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Article Series: NASCAR
Everything You Need To Know About NASCAR
NASCAR
Racing Car Rules & Requirements
The new Ford Focus is an excellent example
of the amount of difference there can be, and usually is, between
the standard version of the car built for the streets and the
NASCAR version of the car that is designed specifically for
NASCAR racing. The two versions of the Ford Focus don’t really
look anything like each other. In fact, to the non-specialist’s
eye, they would never both be identified as the model Focus.
Perhaps they could both be identified as Ford, if one knows
to look for the little blue oval symbol, but discerning the
model of the car is infinitely harder than deciding the make
of the car. Since the two versions of the car differ in so
many ways, NASCAR has a fairly specific set of rules that engineers
have to follow when making up their NASCAR versions of mainstream
models.
Some of the features of NASCAR cars are required for safety
whereas others are purely cosmetic. Additionally, all of the
cars are required to have three pieces of the car be identical
to the street model of the same car. These three parts are
the hood, the trunk top and the roof itself. Everything else
inside the car is specialized to suit NASCAR drivers’ needs.
Of course, these modifications should all be similar so that
one driver’s car is not physically much more likely to win
the race. Below you will find the specifications that NASCAR
Nextel Cup cars must conform to in order to be let onto the
racetrack for competition.
Of course NASCAR racecars have to be fast, which means the
engine must be supercharged. Accordingly, there are specifics
for the engine that apply to all NASCAR Nextel Cup cars. One
interesting fact is that this type of engine used for NASCAR
uses the old technology; fuel injection is a no-no when it
comes to NASCAR. Mechanically speaking, it is much easier to
work with systems that work strictly on a mechanical level,
without introducing electronics into the mix. It’s for this
reason that carburetors are used in NASCAR cars instead of
the technology of modern fuel-injection engines.
Moving beyond the engine, NASCAR
cars have a specific size and weight that they can not
exceed. NASCAR also uses a sort
of template so that cars do not end up looking vastly different
from each other. It’s possible to radically change the shape
of a car while keeping the size and the weight the same, but
NASCAR does not want all manner of shapes racing around the
track. Colors and numbers are where the cars distinguish themselves
from one another. Another interesting tidbit fact is that NASCAR
cars are, in some ways, not as well-equipped as our street
versions of the cars. For example, the tires don’t have treads
on them, which, of course, would never work in normal day-to-day
driving conditions. Appropriately, NASCAR races do not take
place in rain or snow; the tires would never live up to it.
Also, these racecars do not have headlights. You might be thinking
that you know you’ve noticed headlights on the cars before,
and you’re right that they’re there. However, have you ever
seen them emitting light? They’re not actually headlights…they’re
stickers.
NASCAR racecars certainly look a little different close up
than they look on television, and anyone who’s been lucky enough
to actually drive a NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car will tell you
that they certainly feel very different to drive. Sitting low
to the ground with a high-power engine and no treads on the
wheels to slow you down, a NASCAR stock car is a thrilling
ride indeed.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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