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NASCAR© AP/WNASCARNASCARIDEWORLDNASCARNASCARPHOTOS AANN AAMERICANMERICAN SSPORTPORT AND AND PPASTIMEASTIME by Phyllis McIntosh nother sellout crowd jams the stands. Over the loudspeaker come those famous A words, “…start your engines!” The fans cheer, engines roar. Two by two, colorful cars plastered with advertising logos follow a pace car around the oval track, weaving in and out to warm their tires. After two parade laps, the green flag waves—and they’re off! As 43 cars jockey for position over the next three hours, the lead can change 20 times. Drivers intentionally bump one another as they fight their way to the front of the pack. Engines may blow up and cars collide or bounce off the wall, leaving other drivers to maneuver through smoke and flying car parts—all at an average of 160 miles per hour. Welcome to America’s fastest growing spectator sport—NASCAR—which claims 75 million fans coast to coast and more TV viewers than any sport except football.

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HISTORY OF NASCAR ASCAR traces its roots to the men vinced that fans would identify more closely N who trafficked illegal “moonshine” with the sport if the cars resembled family whiskey in the American South of the sedans, France banned the highly modified 1930s and 40s. The moonshiners souped up cars that had become popular.To participate in their cars and honed their driving skills in his new Strictly Stock Division, cars had to be order to outrun federal agents who pursued full-sized passenger models with hoods, fend- them. When drivers began to compete against ers, bumpers, and grilles intact. The cars he one another on dirt tracks at fields or fair- sanctioned were so “stock,” in fact, that early grounds, the sport was called “stock” car rac- competitors drove the family to the track, raced ing, because the cars were improved-upon the car, and drove back home. versions of the Chevys or Fords anyone could In June 1949, 33 cars competed in NAS- buy off the lot. CAR’s first Strictly Stock race, a 150-mile event In those early days, was on the dirt track of North Carolina’s Charlotte loosely controlled by independent, often Speedway. Among the competitors that day (above) unscrupulous, promoters. “Sometimes you’d was Sara Christian, the first female driver on A driver turns to watch as his left front wheel win the race, then have to beat the promoter the new NASCAR circuit, who finished in 14th flies off his car during to the back gate to be sure you got paid,” place. France soon scrubbed the Strictly Stock a 1952 stock car race. recalled Junior Johnson, a former moonshine name in favor of the classier Grand National (opposite page) outlaw who later became one of NASCAR’s Division. (This top rung of NASCAR competition Two drivers battle each greatest drivers. is now known as the Nextel Cup.) other in the final lap of the 1959 stock car race One promoter, Bill France of Daytona Beach, The first modern asphalt speedway opened at the Daytona Interna- , was determined to bring order to the near Darlington, South Carolina, in 1950. In tional Speedway. The chaos. In 1948 he rallied a group of his col- September of that year, an astonishing 75 cars average speed during the 500-mile race was leagues and established the National Associa- lined up on the new track for NASCAR’s first 135 miles per hour. tion for Stock Car (NASCAR). Con- 500-mile race, the .

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© AP/WIDEWORLD PHOTOS

© AP/WIDEWORLD PHOTOS T A N A h a o ein fohrcroain,including man- the wayforlegionsofothercorporations, Nextel Cup. tions tookoversponsorshipandtheseriesbecame whenNextelCommunica- name remaineduntil2004, That named forReynolds’mostpopularcigarettebrand. asthe seriesbecameknown that Winston Cup, 1971, In sponsor NASCAR’s Series. entireGrandNational decided to banned fromadvertisingcigaretteson TV, Elliott’s recordstillstands. keep speedsunder200mph. oncarburetorsto new rulesrequiringrestrictorplates NASCARissued duringaqualifyingsessionin1987, lap After driverBillElliottloggedarecord-setting212.8mph thefirstrace. theyboycotted worried aboutsafetythat thetopNASCARdriverswereso Whenitopened, tracks. andscariestofallNASCAR fastest, mains thelargest, itre- At 2.66milesandwith33-degreebankedturns, in1969. Alabama, openedat speedway that Talladega, achievementwasanotherBillFrancethe crowning but arestilltheheartofNASCARcircuittoday, that race ontheschedule. andremainsthemostfamousimportant ruary Feb-the Daytona500opensNASCARseasonevery later, Ahalfcentury cials threedaystodeclare awinner. February 1959wassuchaclose ittookoffi- racethat ThefirstDaytona500in speeds of200milesperhour. carscouldreach andhigh-bankedturns, straightaway Onits3,600-foot in1959. Florida, Daytona, speedways at era ofracingwhenheopenedthefirstsuper .J Reynolds’sponsorshipofthe Winston Cuppaved J. R. newly Reynoldstobaccocompany, J. In 1970theR. constructionofanumbertracks The 1960ssaw oac,adtlvso.BillFrance launchedanew andtelevision. tobacco, 0yascnb trbtdt he ’:tracks, tothree 50 yearscanbeattributed T’s: he phenomenal growth ofNASCARinthepast he phenomenalgrowth A TIONAL TIONAL P ASSION yate,msl rmteSuh TheFrance familystill mostlyfromtheSouth. dynasties, byfamily thesporthasbeendominated its history, BuschSerieswillholdanofficialraceinMexico. league NASCAR’s junior forthefirsttime, andin2005, Japan, beenheldin have Exhibitionracesalready Canada. York CityandpossibleracesinthePacific Northwest and IslandinNew is talkofamajornewspeedwayonStaten There Andmoreexpansionmaybeintheworks. shire. andNewHamp- Nevada, California, such as Arizona, invenues tel scheduleareheldoutsidethesoutheast, has becomeoneofNASCAR’s mostpopularraces. so-calledinhonoroftheSpeedway’s nickname, 400, theBrickyard anannualevent, Now al Dayweekend. 500onMemori- only oneraceayear—theIndianapolis previouslyhadhosted shrine ofopen-wheelracingthat the MotorSpeedway, Indianapolis ed thehallowed itinvad- In1994, NASCAR expandedbeyondtheSouth. number ofNASCAR’s racesaswell. minorleague NextelCupraceanda broadcastsevery which now betweenNASCARand cemented therelationship TV, Sucheventfulfinishes fight amongseveraldrivers. ledtoafist crashthat were mesmerizedbyalast-lap viewers broadcast oftheentireDaytona500in1979, Inthefirstlive sion networksdiscoveredNASCAR. tracks included skyboxesand VIP suites. older at andrenovations towell-heeledfans, appealing NASCARalsobegan Withitsnewsponsorships, track. and Kellogg’s cerealshelpedlurewomentotherace Sponsorssuchas Tide detergent NASCAR bandwagon. tojumpontothe ufacturers ofconsumerproducts, h aeo ACRi hniga el Throughout The faceofNASCARischangingaswell. morethanhalfofthe36racesonNex- Currently, ofitstelevisionaudience, Spurred bythegrowth Another majorboostforthesportcamewhentelevi- 05-0004 ETF_49_56_CX1 10/18/05 3:42 PM Page 52 HOTOS P ORLD W IDE © AP/W controls the operation, and some of today’s leading driv- In the Pits ers represent the second and third generation of Pettys and Earnhardts. But they are joined by a new breed of attractive, well-spoken, media-savvy young men, such A skilled pit crew is crucial to a driver’s as , Jimmie Johnson, and Kurt Busch, from success. To be competitive, a crew should take places such as California, Nevada, and Wisconsin. no longer than 13 and a half seconds to change four tires Even as new drivers achieve success, NASCAR re- and put in 22 gallons of fuel, said Steve Letarte, car chief mains a white man’s sport. Only about 10 women have and member of the pit crew for Jeff Gordon competed in its top division, and while Janet Guthrie Although there are 20 to 25 support people at the track logged five top ten finishes, no woman driver has on a race weekend, only seven actually work on the car during a pit stop: the jack man, two tire carriers, two tire achieved higher than fifh place. Likewise, few African- changers, the gas man, and the catch can man, who catch- Americans have penetrated the sport.Wendell Scott, who es excess fuel. “The jack man is like our quarterback,” came in first at Jacksonville, Florida, in 1963, still ranks Letarte said. “It’s up to him to determine when we’re done, as the only African-American to win a premier division because when he drops the car, that’s the signal for the NASCAR race. driver to leave.” Despite its limited participation NASCAR has wide Pit crew members are first and foremost athletes. “It’s appeal. It boasts plenty of action and dozens of fearless a whole lot easier to take an athlete and train him to competitors. Fans can identify with the cars, which on change a tire than to take a mechanic and train him to be the outside at least still look like Chevys and Fords, and an athlete,” Letarte said. Because the crew’s pay and job with the drivers, who unlike stars of other major sports, security depend on their performance during a race, they remain remarkably accessible and accommodating. But train constantly, working out to improve strength and con- NASCAR’s true appeal may be more basic than that: As ditioning, meeting with sports psychologists and dieti- Humpy Wheeler, longtime manager of Charlotte Motor tians, and studying videos of pit stops. Three days a week, they practice actual pit stops or parts of a stop, much as Speedway, said: “People like to see other people doing a baseball player takes batting practice. dangerous things, that’s all there is to it.” The smallest error can be costly. “In a race last year, we (above left) had a mistake that cost us about six or seven positions Janet Guthrie, the first woman to compete in a NASCAR super and ultimately probably cost us the race,” Letarte recalls. speedway race, prepares for a 1976 race at the Daytona Speed- way. Guthrie retired from racing in 1979 and recently published an “When we dropped the right side of the car, the right rear autobiography called Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle. tire landed on the hose connected to the tire changer’s (above right) gun. I got it pulled out, but it took two or three seconds, A NASCAR pit crew services a car during the Brickyard 400 race. and nowadays that’s an eternity.”

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© AP/W Jeff Gordon WEBSITES OF INTEREST A NASCAR HERO A t age 33, Jeff Gordon already ranks among the greatest Official NASCAR Website NASCAR drivers of all time. Named Winston Cup Rookie of the Year www..com in 1993, he won the first of four national championships in 1995 at the age of This website offers the latest news about drivers, 24. He also was the first driver in NASCAR history to top $4 million and later races, and speedways, as well as the history and $6 million in earnings for a single season. rules of stock car racing. A native of Vallejo, California, Gordon started racing at age five. “My step- father came home with quarter midget cars, one for me, one for my sister,” he NASCAR Broadcast Channels recalled. “She had no interest, but I was a little kid who would jump into any- www.foxsports.com/nascar thing.” Gordon won his first race at age six. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/index Even though he grew up racing, he said: “I really didn’t think of racing as These sites of the FOX and ESPN television chan- a career until I graduated from high school. Now I have an entire business, nels, which broadcast NASCAR races, offer a I have employees, and everything revolves around racing. I never dreamed wealth of news about races, results, and stand- it was going to be like that.” ings. Gordon has his own plane, and even during race season travels frequent- ly to meet with corporate sponsors, sign autographs, do a photo shoot, or Sports Illustrated: NASCAR film a TV commercial. “My final destination will be the racetrack on Thursday http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/racing in time for practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday and the race on Courtesy of Sports Illustrated magazine, this web- Sunday.” He spends little time in the gym but gets his training on the track site provides NASCAR news, racing schedules, driving the car several days a week. and feature stories on drivers. Even the off-season provides little down time. “January is my busiest month,” Gordon said. “I start all my commitments, from an auto show for Jeff Gordon to a commercial for Tylenol or Pepsi, national sales meetings for http://jeffgordon.com [corporate sponsors] DuPont or Lowes, testing in Daytona and Las Vegas Official website of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Virtual- and California, and getting ready for the season by going to the shop and ly all drivers have their own sites. getting fitted for seats and cars and seeing what’s new.” The danger of the sport is always in the back of a driver’s mind, Gordon said. “I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had serious injuries, but I’ve certainly lost friends [in crashes] along the way. We do focus heavily on making the cars as safe as possible, but when I get in there, I’m so focused on the com- (above left) petition and the job at hand that I don’t think about the danger. My only fear Jeff Gordon poses with a patient during his is not winning.” 2002 tour of a new pediatric center.

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ASCAR tracks vary from a half mile stands who advise him of conditions on the track that he N to more than two and a half miles in length. Nex- cannot see. Part of the strategy is determining when to tel Cup races range from 300 to 600 miles, though most come in for the six or seven pit stops needed to refuel are 400 or 500 miles. The cars themselves are “stock” and change tires, which deteriorate quickly from the in outward appearance only; inside they are marvels of heat generated by high speed driving. As much as pos- automotive engineering. sible, drivers pit under a yellow caution flag, which The typical race weekend is a three-day event, with slows the race while an accident or debris is cleared practices and qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday from the track. and often a minor league race on Saturday as well. The Drivers earn points according to where they finish in qualifying sessions consist of several timed laps, and the race—180 points for the winner, 170 for the runner- the drivers who log the fastest times start at the front of up, and so on—and those points determine the drivers’ the line-up of cars for Sunday’s race. The number one standings in the contest for the championship. position, called the , is the inside of the front row. The number two driver is beside him in the (above) front row. The rest of the cars line up two by two Drivers speed along a 4-mile beach road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, during a 1953 stock car race. according to their qualifying times. Usually 43 cars participate in a Nextel Cup race. Dur- (below) Tents and trailers of NASCAR fans occupy the infield at Darlington ing the race, each driver is in constant radio communi- Raceway in South Carolina. A typical NASCAR weekend is a cation with his pit crew and with spotters high up in the three-day event. HOTOS P IDEWORLD © AP/W

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What Do Those Flags Mean? HOTOS HOTOS P P IDEWORLD IDEWORLD © AP/W © AP/W GREEN FLAG —signals that the race is under RED FLAG —temporarily stops the race because way at the start of the first lap or the end of a of a severe accident or serious weather conditions caution period HOTOS HOTOS P P IDEWORLD IDEWORLD © AP/W © AP/W YELLOW FLAG—unsafe condition; drivers BLUE FLAG WITH DIAGONAL YELLOW must reduce speed and fall in behind the pace car STRIPE —signals a lapped car to move over and WHITE FLAG —start of the last lap let the race leaders pass. HOTOS HOTOS P P IDEWORLD IDEWORLD © AP/W © AP/W BLACK FLAG—driver must leave the track and CHECKERED FLAG —end of the race report to his pit stall because of a rules violation or unsafe mechanical problem

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Legends Racing Talk OF NASCAR backstretch – the straightaway on an oval track on the opposite side from the start/finish line (known as the he list of “greatest” stock car drivers frontstretch) Tis a long one, but three drivers deserve caution period – time of reduced speed after an accident special mention. or breakdown that requires racetrack cleanup; signaled by yellow flag infield – the center of a racetrack surrounded by the rac- (1937– ) The undisputed king of ing surface; most NASCAR speedways sell infield tickets for NASCAR, Petty won 200 spectators and campers on race weekends races, more than twice as just racin’ – phrase often uttered by a driver who has fall- many as his nearest com- en out of a race, loosely translated as “That’s the way it petitor, and seven national

HOTOS goes.” P championships. President Ronald Reagan was among lapped car – a car that is one lap behind and has been passed by the leaders IDEWORLD the fans on hand at Daytona on July 4, 1984 to cheer him pace car – vehicle used to control the speed and forma-

© AP/W to his 200th victory—the tion of cars before the green flag at the beginning of a race Richard Petty in 1971 first time a current President and during any caution period had attended a NASCAR race. The car Petty drove that day is now in the Smithsonian’s Museum of pit road – area with a stall for each team, where all refu- American History. Always ready to sign an auto- eling, tire changes, and other service during a race must graph or talk to the media, Petty is universally take place praised as NASCAR’s goodwill ambassador. pole position – position at the start of the race reserved Dale Earnhardt for the top qualifier; in stock car races, the pole position is the inside of the front row, and that driver is said to be “sit- (1951–2001) Believed by many to have ting on the pole.” been the best stock car qualifying – timed laps to determine the starting order for driver ever, Earnhardt was a race nicknamed “the Intimidator” tradin’ paint – slang for cars making contact with each because of his aggressive other during side-by-side speedway battles driving style. He had already HOTOS P tied Richard Petty’s record of seven national champi-

IDEWORLD onships when he was killed in a tragic accident during References

© AP/W the last lap of the 2001 Day- Center, B., M. Dutton, J. Vedral, and A. Lewis. 1998. Dale Earnhardt in 1999 tona 500. Legions of faithful NASCAR: The thunder of America. New York: Harper- fans perpetuate his memory, and his son, Dale Jr., Collins Publishers, Inc. carries on his legacy as a winning NASCAR driver. Hunter, D., and A. Pearce. 1998. The illustrated history of stock car racing. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Glenn “Fireball” Roberts Company. (1931–1964)

Menzer, J. 2001. The wildest ride: A history of NASCAR. 05-0004 Widely recognized as the New York: Simon & Schuster. first superstar of NASCAR, whose popularity advanced Moriarty, F. 1998. The encyclopedia of stock car racing. New York: Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. the sport immeasurably, Roberts got his nickname Parsons, B. 1996. Inside track: A photo documentary HOTOS of NASCAR stock car racing. New York: Artisan P not as a race driver but as a Publishing. fastball pitcher for the Uni-

IDEWORLD versity of Florida. He won 34 races—but never a champi- PHYLLIS MCINTOSH, a freelance writer whose work has

© AP/W onship—before he died of appeared in many national magazines and newspapers, Glenn Roberts in 1959 injuries received in a fiery is a frequent contributor to State Department publica- crash at Charlotte in 1964. tions and websites.

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