Subject: rec.autos.sport FAQ 4/8: NASCAR Frequently Asked Questions
Supersedes: <autos/sport/nascar_826083322@rtfm.mit.edu>
Date: 5 Apr 1996 15:27:50 GMT
References: <autos/sport/introduction_828718022@rtfm.mit.edu>
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
         Questions (and their answers) about professional
         stock car racing, especially the NASCAR (Winston
         Cup and Grand National) series.  It should be read
         by anyone who wishes to post on this subject to
         rec.autos.sport.nascar, rec.autos.sport.tech, or
         rec.autos.sport.info.
X-Last-Updated: 1995/07/03
Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.autos.sport.nascar:68873 rec.autos.sport.info:5379 rec.answers:19755 news.answers:68688

Archive-name: autos/sport/nascar
URL: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~bspahh/rasfaq/nascar.html
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: May 26th 1995
Version: 1.4

This will be posted monthly to rec.autos.sport.nascar, rec.autos.sport.info, 
rec.autos.sport.misc, rec.answers and news.answers.  It answers some of
the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) in the rec.autos.sport.*
newsgroups as well as some others which perhaps _should_ be asked.

The latest text version of the FAQ is also available from:
ftp://mgu.bath.ac.uk/pub/rec.autos.sport/nascar
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/autos/sport/nascar
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~bspahh/rasfaq.html

If you only have electronic mail, the FAQ can also be retrieved from
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu, listserver@grasp1.univ-lyon1.fr,
ftp-mail@uni-paderborn.de and ftpmail@ftp.edu.tw

For information on how to use FTP, send e-mail to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with with no subject line. In the body of the
mail put: send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources

Whilst some care has been taken in the preparation of this FAQ, a few
errors may have slipped through the net (no pun intended).  Please send
any corrections or additions to rasfaq@bath.ac.uk.


Chapter 12

NASCAR Information

12.1 Technical Regulations

The `official' NASCAR rules and regulations are not made available to
the general public or to the media. NASCAR reserves the right to
disseminate those regulations only to those teams it deems of merit
as seriously contending participants.
  The Winston Cup series used to be known as Grand National. The name
was changed in 1970. Busch Grand National (BGN) now refers to the
NASCAR series which is the main feeder series for Winston Cup. The
Busch sponsorship started in 1985. Winston Cup is considered the
premier series in NASCAR. There are a lot of WC drivers who double-up
between the two series, but BGN is sort of a "lesser major league,"
somewhat akin to the World League to the NFL in American football or
the IHL to the NHL in ice hockey.
  The Busch Series runs mainly on short tracks (tracks less than a
mile in length) over shorter distances, while the Winston Cup series
tends to concentrate on tracks greater than a mile in length. The
Busch Series has picked up a few superspeedways in the last few
years.
  There are some differences between WC and BGN cars, but they are
being made more similar. In 1995 the Busch series is going to use 358
cid V-8 engines with a 9:1 compression ratio. Teams can still run the
old V-6 engines in 1995, but not from 1996. The 9:1 compression
engine is also the powerplant for the new NASCAR Supertruck series,
and there are rumors that the 9:1 will be the required engine in 1996
for the Winston Cup series. The 9:1 is supposed to be more reliable
and cheaper to maintain than the high compression engines that are
currently in use (especially at the superspeedways).
  Secondly, The BGN car weight has been increased to 3100 lbs and the
WC cars have decreased to 3400 lbs. The story here is it is currently
a big jump from going to a BGN car to a WC car. This weight shift is
supposed to make the transition from BGN to WC easier. Wheelbases are
110 inches for both WC and BGN.


12.2 So How Much of a `Stock Car' is `Stock' ?

Nascar Winston Cup engines today generally use pistons manufactured
by J & E, Wiseco, Ross and a couple of others. There are usually very
few `Factory' (ie Ford or Chevy) parts used in/on the entire car,
although quite a few of the engine components are from the
manufacturers. For most parts, any supplier could be used - even
Mercedes produced pistons could be used in either a Ford or Chevy
given the correct bore diameter and wrist pin placement, rod length
and crankshaft stroke.
  The engine block and head castings are usually bought in rough form
to conform to the casting number rules required by NASCAR. The blocks
are special alloy materials such as higher than normal tin content
and extra webbing area for strength around the main bearings. The
heads are aluminum alloy and also much different than any production
heads. Extra material is generally available for various teams to
port them in different ways and to bore the valve guides just the way
they want them. The engines also are always 358 ci but for various
tracks the torque output is tailored by variations in bore and stroke
ratio to get the performance combination for acceleration off the
turns or straightaway speed as desired by the particular driver/team
preference.
  Many or most teams use the roof and winshield post sheetmetal from
factory factory production to obtain proper profile and height as
these parts are difficult to form by hand. Up until this year factory
type windshields were aslo used peer NASCAR rules to fit the factory
body templates. Now the safer lexan windshields are allowed. The
plastic nose and tail bumper covers are aftermarket parts but the
remainder of the body is usually formed by hand using a tool called
an `English wheel' which helps stretch and curve the metal for the
fenders, doors and quarter panels.
  According to the "Winston Cup Rules Digest" in Winston Cup Scene,
WC cars must follow these guidelines: "The cars must be neat in
appearance and the interior must be painted. The original exterior
dimensions of all the bodies must remain as manufactured, except for
changes that may be necessary for tire clearance. The body cannot be
offset on the frame. Rocker and quarter panels cannot be notched for
exhaust pipes. Cars must remain standard in appearance." Obviously,
NASCAR retains the right to determine what "standard in appearance"
means.


12.3 What is a `restrictor plate' ?

They are aluminum plates with four 7/8 inch holes. They are placed
between the carburettor and intake manifold on an engine. The
carburettors used in WC have four 1-1/2 inch diameter barrels. When
this 7/8 inch restrictor plate is installed, the air-flow into the
engine is restricted, thus reducing horsepower. Restrictor plates
were mandated on WC cars at Talladega and Daytona in 1988. NASCAR
first attempted to slow speeds after Bobby Allisons car became
airborne and crashed into the spectator fence at Talladega in May of
1987. NASCAR first tried smaller carburettor (for the July races at
both tracks) but decided on the restrictor plate to begin the '88
season. The original plates had 1 inch holes. Now, they're down to
7/8 inch. The advent of the "flaps" (full operational air
deflectors), used to keep a car from going airborne once it starts to
travel backwards, has almost made the restrictor plates unnecessary.
But because of Irvan's 1994 accident at Michigan, these are unlikely
to be disappearing any time soon.


12.4 How does the NASCAR Winston Cup points system work?

Each driver who competes in a NASCAR Winston Cup race is awarded
championship points according to the following descending scale based
on finish position.
  Five additional bonus points are awarded to each driver who leads a
lap and an additional five bonus points go to the driver who leads
the most laps.

Finish Points       Finish Points       Finish Points       Finish Points
   1     175          11     130          21     100          31      70
   2     170          12     127          22      97          32      67
   3     165          13     124          23      94          33      64
   4     160          14     121          24      91          34      61
   5     155          15     118          25      88          35      58
   6     150          16     115          26      85          36      55
   7     146          17     112          27      82          37      52
   8     142          18     109          28      79          38      49
   9     138          19     106          29      76          39      46
  10     134          20     103          30      73          40      43

Normally 43 cars is the maximum number allowed in any race. The
points for those remaining positions are calculated by subtracting
3 from the previous position. No points are awarded for pole.


12.5 How are rookie points decided ?

o 1 point is awarded to each rookie who starts the race.

o The highest finishing rookie is awarded 10 points, the next highest 9
  points, and so on down to 0.

o bonus points are awarded for the top 10. A rookie finishing 10th
  receives 1 bonus point, 9th 2 points, and so on. If a rookie wins the
  race he would receive 10 bonus points.

For example, at Atlanta in 1994, 8 rookies qualified for the race. The
finishing order was:

            Finishing Place   Rookie Points
Jeff Burton        4th              18
Joe Nemechek       18th             10
Steve Grissom      20th              9
Loy Allen          22nd              8
Mike Wallace       27th              7
Curtis Markham     39th              6
Ward Burton        40th              5
John Andretti      42nd              4

Jeff Burton received 1 point for qualifying, 10 points for being the
highest finishing rookie and 7 points for finishing 4th place. Joe
Nemechek received 1 point for qualifying and 9 points for being the
second highest rookie.


12.6 How are NASCAR provisional starts decided ?

Provisional starts are available for the top 35 in the points standings
for car owners. In the first four races of the year, car owner
standings from the previous season are used. After that the standings
from the current season are taken instead. Each team is allowed to use
three provisional starts in the first 10 races, one in the second 10,
and one in the third 10. Another provisional start is reserved for
former Winston Cup champions who have failed to qualify for a race.
There is only one former champion's provisional -- it goes to the most
recent champion if two champions fail to qualify.


12.7 Who is the guy that's always in the NASCAR victory lane ?

It's Bill Broderick. He's a representative of Unocal and it has been
his job since lord knows when to handle Victory Lane at all non-NASCAR
owned tracks (they have their own guy who has also been doing the same
things for years).


12.8 How can I find MRN radio ?

MRN is syndicated to 400 local radio stations in 37 States across
America. It is also available by satellite -- telephone USA (1) 904
254-6760 for information. List of MRN Affiliates:
ftp://mgu.bath.ac.uk/pub/auto/nascar/mrn-affiliates


12.9 How can I get information about watching a NASCAR race ?

The new `Official Directory' for NASCAR tracks is a must for those who
might travel to a race and plan to stay the weekend -- lots of local
info on places to stay, etc.
  Orders ( $ 19.95, plus $ 5 and $ 8 S & H) can also be addressed to:

      Bell South Advertising \& Publishing,
      PO Box 5887, Ft Lauderdale,
      FL 33310-7942, USA.

The directory comes complete with track layouts, seat charts, and a
toll free number for track info (USA) 1-800-AUTORACE, which you can use
for

1-General Track Info
2-Ticket Info
3-Schedule
4-Qual Times
5-Weather

  The tracks require the following 4 digit ID codes:

Atlanta--1100
Bristol--1200
Charlotte--1300
Darlington--1400
Daytona--1500

etc alphabetically through Watkins Glenn at 2800. Unfortunately, only
Winston Cup tracks are covered, and not places like Hickory or South
Boston.

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The rec.autos.sport.* FAQ                                    rasfaq@bath.ac.uk
