There was a time when NASCAR cars were just plain cars. Stock car racing began as the name would lead you to believe. The cars used by drivers were bought at dealerships, then driven to the tracks for the races. In 1947 NASCAR created the first standard rule set and a championship points system for determining the winner across a whole season of races.

In the early days tracks were crude dirt roads upon which conditions quickly deteriorated during a race. Conditions quickly destroyed plain stock cars, so NASCAR cars were quickly allowed to be modified for greater ability to handle the poor conditions.

The changes became more extreme as the years went by, both so drivers would be safer and so that races would be more exciting. The NASCAR rule book is very clear to spell out each and every modification allowed for competition.

No longer are NASCAR cars true stock cars, they’re very different from street cars. Rather than produced on an assembly line, NASCAR cars are carefully constructed by hand. Tubes make up their frames, the engines start as bare blocks, and the body is nothing but pressed sheet metal.

The tubes for the frame vary in thickness, and are shaped as both square and round. In order to keep together and protect the driver when crashes occur, the roll cage is constructed of even heavier tubing.

Thinner front and rear tube frame sections, called the clips, are designed to steal energy from a crash by crushing if they contact another car or the wall. In addition, with the force of impact, the front clip forces the engine through the floor instead of through the car to impact the driver.

Click to continue »