Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing				"fast-back", and because of this David Pearson
found mainly in the United States and Great				and Richard Petty's Chargers dominated the
Britain held largely on oval rings of between				series that year.
approximately a quarter-mile and 2.66 miles (about				The 1969 season was dominated by the Dodge
0.4 to 4.2 kilometres) in length, but also raced				Daytona due to a radical body shape change. This
occasionally on road courses. Ovals shorter than				car exceed 200 MPH which was a significant
one mile (1.6 km) are called short tracks; unpaved				improvement over their competitors (180 MPH
short tracks are called dirt tracks; longer ovals are				was common at the time). Richard Petty could
typically known as superspeedways. Top level				not come to contractual terms with Dodge
races are generally 200 to 600 miles (300-1000				before the 1969 season, but when he saw the
km) in length. Average speeds in the top classes				Daytona, he demanded that Plymouth make
are around 160 mph (275.5 km/h), compared to				something similar, but they declined (for the time
220 mph (354 km/h) in comparable levels of open				being). He signed a lucrative deal with Ford and
wheel racing. Some NASCAR races can get up to				they made the Torino "Talladega" which had
speeds of 200 mph at tracks such as the				enough aerodynamic body improvements that it
Daytona International Speedway and the				gave the Torino a higher top speed with no other
Talladega Superspeedway.				changes. It was not enough, however, to catch
Stock Cars				the Daytona. NASCAR feared that these
A stock car, in the original sense of the term, is				increasing speeds significantly surpassed the
an automobile that has not been modified from its				abilities of the tire technology of the day, and it
original factory configuration. Later the term stock				would undoubtedly increase the number of
car came to mean any production-based				gruesome wrecks that were occurring. As a
automobile used in racing. This term was used to				result, the 1970 Homologation rules were changed
differentiate such a car from a race car, a special,				so that one car for every two U.S. dealers had to
custom-built car designed only for racing purposes				be sold to the public to qualify, hoping to delay the
with no intent of its ever being used as regular				use of aero-bodies until tires could improve.
transportation.				For the 1970 season Dodge did not sell enough
When NASCAR was first formed by Bill France				Daytonas to compete with their aero-body, but
Sr. in 1948 to regulate stock car racing, there				Plymouth managed to sell over 1,920 Plymouth
was a requirement that any car entered be made				Superbirds, which were almost identical to the
entirely of parts available to the general public				Daytona. Petty came back to Plymouth in the
through automobile dealers, and that all cars must				200+ MPH Superbird, and easily won in 1970, and
be from a model run of which at least 500 cars				'71. This led to several makes of proposed 1972
of that model were sold to the general public. This				"aero-cars" having their maximum engine
is referred to as "homologation". In NASCAR's				displacement decreased to 5.8L (358 cu.in.) or
early years, the cars were so "stock" that it was				they could remain at 7.0L with a Restrictor plate
commonplace for the drivers to drive themselves				to limit top speeds. As a result, Ford dropped out
to the competitions in the car that they were				of NASCAR for several years.
going to run in the race. While automobile engine				Fans, drivers, and manufacturers alike demanded
technology had remained fairly stagnant in WWII,				a complete revamping of the rules. NASCAR
advanced aircraft piston engine development had				responded in a way that they hoped would make
provided a great deal of available data, and				the cars safer and more equal, so the race series
NASCAR was formed just as some the improved				would be more a test of the drivers, rather than
technology was about to become available in				a test of car technology.
production cars. Until the advent of the Trans-Am				The Modern Era
series in 1967, NASCAR homologation cars were				1972 brought so many rule changes, it has
the closest thing that the public could buy that				prompted many to consider this year as the start
was actually very similar to the cars that were				of the modern era of NASCAR racing. In addition,
winning the national races.				R.J. Reynolds (the tobacco conglomorate) took
The Early Years				over as the major sponsor of NASCAR racing
The 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 with a				(changing the name to the "Winston Cup") and
displacement of 303 cu.in. is widely recognized as				they made a significantly larger financial
the first postwar modern overhead valve (OHV)				contribution than previous sponsors. Richard
engine to become available to the public, though all				Petty's personal sponsorship with STP also set
the major manufacturers were also in the				new, higher standards for financial rewards to
process of modernising their engine designs. The				driving teams. The sudden infusion of noticeably
Oldsmobile was an immediate success in 1949 and				larger amounts of money changed the entire
1950, and all the automobile manufacturers could				nature of the sport.
not help but to notice that its victories resulted in				The 1973 oil crisis meant that large displacement
noticeably higher sales of the Oldsmobile 88 to				special edition homologation cars of all makes
the buying public. The motto of the day became				were suddenly sitting unsold. From this point
"Win on Sunday, sell on Monday". However, in				forward, stock cars were quickly allowed to differ
spite of the fact there were several competing				greatly from anything available to the public.
engines that were more advanced, the				Modern racing "stock" cars are stock in name
aerodynamic and low-slung Hudson Hornet				only, using a body template that is vaguely
managed to win in 1951, '52, and '53, with a 308				modeled after currently-available automobiles. The
cu.in. inline 6-cylinder that used an old-style				chassis, running gear, and other equipment have
flathead, proving there was more to winning than				almost nothing to do with anything in ordinary
just a more powerful engine.				automobiles.
At the time it typically took three years for a				Modern stock cars may superficially resemble
new design of car body or engine to end up in				standard American family sedans, but are in fact
production and be available for NASCAR racing.				purpose-built racing machines built to a strict set
Most cars sold to the public did not have a wide				of regulations governing the car design ensuring
variety of engine choices, and the majority of the				that the chassis, suspension , engine, etc. are
buying public at the time were not interested in				architecturally identical on all vehicles. Ironically,
the large displacement special edition engine				these regulations ensure that stock car racers are
options that would soon become popular.				in many ways technologically less sophisticated
However, the end of the Korean War in 1953				than standard cars on the road. For example,
started an economic boom, and then car buyers				NASCAR (the premier stock car organization in
immediately began demanding more powerful				the U.S.) requires carbureted engines in all of its
engines. Also in 1953, NASCAR recommended				racing series, while fuel injection is now universal in
that the drivers add roll bars, but did not require				standard passenger cars. Also, the majority of
them.				production car engines use a double overhead
An excellent example of Homologation is when				cam (DOHC) and four valves per cylinder, while
Lee Petty won the national championship in 1954,				NASCAR vehicles are restricted to two
when he raced a Chrysler New Yorker with the				valves-per-cylinder actuated by pushrods using a
largest factory brakes available, using a Dodge				single cam-in-block. Modern NASCAR engines are
automotive Hemi V-8 engine with a heavy-duty				restricted to a maximum displacement of 358 cu.
Dodge truck transmission. Dodge was a division of				in. (5.8L) even though there are still many
Chrysler, and all of the parts he used were				production engines available to the public that are
available to the general public.				noticeably larger. In addition, The Ford Fusion,
In 1955 Chrysler produced the C-300 with its 300				Dodge Avenger, Chevrolet Impala, and Toyota
HP 331 cu in OHV engine, which easily won in 1955				Camry that will compete in the 2007 season are
and '56.				all front-wheel-drive sedans, but the NASCAR
In 1957 several notable events happened. The				versions continue to use rear-wheel-drive.
AMA banned manufacturers from using race wins				Engines, while still containing varying components
in their advertising and giving direct support to				from the various manufacturers who compete in
race teams, as they felt it led to reckless street				the series, are of fixed displacement, and are
racing. This forced manufacturers to become				generally designed to ensure all entrants have
creative in producing race parts to help racers win.				near-equal vehicles. There are several categories
Race teams were often caught trying to use				of stock car racing, each with slightly different
factory produced racing parts that were not				rules, but the key intention of cars that look like
really available to the public, though many parts				production cars, but with near-identical
passed muster by being labeled as heavy-duty				specifications underneath, remains true. The
"Police" parts. Car manufacturers wanted to				super-speedways continue to require the use of a
appear compliant with the ban, but they also				restrictor plate under each carburetor to limit top
wanted to win. NASCAR tracks at the time were				speeds, while the shorter tracks do not require
mainly dirt tracks with modest barriers, and during				them.
the 1957 season a Mercury Monterey crashed				The closest European equivalent to stock car
into the crowd. This killed many spectators, and				racing is probably touring car racing, though these
resulted in a serious overhaul of the safety rules				are raced exclusively on road courses rather than
which in turn prompted the building of larger more				ovals.
modern tracks. Also in 1957, Chevrolet sold				'True' stock car racing, which consists of only
enough of their new fuel injected engines to the				street vehicles that can be bought by general
public in order to make them available for racing				public, is sometimes now called showroom stock
(and Ford began selling superchargers as an				racing. In 1972 (same year as the beginning of
option), but Bill France immediately banned fuel				modern NASCAR era), SCCA started its first
injection and superchargers from NASCAR before				showroom stock racing series, with a price ceiling
they could race. However, even without official				on the cars of $3,000. Some modern showroom
factory support or the use of fuel injection, Buck				stock racing allow safety modifications done on
Baker won in 1957 driving a small-block V-8				showroom stock cars.
Chevy Bel-Air.				Stock car series
In 1959 Daytona opened the first				The most prominent championship in stock car
super-speedway with long straights and highly				racing is the NASCAR championship, currently
banked turns, which allowed much higher top				called the Nextel Cup after its sponsor (formerly
speeds, and it was soon followed by the Talladega				known as Winston Cup after a previous sponsor).
super-speedway.				It is the most popular racing series in the United
In 1961 Ford introduced the FE 390 in a low drag				States, drawing over 6 million spectators in 1997,
Galaxie "Starliner", but 1960 and '61 championships				an average live audience of over 190,000 people
were won by drivers in 409-powered Chevy				for each race. The most famous event in the
Impalas.				series is undoubtedly the Daytona 500, an annual
Pontiac introduced their "Super Duty" 421 in				500-mile race at Daytona Beach, Florida. The
Catalinas that made use of many aluminum body				series' second-biggest event is probably The
parts to save weight, and the Pontiacs easily won				Brickyard 400, an annual 400-mile race held at the
in 1962.				Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the legendary home
The Golden Age				of the Indianapolis 500 of the Indy Racing League,
The desire from fans and manufacturers alike for				an open-wheeled racing series. NASCAR also runs
higher performance cars within the restrictions of				the Busch Series, a stock car junior league, and
homologation meant that car makers began				the Craftsman Truck Series, a junior league
producing limited production "special edition" cars				where pickup trucks are raced. Together the two
based on high production base models. It also				car-based series (Nextel Cup and Busch Series)
became apparent that manufacturers were willing				drew 8 million spectators in 1997, compared to 4
to produce increasingly larger engines to remain				million for both American open-wheel series
competitive (Ford had developed a 483 they				(CART and IRL). In 2002, 17 of the 20 US top
hoped to race). For the 1963 season NASCAR				sporting events in terms of attendance were
engines were restricted to using a maximium				NASCAR races. Only football drew more television
displacement of 7.0 Liters (427 cu.in.) and using				viewers that year.
only two valves per cylinder.				Besides NASCAR, there are a number of other
Also, even with heavy duty special editions sold to				national or regional stock-car sanctioning bodies in
the public for homologation purposes, the race car				the United States. The Automobile Racing Club of
rules were further modified, primarily in the				America (ARCA), American Speed Association
interest of safety. This is because race drivers				(ASA), International Motor Contest Association
and their cars during this era were subjected to				(IMCA), and United Speed Alliance Racing (USAR)
forces unheard of in street use, and require a far				all sanction their own forms of stock-car racing,
higher level of protection than is normally afforded				on varying types of track, and with various levels
by truly "stock" automobile bodies.				of national and media coverage. Young drivers
In 1963 Ford sold enough of their aerodynamic				from these series generally aspire to move to the
"sport-roof" edition Galaxies to the public so it				Busch Series or Craftman Truck Series in
would qualify as stock, and with the heavy duty				NASCAR. The International Race of Champions
FE block bored and stroked to the new limit of				(IROC) series uses stock cars, but is usually
427, the top 5 finishers were all Ford. Chrysler				perceived as being outside of the usual stock car
had bored their 413 to create the "Max Wedge"				racing scene because of its 'All-Star' design.
426, but it still couldn't compete with the Fords.				Internationally, stock car racing has not enjoyed
GM's headquarters had genuinely tried to adhere				the same success as within the United States. In
to the 1957 ban, but their Chevrolet division had				Canada CASCAR organizes three racing series
also constantly tried to work around it, because				(two regional and one national) that enjoy
the other manufacturers had openly circumvented				generally strong car-counts; the base of the sport
the ban. In 1963 GM gave in and openly				in Canada is the short-oval region of Southern
abandoned compliance, and Chevy was allowed to				Ontario. In Europe there has been a persistent
produce the ZO6 427, but it did not immediately				effort to introduce stock car racing. The Stock
enjoy success.				Car Speed Association ASCAR or Days of
Then, in 1964 the new Chrysler 426 Hemi engine				Thunder is based in Rockingham, United Kingdom,
so dominated the series in a Plymouth Belvedere				though the series has raced at the Lausitzring in
"Sport Fury", the homologation rules were				Germany as well. Brazil also has a successful
changed so that 1,000 of any engine and car had				stock car racing series, with starting grids of 40
to be sold to the public to qualify as a stock part,				or more cars, and three brands competing:
instead of just 500. This made the 426 Hemi				Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen. Brazilian
unavailable for the 1965 season.				Stock Car also has two developing series.
In 1965 Ford adapted two single-overhead-cams				Argentina also have a popular stock series, called
to their FE 427 V8 to allow it to run at a higher				Turismo Carretera. Unsuccessful efforts have
RPM (called the Ford 427 Cammer). Ford started				been made in Australia, South Africa, and Japan
to sell "cammers" to the public to homologate it				as well.
(mostly to dealer-sponsored privateer drag				Stock car racing is also a popular local event.
racers), but NASCAR changed the rules to				Many tracks exist in the United States (and a few
specify that all NASCAR engines must use a single				in Canada) catering to a wide variety of car types
cam-in-block. But even without the Cammer, the				and fans. There are a few organizations that
Ford FE 427 won in 1965.				cater to these local short tracks, such as ARCA,
In 1966 Chrysler sold enough of the 426 Hemi's				ASA and IMCA. NASCAR also supports local short
to make it available again, and they put it in their				track racing with their Elite Division and NASCAR
new Dodge Charger which had a low-drag rear				Dodge Weekly Series racing.
window that was radically sloped. It was called a

Ket Race

Stock car racing

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