Discover the thrills of car racing


Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile"fast-back", and because of this David
racing found mainly in the United StatesPearson and Richard Petty's Chargers
and Great Britain held largely on ovaldominated the series that year.
rings of between approximately aThe 1969 season was dominated by the
quarter-mile and 2.66 miles (about 0.4Dodge Daytona due to a radical body
to 4.2 kilometres) in length, but alsoshape change. This car exceed 200 MPH
raced occasionally on road courses.which was a significant improvement over
Ovals shorter than one mile (1.6 km) aretheir competitors (180 MPH was common at
called short tracks; unpaved shortthe time). Richard Petty could not come
tracks are called dirt tracks; longerto contractual terms with Dodge before
ovals are typically known asthe 1969 season, but when he saw the
superspeedways. Top level races areDaytona, he demanded that Plymouth make
generally 200 to 600 miles (300-1000 km)something similar, but they declined
in length. Average speeds in the top(for the time being). He signed a
classes are around 160 mph (275.5 km/h),lucrative deal with Ford and they made
compared to 220 mph (354 km/h) inthe Torino "Talladega" which had enough
comparable levels of open wheel racing.aerodynamic body improvements that it
Some NASCAR races can get up to speedsgave the Torino a higher top speed with
of 200 mph at tracks such as the Daytonano other changes. It was not enough,
International Speedway and the Talladegahowever, to catch the Daytona. NASCAR
Superspeedway.feared that these increasing speeds
Stock Carssignificantly surpassed the abilities of
A stock car, in the original sense ofthe tire technology of the day, and it
the term, is an automobile that has notwould undoubtedly increase the number of
been modified from its original factorygruesome wrecks that were occurring. As
configuration. Later the term stock cara result, the 1970 Homologation rules
came to mean any production-basedwere changed so that one car for every
automobile used in racing. This term wastwo U.S. dealers had to be sold to the
used to differentiate such a car from apublic to qualify, hoping to delay the
race car, a special, custom-built caruse of aero-bodies until tires could
designed only for racing purposes withimprove.
no intent of its ever being used asFor the 1970 season Dodge did not sell
regular transportation.enough Daytonas to compete with their
When NASCAR was first formed by Billaero-body, but Plymouth managed to sell
France Sr. in 1948 to regulate stock carover 1,920 Plymouth Superbirds, which
racing, there was a requirement that anywere almost identical to the Daytona.
car entered be made entirely of partsPetty came back to Plymouth in the 200+
available to the general public throughMPH Superbird, and easily won in 1970,
automobile dealers, and that all carsand '71. This led to several makes of
must be from a model run of which atproposed 1972 "aero-cars" having their
least 500 cars of that model were soldmaximum engine displacement decreased to
to the general public. This is referred5.8L (358 cu.in.) or they could remain
to as "homologation". In NASCAR's earlyat 7.0L with a Restrictor plate to limit
years, the cars were so "stock" that ittop speeds. As a result, Ford dropped
was commonplace for the drivers to driveout of NASCAR for several years.
themselves to the competitions in theFans, drivers, and manufacturers alike
car that they were going to run in thedemanded a complete revamping of the
race. While automobile engine technologyrules. NASCAR responded in a way that
had remained fairly stagnant in WWII,they hoped would make the cars safer and
advanced aircraft piston enginemore equal, so the race series would be
development had provided a great deal ofmore a test of the drivers, rather than
available data, and NASCAR was formeda test of car technology.
just as some the improved technology wasThe Modern Era
about to become available in production1972 brought so many rule changes, it
cars. Until the advent of the Trans-Amhas prompted many to consider this year
series in 1967, NASCAR homologation carsas the start of the modern era of NASCAR
were the closest thing that the publicracing. In addition, R.J. Reynolds (the
could buy that was actually very similartobacco conglomorate) took over as the
to the cars that were winning themajor sponsor of NASCAR racing (changing
national races.the name to the "Winston Cup") and they
The Early Yearsmade a significantly larger financial
The 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 with acontribution than previous sponsors.
displacement of 303 cu.in. is widelyRichard Petty's personal sponsorship
recognized as the first postwar modernwith STP also set new, higher standards
overhead valve (OHV) engine to becomefor financial rewards to driving teams.
available to the public, though all theThe sudden infusion of noticeably larger
major manufacturers were also in theamounts of money changed the entire
process of modernising their enginenature of the sport.
designs. The Oldsmobile was an immediateThe 1973 oil crisis meant that large
success in 1949 and 1950, and all thedisplacement special edition
automobile manufacturers could not helphomologation cars of all makes were
but to notice that its victoriessuddenly sitting unsold. From this point
resulted in noticeably higher sales offorward, stock cars were quickly allowed
the Oldsmobile 88 to the buying public.to differ greatly from anything
The motto of the day became "Win onavailable to the public. Modern racing
Sunday, sell on Monday". However, in"stock" cars are stock in name only,
spite of the fact there were severalusing a body template that is vaguely
competing engines that were moremodeled after currently-available
advanced, the aerodynamic and low-slungautomobiles. The chassis, running gear,
Hudson Hornet managed to win in 1951,and other equipment have almost nothing
'52, and '53, with a 308 cu.in. inlineto do with anything in ordinary
6-cylinder that used an old-styleautomobiles.
flathead, proving there was more toModern stock cars may superficially
winning than just a more powerfulresemble standard American family
engine.sedans, but are in fact purpose-built
At the time it typically took threeracing machines built to a strict set of
years for a new design of car body orregulations governing the car design
engine to end up in production and beensuring that the chassis, suspension ,
available for NASCAR racing. Most carsengine, etc. are architecturally
sold to the public did not have a wideidentical on all vehicles. Ironically,
variety of engine choices, and thethese regulations ensure that stock car
majority of the buying public at theracers are in many ways technologically
time were not interested in the largeless sophisticated than standard cars on
displacement special edition enginethe road. For example, NASCAR (the
options that would soon become popular.premier stock car organization in the
However, the end of the Korean War inU.S.) requires carbureted engines in all
1953 started an economic boom, and thenof its racing series, while fuel
car buyers immediately began demandinginjection is now universal in standard
more powerful engines. Also in 1953,passenger cars. Also, the majority of
NASCAR recommended that the drivers addproduction car engines use a double
roll bars, but did not require them.overhead cam (DOHC) and four valves per
An excellent example of Homologation iscylinder, while NASCAR vehicles are
when Lee Petty won the nationalrestricted to two valves-per-cylinder
championship in 1954, when he raced aactuated by pushrods using a single
Chrysler New Yorker with the largestcam-in-block. Modern NASCAR engines are
factory brakes available, using a Dodgerestricted to a maximum displacement of
automotive Hemi V-8 engine with a358 cu. in. (5.8L) even though there are
heavy-duty Dodge truck transmission.still many production engines available
Dodge was a division of Chrysler, andto the public that are noticeably
all of the parts he used were availablelarger. In addition, The Ford Fusion,
to the general public.Dodge Avenger, Chevrolet Impala, and
In 1955 Chrysler produced the C-300 withToyota Camry that will compete in the
its 300 HP 331 cu in OHV engine, which2007 season are all front-wheel-drive
easily won in 1955 and '56.sedans, but the NASCAR versions continue
In 1957 several notable events happened.to use rear-wheel-drive.
The AMA banned manufacturers from usingEngines, while still containing varying
race wins in their advertising andcomponents from the various
giving direct support to race teams, asmanufacturers who compete in the series,
they felt it led to reckless streetare of fixed displacement, and are
racing. This forced manufacturers togenerally designed to ensure all
become creative in producing race partsentrants have near-equal vehicles. There
to help racers win. Race teams wereare several categories of stock car
often caught trying to use factoryracing, each with slightly different
produced racing parts that were notrules, but the key intention of cars
really available to the public, thoughthat look like production cars, but with
many parts passed muster by beingnear-identical specifications
labeled as heavy-duty "Police" parts.underneath, remains true. The
Car manufacturers wanted to appearsuper-speedways continue to require the
compliant with the ban, but they alsouse of a restrictor plate under each
wanted to win. NASCAR tracks at the timecarburetor to limit top speeds, while
were mainly dirt tracks with modestthe shorter tracks do not require them.
barriers, and during the 1957 season aThe closest European equivalent to stock
Mercury Monterey crashed into the crowd.car racing is probably touring car
This killed many spectators, andracing, though these are raced
resulted in a serious overhaul of theexclusively on road courses rather than
safety rules which in turn prompted theovals.
building of larger more modern tracks.'True' stock car racing, which consists
Also in 1957, Chevrolet sold enough ofof only street vehicles that can be
their new fuel injected engines to thebought by general public, is sometimes
public in order to make them availablenow called showroom stock racing. In
for racing (and Ford began selling1972 (same year as the beginning of
superchargers as an option), but Billmodern NASCAR era), SCCA started its
France immediately banned fuel injectionfirst showroom stock racing series, with
and superchargers from NASCAR beforea price ceiling on the cars of $3,000.
they could race. However, even withoutSome modern showroom stock racing allow
official factory support or the use ofsafety modifications done on showroom
fuel injection, Buck Baker won in 1957stock cars.
driving a small-block V-8 Chevy Bel-Air.Stock car series
In 1959 Daytona opened the firstThe most prominent championship in stock
super-speedway with long straights andcar racing is the NASCAR championship,
highly banked turns, which allowed muchcurrently called the Nextel Cup after
higher top speeds, and it was soonits sponsor (formerly known as Winston
followed by the TalladegaCup after a previous sponsor). It is the
super-speedway.most popular racing series in the United
In 1961 Ford introduced the FE 390 in aStates, drawing over 6 million
low drag Galaxie "Starliner", but 1960spectators in 1997, an average live
and '61 championships were won byaudience of over 190,000 people for each
drivers in 409-powered Chevy Impalas.race. The most famous event in the
Pontiac introduced their "Super Duty"series is undoubtedly the Daytona 500,
421 in Catalinas that made use of manyan annual 500-mile race at Daytona
aluminum body parts to save weight, andBeach, Florida. The series'
the Pontiacs easily won in 1962.second-biggest event is probably The
The Golden AgeBrickyard 400, an annual 400-mile race
The desire from fans and manufacturersheld at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
alike for higher performance cars withinthe legendary home of the Indianapolis
the restrictions of homologation meant500 of the Indy Racing League, an
that car makers began producing limitedopen-wheeled racing series. NASCAR also
production "special edition" cars basedruns the Busch Series, a stock car
on high production base models. It alsojunior league, and the Craftsman Truck
became apparent that manufacturers wereSeries, a junior league where pickup
willing to produce increasingly largertrucks are raced. Together the two
engines to remain competitive (Ford hadcar-based series (Nextel Cup and Busch
developed a 483 they hoped to race). ForSeries) drew 8 million spectators in
the 1963 season NASCAR engines were1997, compared to 4 million for both
restricted to using a maximiumAmerican open-wheel series (CART and
displacement of 7.0 Liters (427 cu.in.)IRL). In 2002, 17 of the 20 US top
and using only two valves per cylinder.sporting events in terms of attendance
Also, even with heavy duty specialwere NASCAR races. Only football drew
editions sold to the public formore television viewers that year.
homologation purposes, the race carBesides NASCAR, there are a number of
rules were further modified, primarilyother national or regional stock-car
in the interest of safety. This issanctioning bodies in the United States.
because race drivers and their carsThe Automobile Racing Club of America
during this era were subjected to forces(ARCA), American Speed Association
unheard of in street use, and require a(ASA), International Motor Contest
far higher level of protection than isAssociation (IMCA), and United Speed
normally afforded by truly "stock"Alliance Racing (USAR) all sanction
automobile bodies.their own forms of stock-car racing, on
In 1963 Ford sold enough of theirvarying types of track, and with various
aerodynamic "sport-roof" editionlevels of national and media coverage.
Galaxies to the public so it wouldYoung drivers from these series
qualify as stock, and with the heavygenerally aspire to move to the Busch
duty FE block bored and stroked to theSeries or Craftman Truck Series in
new limit of 427, the top 5 finishersNASCAR. The International Race of
were all Ford. Chrysler had bored theirChampions (IROC) series uses stock cars,
413 to create the "Max Wedge" 426, butbut is usually perceived as being
it still couldn't compete with theoutside of the usual stock car racing
Fords. GM's headquarters had genuinelyscene because of its 'All-Star' design.
tried to adhere to the 1957 ban, butInternationally, stock car racing has
their Chevrolet division had alsonot enjoyed the same success as within
constantly tried to work around it,the United States. In Canada CASCAR
because the other manufacturers hadorganizes three racing series (two
openly circumvented the ban. In 1963 GMregional and one national) that enjoy
gave in and openly abandoned compliance,generally strong car-counts; the base of
and Chevy was allowed to produce the ZO6the sport in Canada is the short-oval
427, but it did not immediately enjoyregion of Southern Ontario. In Europe
success.there has been a persistent effort to
Then, in 1964 the new Chrysler 426 Hemiintroduce stock car racing. The Stock
engine so dominated the series in aCar Speed Association ASCAR or Days of
Plymouth Belvedere "Sport Fury", theThunder is based in Rockingham, United
homologation rules were changed so thatKingdom, though the series has raced at
1,000 of any engine and car had to bethe Lausitzring in Germany as well.
sold to the public to qualify as a stockBrazil also has a successful stock car
part, instead of just 500. This made theracing series, with starting grids of 40
426 Hemi unavailable for the 1965or more cars, and three brands
season.competing: Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and
In 1965 Ford adapted twoVolkswagen. Brazilian Stock Car also has
single-overhead-cams to their FE 427 V8two developing series. Argentina also
to allow it to run at a higher RPMhave a popular stock series, called
(called the Ford 427 Cammer). FordTurismo Carretera. Unsuccessful efforts
started to sell "cammers" to the publichave been made in Australia, South
to homologate it (mostly toAfrica, and Japan as well.
dealer-sponsored privateer drag racers),Stock car racing is also a popular local
but NASCAR changed the rules to specifyevent. Many tracks exist in the United
that all NASCAR engines must use aStates (and a few in Canada) catering to
single cam-in-block. But even withouta wide variety of car types and fans.
the Cammer, the Ford FE 427 won in 1965.There are a few organizations that cater
In 1966 Chrysler sold enough of the 426to these local short tracks, such as
Hemi's to make it available again, andARCA, ASA and IMCA. NASCAR also supports
they put it in their new Dodge Chargerlocal short track racing with their
which had a low-drag rear window thatElite Division and NASCAR Dodge Weekly
was radically sloped. It was called aSeries racing.



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