Your Crash Course in NASCAR-ology

By Adam Ruggiero
Love of Sports Correspondents

While the NFL is the unrivaled king of all American sports, many will be surprised to hear that the fastest-growing and No. 1 spectator sport (by attendance) in the United States is NASCAR.

As baseball continues its steady decline among fans (see the 2006 Harris Poll on Americans’ favorite sports http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=719), NASCAR sits behind only college basketball in the race for America’s second-favorite sport.

Don’t you think it’s high time you hopped on?

There’s a few things you need to know before you’re a full-fledged NASCAR nut. Why does everyone hate Jeff Gordon? What’s a restrictor plate? Why does everybody hold up three fingers on the third lap? Who is HANS, and why is he in every car?

No worries. I’m going to get you up to speed by giving you the “for dummies” necessities of understanding NASCAR. Once you have that, you’ll see a lot more than just cars going in circles.

First things first: Why do you want to be a NASCAR fan?

It’s simple - NASCAR is the big league of auto racing. You’ve heard the sob stories of minor league ballplayers wasting away on town teams waiting for their big chance that never comes. Well, only the best-of-the-best ever get to see Fenway or Wrigley. Similarly, only the most gifted gearheads get the chance to throttle a Cup car around Daytona or Bristol. NASCAR combines the skill and competition of pro sports with the drama of WWE wrestling. Every race has storylines that season the weekly fender-banging, engine-roaring dash to the checkers. Some drivers get along, some don’t, and karma is handed down by the drivers themselves. Spin a guy out at Talladega and expect him to get you back the next week at Richmond. It’s like having the most heated division rivals all playing in one game … every week!

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - That’s all I need to know, right?

Wrong! The fact that Jeff Gordon and “Little E” are the only drivers you know says more about NASCAR’s marketing than your auto racing acumen. Yes, both are very talented and successful drivers, and each contends every week for the win, but the fact is Gordon hasn’t won a championship in six years, and Junior’s never won one. The best driver today is back-to-back and defending series champ, Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch was this season’s top points winner before the Chase. Carl Edwards won the most races. But there’s more to being great than championships (though not much). Some of the best active drivers are remarkable for the intangibles in their driving – grit, persistence and aggressiveness for example. Tony Stewart’s just as gifted a racecar driver as Tiger Woods is a golfer and can win almost anywhere. Plus, you might just see him at your local dirt track, but you’ll never see Woods at your public par three. Check out our archive for my NASCAR’s Top Contenders story on this season’s best drivers.

Why do they keep talking about the draft? Isn’t that unconstitutional?

Ha ha. If you watch just 10 minutes of a NASCAR race, you’re sure to hear a mention of “the draft” or “drafting.” This is the premier phenomenon that makes racing more than just going in circles. The draft is a pocket of air created behind a car as it hurtles around the track. Think about holding your hand out the window while you’re driving. Have you ever let it rest behind the side view mirror? If so, you’ve surely noticed that there is almost no wind resistance hitting your hand. The same thing occurs as a racecar plows through the air on a racetrack. Behind it there’s a “hole” in the air within which there is negligible wind resistance. If a trailing car can sneak its nose into that hole, that driver will be able to use less throttle than the lead driver while maintaining the same speed. However, the hole isn’t that big, and a driver has to get the nose of his car within inches of another’s rear bumper for the draft to really take effect. Think about how close you’re willing to tail another car at 60 mph, now triple that speed. Conversely, it should be noted that the draft can benefit the lead car as well. Essentially, when cars hook up in a draft they create a “train” of engines. Two cars hooked up in draft have the power of two engines pushing through the same amount of air as one car with one engine. Likewise, a three-car train will go faster than a two-car train, and so on.

What’s all this hubbub about “restrictor plate” racing?

The restrictor plate is basically an air damn that prevents optimum amounts of air from getting to the engine. The purpose is to keep cars from going too fast at NASCAR’s biggest tracks. The physics is easy to envision. Just think about how fast you could run if you had to breathe through a straw. Restrictor plates were introduced after a near-tragic crash in 1987 in which Bobby Allison’s car went airborne after blowing a tire and nearly landed in the grandstands. The incidence of racecars going airborne is greatly reduced by limiting speeds, thus restrictor plates were mandated at NASCAR’s former fastest tracks – the 2.5-milers of Daytona and Talladega. Prior to the restrictor plate, the fastest recorded speeds in NASCAR were 212.809 mph at Talladega and 210.364 mph at Daytona. Since then, the track records are 191.712 mph and 191.091 mph, respectively.

Why does everyone hate Jeff Gordon?

The stigma of NASCAR is that it’s a “good ole’ boy” sport. It was born in the South in the days of prohibition as a means for bootleggers to show off their automotive prowess before running moonshine in the evenings. It spread throughout the Southeast as a blue-collar attraction and grew into a symbol of sub-Mason Dixon culture. But while many non-fans scoff at the traditionally uncouth followers, fans themselves love their reputation of being hard-working, beer-loving Southerners. Jeff Gordon embodies everything these fans are not. Born in Vallejo, California, he entered NASCAR as a clean-shaven, camera-savvy outsider, and he won. He won a lot. Through his success, he was arguably the catalyst that opened NASCAR’s hallowed gates to the country at-large. In a sport raised on the loyalty and hard-earned dollars of factory workers and famers, Gordon’s a slice of Hollywood and Rodeo Drive.

What’s the big deal about Dale Earnhardt and No. 3?

Imagine if Babe Ruth had been hit by a pitch and died shortly after the infamous “Calling His Shot” homerun. Or pretend Joe Montana suffered a fatal injury after throwing that famous pass to Dwight Clark in the end zone. Three short years after his long-awaited Daytona 500 victory, “The Intimidator” Dale Earnhardt was killed in the same race while holding off traffic from behind for his son, Dale Jr., and Michael Waltrip, who was driving a car the elder Earnhardt owned. Prior to the accident, Earnhardt was probably one of the two most famous drivers in NASCAR, along with Richard Petty, who holds the record for most career wins at 200. But with his passing in the sport’s crown jewel race, he became a legend in a class of his own. Earnhardt represented the old school class of racecar drivers. To him, NASCAR was a contact sport and his car wasn’t a club, it was a scalpel. His “Intimidator” moniker arose from his trademark bumps from behind when another driver wasn’t going fast enough for Earnhardt’s liking. Still, he was well-liked and respected throughout the garage and his smile won over a nation of NASCAR fans. His death also ushered in a safety revolution for the sport. The HANS (Head And Neck Support) device was mandated for all vehicles, as was the full-face helmet. In remembrance, fans hold three fingers in the air on the third lap of every race.

Who says NASCAR is a team sport?

It may sound strange, but NASCAR’s as much a team sport as it is the chase for individual glory. With a few exceptions, all drivers are members of a team – a better way to think of it may be horses in a stable. Team owners, like Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs and Jack Rousch, field multiple cars in each race. Drivers for the same owner may cooperate on the racetrack by sharing information about car setups, or they may act as “drafting partners” (see above) to improve their position on the track. One thing is constant throughout NASCAR, though. As the laps dwindle, the race becomes every driver for himself.

So, who should I root for?

That’s the best part! A NASCAR fan’s support of their driver, or drivers, is completely unique to them. Maybe you like Fords more than Chevys. In that case, you could pull for Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards or Greg Biffle. Maybe you just care about the great taste and less-filling qualities of Miller Lite. Then Kurt Busch (driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) is your man. Maybe you’re like my mom and you think the M&Ms car is cute. In 2005, you’d have liked Elliott Sadler. In 2007, it was David Gilliland, but now it’s Kyle Busch. One thing is for certain, though: once you’ve decided how to root, you’re not likely to change. And every week you’ll sink deeper into the drama and excitement of the fastest-growing sport in the country.