Car racing is a beautiful sport that is misunderstood. This is when man and machine go head to head. The test is all about speed and when it comes to matters speed then it is automatic that human adrenaline rates will be popping.
What it is: Endurance racing is as much about the journey as the destination. Speed is important, but drivers and cars have to survive hours of punishment in all sorts of weather and, sometimes, darkness. The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) features what is arguably the toughest race of them all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s also a technological crucible, with high-tech hybrids battling for victory and proving that efficiency and performance don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
The cars: At the top are multiple classes of “prototypes,” purpose-built racers that share nothing with production cars. The headliners are the LMP1H hybrids, which are among the most technically sophisticated racecars on the planet. Their hybrid powertrains recover waste energy to provide a temporary boost of power. The cars from Audi, Porsche, and Toyota are also very different in design, each pushing the boundaries of technology in their own way.
Sourced from: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/motorsports-complete-guide/
Car racing like any other sport has its own leagues where racers come together and compete. Racing tracks are thronged by thousands of fans waiting to cheer their favorite driver
Imagine soaring down the road in your Chevy Impala SS, or maybe your Toyota Camry, leaning heavy into the turns. You’ve drowned the needle in the red, nearing 200 mph now — as fast as these cars go. Then, zoom, zoom, zoom! A metallic flash, then another, then one you can barely even see glides by before a fold of black and white drops just ahead. This is stock car racing, and you’ve just been lapped at the final flag.
Since the 1930s, stock car racing has cruised into fans’ hearts worldwide, as the biggest spectator sport in the U.S. [source: Appalachian State University]. Every circuit, small-town track and league has its own rules, meaning there is no one-size-fits-all answer regarding stock car racing rules. This article focuses on NASCAR, as it’s the most recognized name in stock car racing. There are other large leagues, like the Sports Car Club of America or the Champ Car series that work under similar but different rules.
Sourced from: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/nascar-basics/rules-of-stock-car-racing.htm
The main question about car racing is how long will it be able to remain a sport. So far the critics believe that this is an over expensive kind of sport that will not be here for a long period.
Although we have yet to nudge anywhere near that apocalyptic rant, there is little question that high-tech motorsports are on the verge of becoming unaffordable and irrelevant. Formula 1 now costs hundreds of millions of dollars and has only three or four teams capable of seriously competing with machines that are closer to being fighter planes than automobiles. Champ Car (or CART, until 2004), through the inefficiencies inherent in a country-club management philosophy, is for all intents and purposes DOA (in the U.S., at least). Rival IRL has developed into a pricey playground for two obscure carbuilders, Panoz G Force and Dallara, and a collection of talented but anonymous drivers. They cavort before phone-booth-size crowds at any event other than the defanged Indianapolis 500. Meanwhile, NASCAR, thanks to brilliant promotion with its 1960s-vintage race cars and a mob of young, vibrant drivers, is sucking what air is left out of big-time motorsports in this country.
Sourced from: http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/someone-needs-to-rewrite-racing-rules
Despite the financial state of the spot it still has its loyal fans and new ones can join in too. It is all about being able to understand the language of flags and you will be able to know what is happening out on the track.
Racing flags give NASCAR officials the ability to communicate with drivers during races. The flagman, perched in a stand high above the start/finish line, waves the appropriate flag when necessary.
Yellow flag: Signals a caution, which tells drivers to slow down to a predetermined speed. Debris on the track or a wreck are typically the chief culprits for this flag.
Red flag: Signifies the race must be stopped immediately, regardless of the cars’ position on the track. This is usually for safety reasons — for example, a red flag was issued following Juan Pablo Montoya’s collision with a jet dryer at the 2012 Daytona 500.
Black flag: Think of the black flag as the “consultation flag.” Whichever driver is given the black flag must respond to a concern from NASCAR. Common examples include speeding on pit road, dropping debris on the track or failing to maintain the minimum speed on the track. Drivers have five laps to respond to the black flag.
Black flag with diagonal white stripe: Any driver not obeying the black flag and pitting within five laps is shown this flag, indicating scoring of the car has been suspended until further notice.
Sourced from: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/nascar-nation/nascar-edu/rules-guy/nascar-racing-flags.html
