NASCAR from My POV
Testosterone has driven men with their passion on automobiles, speed, and racing and not to forget the action of wreckage. Women have also joined racing groupies claiming that the speed thrills them as much as these “bad boy” drivers do. Right. But what is racing Nascar, really? I don’t get the appeal of it. What I do get is the economic activity it generates and the social implication of NASCAR or the likes of it.
NASCAR stand for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing; a family-owned and operated business venture that started in 1947-1948 by Bill France Sr. NASCAR manages multiple auto racing events across the US and even Canada. Its three most popular events are the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and the Craftsman Truck series. There were three divisions when this was initially introduced: Modifieds, Roadsters and Strictly Stock. NASCAR has had over 1,500 endorsed races in more than 100 tracks in 39 states and in Canada. They have presence in Japan, Mexico and Australia with their exhibition races.
There are cars and there are racing cars. In the racing world, there is a huge difference. Stock cars were originally automobiles that have not been modified from its original factory configuration. Later on, the term stock car meant building an automobile from the ground up with the sole purpose of being a speed demon on the oval tracks.
NASCAR may superficially resemble a regular American sedan. Indeed it does because it is based on the four-door models like the Ford Fusion, Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Toyota Camry. However, there have been sanctioned modifications in chassis, suspension and engine. Example, the ordinary sedan has a fuel-injected engine while racing NASCAR vehicles have 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 part-glamour sport generates activities that bring it jobs to thousands and encourages spending from fans. Racing Nascar also gathers the best minds in the auto industry and makes use of the advancement of technology. That’s NASCAR from my point of view and that’s good enough for me.
