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.

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Hi to all the rev heads out there in NASCAR land and all other motor racing enthusiasts.

The major upcoming event that is happening in Australia in a months time, known as The Great Race, is the Bathurst 1000 is gaining momentum.

To those out there that are not familiar with The Great Race, it is the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. It is a 1000km race with a 6 plus km track around a mountain in Bathurst New South Wales, near the Blue Mountains. Now as Americans you would probably more likely call this mountain a big hill, oh well we call it the mountain.

The object of this race is to be the first car passed the finish line after completing the 161 laps that make up 1000km (not miles, it would be approx 600 miles). This takes an average 6 and a half hours and is on a sunday, usually the first sunday in October, though this year is the second sunday, the 10 11 12th october.

The cars involved are all V8 and can only be from one of two manufacturers, Ford and Holden (holden is like GMH, or Chevy). This race is part of the V8 supercar championship and is regarded as the race to win and claim the title of the King of the Mountain.

I wont get into to much detail here on the finer points of the race, apart from the fact that as a car racing enthusiast and if you are ken to come to australia to make the most of the cheap airfares and early summer specials, this can be a trip of a life time.

The atmosphere generated at this event is second to none, especially here in Australia.
Now I have been to a live NASCAR event in Charlotte and was blown away by the huge following that NASCAR racing gets and although we may not get that volume of people to a supercar show we certainly dont loose any of the atmosphere, especially this race.

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