RACINHISTORY.COM

The Unfair Advantage Of The Luck Dog

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In the year of 03, an effort was made to increase safety for NASCAR drivers in which in return they decided to ban drivers from racing back to the yellow flag after the caution light is displayed. While there is evidence that driver safety has increased and many safety crews are now more capable of responding relatively quicker than ever before. The rule itself then and even to this very day is still consider by many to be a unfair advantage and greatly sacrifices the sports integrity. So with this said lets have a look at the initial details of the Lucky Dog rule.

According to the rules of NASCAR the “LD” rule implies that the first driver that is one lap down kindly gets his lap replenished when the caution flag comes out. And If the professional racer is a lap down because of a penalty he then does not qualify for the Lucky Dog giveaway. What a load of crap one may think. For I must say that the “LD” rule is an very clear and distinct free be to any driver in most cases that truly haven’t earned anything free at all. Neither does the professional driver have to be within a considerable range between the leader of the race or earn the free lap based upon driver’s ratings. I think personally this is just madness. I mean all the driver has to do is just be the first car one lap down, and wait until a yellow flag comes out and bam! You just bought yourself a free lap!

Also as well there have been on several different events where a driver took complete advantage of this particular rule and came back to win the entire race in spectacular fashion. Smh. Out goes the professionalism of racing and in comes the world of entertainment. Until then peace I’m outta here.

You Lucky Dog, You Got A Lap Back!

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In 2003 NASCAR drivers got a reprieve from unfortunate circumstances when they implemented a beneficiary rule. This allows the highest running car one lap down to recieve that lap back and move to the tail end of the lead lap cars. Only cars that are one lap down count towards this rule. Cars that are two or more laps down do not recieve this benefit. The rule helps build excitement in the sport as drivers that have bad luck early in a race have a chance to regain laps if they have a fast car. It also creates a racing attitude in the tail cars by forcing them to challenge to become the highest running one lap down car. This rule was implemented also as a safety concern in regards to cars racing back to the finish. This occured after a race in which Casey Mears almost clipped a wrecked Dale Jarrett car while racing back to the finish in order to maintain position. By stopping the position advancement and allowing a car to get its lap back cars can slow down and avoid such incidents. This rule is often referred to as a free pass, pardon, or wave around.

Race Lengths: Are They Laps, Kilometers Or Miles?

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There’s nothing like watching a good race, no matter the level it’s at. Whether it’s a dirt track under the lights kicking up dust or a paved speedway with higher speeds, the thrill of racing is easy to get into our veins.
When watching a race, we know that there is a set amount of distance for the race that determines how many laps the vehicles must go.
A lap is one time around the length of the track.
But what about the track itself? How is that measured?
Each track is measured in the distance of miles. Some tracks can be as small as under one mile while others can be over a mile and a half.
Because of the distance around the track, this is what actually sets the lap count.
Most races are based on how many miles the drivers will complete. This is why you’ll often see a race be named “Something 500″. The 500 is the distance in miles the drivers will race.
However when you watch the race you may see that the drivers only need to go, for example, 300 laps. This means to complete the 500 mile race, based on the track length, the drivers will go 300 laps.
So the race lengths are actually determined by the distance around the track, done in miles. The laps come from that mileage.

Visiting Charlotte: NASCAR’s Epicentre

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you live anywhere near Charlotte, North Carolina you’ve got to head to town to explore all the NASCAR capital has to offer. Sure you can watch all the races on your Direct TV but wouldn’t you like to get up close and personal and learn more about your favorite sport?
NASCAR Hall of Fame: Located right in downtown Charlotte the Hall of Fame is a glisteningly new shrine to all things stock car. You’re likely to catch a glimpse of any number of visiting drivers and it’s a great place to take the kids for some hands on exploration of America’s sport.
Charlotte Motor Speedway: There are daily track drives available for next to nothing and you haven’t felt NASCAR until you get to feel the track at 45 degrees! You’ll be in awe of the scale of the place and there are tons of related NASCAR stores nearby, too.
Richard Petty Racing: If your trip has no budget, spring for the Richard Petty Racing Experience. Drive a real NASCAR stock car and get up close and personal with Mr. Petty’s cars right there in his very own shop.

Top 10 Fights In NASCAR History

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

During the 1979 Daytona 500, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison hit and both spun out. Post race Yarborough punched Allison and they fought until Officials arrived.

2010, Jeff Burton put Jeff Gordon in the wall. Gordon approached Burton and shoved him.

2003, Jimmy Spencer approaches Kurt Busch and punches him while he sits in his car.

2008, Tony Stewart spins Kurt Busch. Busch drives onto pit road toward Stewart as he stands by his car. Stewart jumped out of the way unhurt while Busch drove off.

2007, Juan Pablo Montoya spins Kevin Harvick. Montoya grabbed Harvick’s helmet and they shoved each other until Officials arrive.Didn’t catch that? This explains it.

After Greg Biffle wrecked Kevin Harvick in 2002, Harvick waited for Biffle, got in his face and argued. After the incident, Harvick referred to Biffle as an “idiot”.

2010, Joey Logano spun out Ryan Newman. Post race the drivers shoved and cursed each other.

2006, Matt Kenseth was pushed into a wall by Jeff Gordon as they argued over a spin out.

During a 2008 post race, Kurt Busch hit Carl Edwards’ car and Edwards replied by spinning Busch out.

Charlotte 2008, Denny Hamlin intentionally hit Brad Keselowski’s car. The drivers exchanged words and shoves.

NASCAR Origins: Moonshiners Racing In The Dirt

admin — Sun, 29 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The history of NASCAR dates back to the days of prohibition. Drivers known as moonshiners would go up the winding roads of the Appalachian Mountains to buy illicit whiskey (moonshine) from stills hidden up in the mountains. The moonshiners then had to be able to outrun Law enforcement that would often wait down in the winding roads. To get an extra edge, the moonshiners would add modifications to their vehicles to improve speed and handling. At times, the drivers would hold informal races to establish bragging rights as to who was the best. Most early races were on dirt tracks, like the roads up into the mountains where the moonshiners plied their trade. After World War 2, something resembling organized stock car racing as a spectator sport came into being. Thanks to the efforts of driver ”Big Bill” Stance, the official rules for stock car races were established in December 1947, in a meeting of drivers and mechanics held in daytona beach. Two months later, the first official NASCAR race was held. Today, NASCAR events attract crowds of up to 200,000, making it the largest spectator sport in America. Its come a long way from outlaws racing on dirt tracks indeed.

NASCAR Scoring: Driver Points Vs. Owner Points

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

All of us racing fans hear about the NASCAR points system such as who’s a head, who’s qualifying or not, but how much of it do we really understand or know about?

There are two separate systems used by NASCAR. One for the drivers and one for the owners. Some might think the point system for both are the same but in actuality there not.

For the drivers, every race on the circuit is awarded the same amount of points no matter if it’s the Daytona 500 or the Watkins Glen. So as a driver, you really don’t want to skip any race but sometimes you have to, or you’ll skip it because it fits into a strategy you’re going with.

The points for the 26 races are totaled and the top 10 are automatically entered into the Chase for the Cup. These ten drivers are also eligible for bonus points that they won for the 26 races too. These would include things like leading laps and most lead laps for the race. The last two spots are awarded to the 2 drivers with the most wins who are not in the top ten, but are in the top 20 in points and this will complete the Chase.

The Owners points come from qualifying laps and are determined by time rather than MPH. NASCAR just takes the distance, in miles of the track, divides this by the total number of seconds to complete a lap, and multiply this by 60 twice which gives the MPH for the lap.

The Owners points determine the starting positions for that weeks race which use to be set by a draw but was revised in 2011 by NASCAR.

How To Understand The NASCAR Points System

www.racinhistory.com — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

After 36 years under the same points system which was deemed to be confusing not only to fans but to NASCAR drivers, owners and crew members, a new system was formulated to place more emphasis on winning not just in the first 26 cup chase qualifiers but in all 36 races.

Unchanged is the Top 35 rule where the top 35 cars in owner’s points automatically win a spot in the first race of the new season. Top owner’s points in the 1st five races guarantees a spot in the next race.

The maximum number of points per race is 48. Race winner receives 43 points with each driver receiving 1 less point depending on finishing position. The full explanation can be foundhere.Each lap led adds 1 point. Leading the most laps adds 1 point.

Drivers can only earn points in one category. Lineup qualifying is still based on speed. Cancellation of qualifying means start-up position depends on practice speed. Practice racing cancellation means starting lineup will follow points rules.

Cup Chase, positions 11 and 12 will be determined by driver wins in the first 26 races. To qualify for 11 and 12 wild-card spots, drivers must be in the top 20 in points standings.