You're driving down the straight stretch at 200 mph, slowing down for one of the three left hand turns; you’re surrounded by other cars all doing the same things, all trying to achieve the same goal: to be the first racer to cross the checkered line. The sport, is called NASCAR, it attracts hundreds of thousands of people to watch each and every race. NASCAR was started by back country bootleggers in Georgia; in late 1947, a meeting was held to discuss the future of stock car racing, and NASCAR was conceived. It takes extreme skill to race in the NASCAR world; it is a crazy fast paced sport that has an incredible, humble beginning.
Back in the 1940s, there were individuals known as "bootleggers". They made moonshine and transported it all across
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One of those people in the NASCAR world is the man, the myth, the legend, Richard Petty. He has hundreds of victories, literally he had over 200 wins in his years as a career NASCAR driver. Petty won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR national championship seven times each in between the years of 1964-81. He set numerous records, including the 200 racing wins. The closest person to him at this point in time is David Pearson with 105 wins. Petty made a huge accomplishment by winning that many races, it’s a record that will most likely not be touched for years. Richard Petty was known as “The King.” Another amazing racer is Dale Earnhardt Sr., he is also known as one of NASCAR’s greatest of all times. Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina on April 29, 1951. His father was a racer and mechanic, this is what got him going on the path of cars. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade. In 1973, his father died of a heart attack. In may of 1975, Dale made his racing debut, after finishing 22nd in the world 600 at charlotte Motor Speedway. Earnhardt had a good rookie season in 1979. He was the first rookie driver to win over $200,000 in a year. He also received NASCARS’s Rookie of the Year. He tied with Richard Petty on the most number of Winston Cup wins, both achieving seven. In Dale Earnhardt Sr’s last race, he …show more content…
His heart rate was 130 for the event, which is comparable to an endurance runner except that the Coke 600 lasts twice as long as a marathon would” (Pockrass).
Those conditions are insane, especially to endure for long periods of time. So in order to be a NASCAR driver, you should probably be physically fit and have plenty of endurance. 800 reps of 40 pounds does not sound fun at all, especially with your neck. A driver can get fit by spending hours in the weight room, or they can do it by spending hours and hours behind the wheel of their race car going 200 mph around the track. Tony Stewart chooses to do it by spending hours on the track, while Jimmie Johnson chooses to hit the weight room and run twenty
NASCAR community is made up of sports personalities. The community values sports and champions sporting activities with the aim of fostering peace and unity (Batchelor 226). They have always achieved significant gains with the sporting initiatives concerning the transformation of the way of life of the southern people including other parts of the nation. Likewise, NASCAR is a sporting community that coordinates multiple auto-racing sporting events. The community started its activities in 1948, and the brain behind its formation is known as Bill France. It was formed to spearhead motorsports stock-car racing that is highly prominent. The community’s objective was to foster cultural practices, provide a
Before the mid-1970s, NASCAR was never televised live. In 1979, the Daytona 500 became the first NASCAR event televised in its entirety. Since then, television has become the main branding medium for NASCAR, and it appears to be working well.
NASCAR is one of the most rapidly growing sports in the world. There are people who think that NASCAR is just a bunch of hicks going around in circles, but it takes skill to drive at two-hundred miles per hour. I am going to talk about the history of NASCAR, early drivers of NASCAR, the three NASCAR divisions, the rules, and the new technology.
Junior Johnson, a NASCAR hero, is a true example of where the sport came from. He was raised in a moonshine family. Johnson's father taught him many values such as no stealing or lying. Although it seemed contradictory that they were breaking the law everyday with their business, apparently it was all they could do to survive. When a school friend named Millard Ashley was asked about Junior’s driving, he replied, “Junior? Hell, he’d run wide open all the time….Yeah, he was pretty bad about that. He was always blowing a head gasket or somethin” (Menzer, 61). Junior had a talent for making his cars faster with better handling than those of the law’s. Outrunning law enforcement officers became a means for the drivers to learn the knowledge needed in increasing a car's, or racecar's performance.
horsepower. Although these newer muscle cars do have plenty of power and will more than
After retiring from chicken farming Shelby became an excellent racer. In 1952 during January Shelby drove his first race. Shelby started with a drag raced of a quarter mile in a hot rod. In 1952 he also drove his first road race. “Carroll Shelby drove a British MG, this car was considered very underpowered. Shelby beat everyone in his car’s class and even the jaguar XK120
Modern day NASCAR hasn’t really differed that much. It is said the best NASCAR driver today is Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon was born on august the 4 1971 in Vallejo, California. Gordon started driving when he was five years old. Preforming laps on a makeshift track. Gordon won rookie of the year in 1991 in NASCAR. He was the first race car driver to win $100 million dollars in cup winnings in 2011. He placed third on NASCAR all-time win list. The next driver is debatable the best NASCAR driver today. His name is Dale Earnhardt Jr. his dad was dale Earnhardt the “intimidator”. Dale was born October 10, 1974 in concord North Carolina. Nick named junior dale is a party and fun to be around kind of guy. And on the track he is all business. Junior shows he can
The Bristol Motor Speedway has earned a reputation as the world’s farthest Half-Mile. Darrell Waltrip, a resident of Tennessee, is Bristol’s most successful racer of all time. Through 2010, Waltrip had won at the Bristol Motor Speedway a record 12 times. (av2books)
There is talk about retiring the #3 as a NASCAR stock car number. Perhaps Dale, Jr. will take the number. All of this remains up in the air as NASCAR and the family reel from the loss. There is also talk of a "Dale Earnhardt" award. All of this will be worked out as time goes on.
Dale Earnhardt grew up in automotive racing. Ever since he was a kid that is what his family did, and now his family carries on that legacy.
The intricacies that are involved in turning a regular car into a “Street Racer” are many; and racers pour their souls into these magnificent machines. After seeing “the Fast and the Furious” many people have or wanted to become involved in street racing. They do not realize that this is a sport that takes knowledge, hard work, and nerve. Many of these racers have spent their lives under a car, learning the trade and improving upon it. As I have learned, this is not just a hobby; it is a way of life.
First of all, Nascar is more electrifying because, it involves more than two cars. Other than Drag racing having two cars, Nascar has about thirty racecars or more! When a lot of cars are out at once, it can have the most prospects of wrecks. Every racecar driver can go all at once, than wait until one’s turn as in Drag racing does.
There were many famous racers in the Indy 500. There were male racers and female racers who have won of lot of races. Ray Harroun was the first person to won the Indy 500 race. The race happened in 1911, and the car that won was the Indianapolis 500 car. Some other famous male racers were A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears. The first female racer was Danica Patrick coming in at 4th place with 19 laps. Some famous female racers were Sara Fisher, Simona De Silvestro, etc.
to Daytona Beach in 1935 to escape the harsh affects of the Great Depression. He formed the idea that people would enjoy to watch unmodified cars race. He put his plan into action and soon he had many race enthusiasts to come watch these dangerous high-speed races. Daytona Beach became known as the place to set land speed records. The beach was filled with racecar fans from across the globe. Fifteen records were set at the beach between 1905 and 1935. In 1936 the course began hosting racing events. Drivers raced a 1.5 to a 2-mile stretch of beach as a straightaway, and beachfront highway A1A as the other. But untrustworthy promoters would leave events with all the money before drivers were paid frequently victimizing drivers. So in 1947, he decided that racing would not grow until a formal sanctioning organization was formed, there were standardized rules, and there was a regular schedule and an organized championship. On December 14, 1947 France began to talk with other influential racers and promoters at the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach, Florida that concluded with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948. With the help several other drivers of that time, its points system and rules were written on a bathroom napkin. The sanctioning body hosted their first event at the Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague in the Modified division race. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte
Drivers must have a very strong neck to hold their helmet up while pulling multiple G forces on their bodies for hours (Metcalf, Robert). Brute strength is probably not as important as cardio workouts when it comes to race car drivers. Drivers are not trained as intensely as some other professional athletes, but they should be in shape if they want to be successful.