How do NASCAR races work?

NASCAR is a celebration of speed. It is the epitome of American Racing and proudly bears its name in the world of motorsports and stock car racing. NASCAR racing is a schedule of 36 high speed chases for the Cup Series title. The spirit of NASCAR is to promote stock car racing for viewers and “to win on Sunday, sell on Monday” for the manufacturers.

This entourage of adrenaline and performance has many rules and regulations which must be followed for a successful race to be conducted. NASCAR has always remained strict regarding the conduction of its races and it levies various punishments to its offenders.

The Cup Series is a 36-race event that starts with the most popular Daytona 500 and goes on till the end of the season. This is known as the regular season and it involves collecting the maximum points for the final leg of the year, the Chase for Cup.

The Chase for Cup is an elimination based event which involves the top-16 race winners from the Regular Season in a bid to win the NASCAR Cup Series crown. Ryan Blaney was the driver who bested everyone in the 2023 Chase for Cup and became the winner of NASCAR Cup Series title.

NASCAR Race Rules

Each NASCAR race involves a set of rules which must be strictly followed by the teams and drivers. There are a separate set of rules for both the teams and drivers. The NASAR rules cover every aspect of the race from manufacturer specification, to driver’s safety aspects.

The NASCAR tracks are now protected with SAFER walls. These Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Walls are a system that is made to protect the drivers in case of a crash and absorb the high impact of a high speed crash.

NASCAR drivers have to use the same car throughout the weekend no matter the condition it is in. Thus, it becomes a necessity to manage the best results in the short time allotted to them in qualifying and make the most out of the car before it actually goes racing.

Every driver has a unique number and there are rules regarding placement of sponsorship decals on cars. Every team can work with five pit-men. They are two tire changers, one tire carrier, one jackman and one gas filler.

NASCAR cars must be set up according to the regulations of the season and every team has to pass a mandatory inspection before the race. Penalties are alloted to the teams and drivers in case of any infractions. They involve a reduction in driver or team points or both and monetary fines. On a higher scale, they may go up to a six race crew suspension and a huge fine slapped on to the team.

What is the NASCAR race format?

A NASCAR race generally takes place over the weekend. It consists of three events namely, Practice session, Qualifying session and the Final Race. Every race is divided into stages and the winner of the final stage of the race is declared the winner of the race. Each qualifying session involves one or two timed laps from the driver.

The driver with the best times advances forward for the pole lap. The top five drivers from a group of cars in the qualifying are allowed to participate in the second round for the pole position, whereas at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway, the 10 best overall drivers get to qualify for the pole round.

The race takes place on Sunday and lasts for the duration. It involves caution laps, red flags and many incidents which have their own set of rules to be followed. In case the race has to be restarted due to some severe wreck. The leading driver may choose on which side of the track they want to start the race. NASCAR races may be postponed due to weather conditions as NASCAR cars are generally not safe to race in rainy conditions.

Read more About NASCAR scoring work