In a typical F1 race i am told the drivers change gears over 6000 times. How does NASCAR compare to this?
552710
WATKINS GLEN, INFINEON, and POCONO are the only NASCAR tracks that I can think of where gear changes are an issue.  Of course, I'm not counting coming out of and going into pit road.  POCONO is the weirdo of this group.  The other two are actual road courses; Pocono bills itself as a tri-oval.  Tri-angle is more like it.  If you look at the layout of the track using the link I provided, you'll see that the turns are pretty sharp by "tri-oval" standards. Turn 1 is almost a hairpin, turn 2 doesn't give you much relief, and turn 3 is brutally sharp after coming off 2 at a good speed.
731155
Nascar from an Aussie perspective\n\nYes Nascar do tend to go around in circle. But they do it at very high speed. And there is more to it that meet the eye.\nThat said, Nascar is regarded as perhaps the most popular form of racing in the world due to the amount of spectators turning up to watch it.\n\nIn Australia we have "V8Supercars".\nWe take the body shell of an Australian road car\nPut an American V8 engine in it\nAnd all the European hi-tech technology which goes in motor racing. Our cars have Formula One disk brakes and computerise electronics with fuel injection.\n\nWe don't have ovals in Australia. We have proper circuits with twists and turns. Our cars can race on any circuit in the world and are perhaps the best and fastest touring cars in the world. Our cars can climb up a hill at 250km/h and go down the hill at 300km/h. We go flat chat through twists and turns at 200km/h.\n\nIs it a sport? You bet it is. You are sitting in a cabin where the temperature is double the temperature outside. It requires 120 per cent concentration 99% of the time. You make gear change every 10 seconds . You loose about a kilo in sweat for every hour of racing.\n\nEver heard of the annual 1000Km of Bathurst?\nThis is one of the best race in the world.
948611
Sorry to say I do not know that, but I dare to guess that it is different for different races. Not that I am a big fan or anything but I was watching a show the other day and the racer said you could win the championship without ever winning a race.
1050388
As all NASCAR races are from a rolling start, launch controls are not necessary. Personally, I think launch controls take away a huge part of racing which is the drivers themselves.
51446
You can find the points rules on the website www.nascar.com  I don't know about all the other rules for the car specs, etc.  They change so much that the teams can't keep up, let alone us fans!
483917
No more than the Letterman Crew did for Danica ; they pitted ; when they need to and the Crashes just happened while they were Pitting ; Not sure I like the Rule ; but Hope Someone will explan ; why the Rule exsist at all ; if you pit on green you should be able to get back out depending on your pitt time and Place in Competition prior to leaving the track ; not all the way to the back of the Pack ; they know the Adverage Lap times prior to the Crash etc . it aint Rocket Science ; it just seems un fair ! How do you know when someone is going to sell their car to the wall ; is it a Team effort ?
1147321
My opinion is a little biased, as I was, and still am, a huge follower of all things Earnhardt. Richard Petty's 200 wins will never be broken, but that number is largely inflated due to the lack of competition he faced in his early days. From 1967 to 1971, he won a total of 92 out of 233 races. He finished in the top 10 185 times out of those 233 races. Just from reading up on the history of NASCAR, races back in those days were won by laps, not seconds like they are currently. It was not uncommon to see a race winner win by 6, 8, even 10 laps back in the 60's and 70's. So, I believe competition, or the lack of it, is why I believe Earnhardt was a better racer than Richard Petty.
428008
NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the regulatory body of a number racing series; the three most popular tending to be Cup, Grand National, and Truck Series.\nEach Series (or division) has its own set of rules and regulations, including limits on vehicle and engine design. The common characteristics between series are the track design (usually an oval or "tri-oval" with a straight stretch of road where cars may "pit" for repairs, tires, and fuel), and colored flags displayed during the race: Green signified full speed racing, Yellow indicates a "Caution" period where no racing is allowed, Red a full stoppage, Black a penalty, White the final lap, and Checkered the end of the race.\nHowever, when most people talk about NASCAR, they are referring to the Cup Series, currently called NASCAR Nextel Cup (after the primary sponsor). Nextel Cup runs a 26 race regular season (plus an additional four races: the Budweiser Shootout, two Gatorade Duels, and the NASCAR Nextel All Star Challenge)that runs from February through September, during which drivers compete for points. Points are awarded for finishing position during the race, for leading a lap, and for leading the most laps during a race. Total points on the year determine your standing, and the Top 10 drivers (along with any drivers within 400 points of the leader) after the last regular-season race enter the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. The leader's point total is reset to 5,050; and each following Chase driver is given 5 fewer points (5045, 5040, etc). \nAs of Race 8, drivers qualifying for the Chase are Matt Kenseth (driving the number 17 DeWalt Ford), Jimmie Johnson (48 Lowe's Chevy), Kasey Kahne (9 Dodge Dealers Dodge), Mark Martin (6 AAA Ford), Tony Stewart (20 Home Depot Chevy), Jeff Gordon (24 DuPont/Pepsi Chevy), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8 Budweiser Chevy), Kevin Harvick (29 Reese's Chevy), Kyle Busch (5 Kellogg's Chevy), Casey Mears (42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), Dale Jarrett (88 UPS Ford), Clint Bowyer (07 Jack Daniels Chevy), Jeff Burton (31 Cingular Wireless Chevy), Elliott Sadler (38 M&Ms Ford), Martin Truex Jr. (1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevy), and Carl Edwards (99 Office Depot Ford). There are four additional drivers within 10 points of the Chase.\nThe Grand National or Busch Series is often thought of as the "minor leagues", and is promoted as a showcase for up and coming talent. The Craftsman Truck Series offers a unique racing experience.\nAs for Mark Martin, he's driven the Roush Racing #6 car with a variety of primary sponsors since 1988, but he's been driving Cup series since 1981. He currently drives the number 6 for Roush in all three major series (sponsored by AAA in Nextel, Ameriquest in Busch and Scott's Miracle-Gro in Crafstman Truck). Martin has never won the Cup champsionship, but has finished outside of the top ten in points only twice since 1988.
1102626
geesus mary mother of pearl. I'm so tired of this cheating thing.. \nlet's get something straight. the driver does not cheat. all they can do is drive the damn thing that the team puts together. rather they know what the CC does or not is between them and their team.  \nsecond, as for chad knauss's role in it.. all crew chiefs bend the rules as far as they can to make that car quicker. some go overboard and some get caught. that's what happened in february. sorry, but you have to give chad his props for trying to get his driver the best car possible. all of them do it, and a lot of them are like "man, why didn't i think of that" or "heck we should try that".. it's happened for years, and will continue to happen..and there will be plenty of teams who will get caught jumping the line too far. \n\njimmie has a great team, and he's a good enough driver to make that great car run ahead of the bunch. chad is a great crew chief. he's a little squirrely and i'm unsure of him, but i'll give him credit where it is due. he'll do anything for a win and to make his team great. he really puts the effort in. if you ever notice he's one of the most hands-on crew chiefs out there. quite honestly, i'd put him in almost the top 5 of current crew chiefs. there will never be another zippy, but that is besides the point. \nyou have a strong organization amongst the hendrick crew. most weeks you have 3 teams fighint for top positions. they've got the money to really put the research into what makes the cars better. with a bigger team you also benefit more under the new testing guidlines, and can swap info. team al that up with a pretty talented driver and you wil have a winning package..
810234
In Nascar cars just go around,around,around,around\naround,around,around,around,around\n,around,around,around\naround,around,around\naround,around,around\naround,around,around\naround,around,around\naround,around,around\naround,around,around\n\nfind some real sport like F1
771905
NASCAR is not consistant with their penalties.The major teams(Hendricks,Roush,Yates,Childress) get their wrist slapped on told their bad boys,but the monor teams does the same thing the lose points and get fined and don't get their chance to redeam.\n If there is an infraction for any team treat them the same.
961438
Big deal they go around in circles.\n\nAll that most other sports do is go back and forth.\n\nBaseball is just 9 guys, and usually only 2 of them are doing anything.\n\ntell them look at the crowds they must be doing something right\n(Yes I know they will say look 150,000 people (and a total IQ of 12, a total of 6 teeth, just 3 different last names, or look your family reunion)\n\nAsk them if they have ever watched a program more than once if they say it's the same every time.\n\nit may be Turn left, turn left, turn left, turn left\nrepeat 50 more times then pit\nand repeat all of that 6 more times\nwith an occassional accident thrown in.\nbut atleast the endings are usually exciting and different people win every week.\n\nWhere else can you see an accident, know its coming, not be the cause, or and not have your car insurance go up\n\nTell them "All hail, King Richard!!"\nand\n"Why yes, Dale Earnhardt is the patron saint of Rednecks."\n\nBet them you can change a tire faster than them.
812130
Drifting is not racing.  If it was you would see F-1 drivers doing it.  It is fun but it is not racing.\n\nHey fatrick-  Get a life.  The point of racing is to get where you are going as fast as possible.  When you don't have traction you are not going as fast as possible.  It is simple mechanics.  Drifting is showboating and as previously stated fun to watch but at its core it is not racing.
533277
all the drivers currently in this business started out as karthikeyan or even worse.though driving skills are important but f-1 still is more a fight between different technologies.so the better the car,the better are the chances of winning.who knew alonso till he joined renault.it's the car which did the magic
823348
I think it goes to The Kind Richard Petty who back in the day I guess won 10 consecutive races in a row but thats probably because not all the drivers could make it to every race like Petty did and compete and have the tools and the cars to do that week after week and they probably had more then one race a week.
932305
To those that say "No", I challenge them to drive one race, preferably on one of those really hot days on the really fast tracks.  If they can keep out of the wall for more than 10 laps, I'll be amazed.\n\nYou don't realize the forces that are in play in those cars.  I did a ridealong at TMS at 160 miles per hour (which isn't as fast as race speeds) and was amazed at the G forces on the turns.  To do that for 3 hours at speed with only occasional breaks... yes, it takes quite a bit of physical ability and skill.
596902
Drifting or going sideways is a lot slower. If you notice the new generation WRC drivers like Seb Loeb using a more "racing-like" style through the corners. Its a much smoother style and much gentler on the tyres.