speeds at a safe level. What is does is it restricts the amount of air and gas that goes into the combustion chamber, therefore reducing the car's power, which in turn doesn't allow the car to go much faster than 200 mph.

Air is used in Nascar tires?
    f. Nitrogen is used because it contains less moisture than compressed air. Regular air expands too much during the race which would affect the car's handling, so they use the nitrogen which doesn't expand very much.

Why don't drivers have a urge to go to the restroom during a race?
    they sweat out the fluids. Because of the high temperatures in the cockpit of the car, the drivers typically sweat out fluids during the race. This is similar to other athlete's that run a lot. Believe it or not, race car drivers are athletes. Their bodies are exposed to high heat, and g-forces, and they are constantly shifting, braking, and steering which at high speeds takes a lot of physical strength.

How many bonus points are awarded to a driver for leading a lap during a race?
    5. Once a car has led a lap they are awarded 5 bonus points, this only happens once per race. If they drop back then lead again, they receive nothing.

Extra points are awarded to a driver that leads the most laps in a race?
    t. They get 5 bonus points. In 1992, Alan Kulwicki won the championship at the seasons last race in Atlanta by 10 points. He stayed out as long as he could to get the 10 bonus points for most laps led, then pitted which allowed Bill Elliot to win the race, but Kulwicki won the championship.

Where does the winner of a race go to with their car?
    victory lane. The winner is awarded 175 points. The other 42 places descend in points from there.


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