NASCAR: Top Three Series

NASCAR is one of the most well known professional sports in the United States. It is extremely well known internationally and broadcast each race in over 150 countries. The sport has come to be extremely popular and currently there are three primary series in which drivers race. The Sprint cup is the largest and most popular, followed by the Nationwide and Truck series. Drivers commonly start racing in the Truck series, move their way up in to the Nationwide series and on to the Sprint Cup as they gain popularity.

The truck series currently host 25 different races in a season. It is most common for a truck race to be on a Friday evening, and at many tracks, it is the first racing event of a three race weekend. Many of NASCAR's most popular drivers own their own truck team, including Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Many Sprint Cup drivers race in the series when the event is held at the same track as a Sprint Cup race in the same weekend. The series has become extremely competitive and many drivers making a change from other motor sports commonly start racing in this series.

The Nationwide series host 35 races in a season. This is one of NASCAR's premier series and nearly 10 - 15 Sprint Cup drivers race in this series weekly. The car's are designed differently, so drivers have a new set of challenges to deal with in this series. Some drivers find it is a way of practicing before their Sprint Cup race as well, even though the cars drive extremely different. Almost every driver racing in the Sprint Cup series began their career by racing in the Nationwide Series. Many of the Sprint Cup drivers have won the series and many are still working towards that goal. It is an excellent transition for drivers in lower series to began to get experience before getting a ride in the Sprint Cup Series.

The Sprint Cup is NASCAR's premier series hosting 36 races a season. Drivers in this series are sponsored by large corporations, typically fortune 500 companies. The car's are faster and more difficult to set up, and the racing is by far the most competitive. Winning the Sprint Cup is any stock car racers career goal. Every driver strives to be in this series and many drivers retire having never won the Sprint Cup. This series host 17 out of 20 of the worlds single day largest sporting events. Fans of this series are considered the most brand-loyal fans in the world and 75 million fans purchase 3 billion in product sells a year. The series race nearly every weekend from February to November, and 4 of Americas most popular television companies host the events throughout the season.

NASCAR Tracks: Road Courses

Road courses offer yet another unique style of racing in the NASCAR racing series. There are only two road course races on the 36 race schedule. These tracks are often favored by many drivers who raced in previous circuits before entering their NASCAR careers. The courses are extremely unique and require that drivers pay extra attention to their car throughout the races.

Probably the most prominent issue at a road course is the fact that drivers are both riding their brakes extremely hard. Drivers have to be extremely conscious to this and balance both the speed at which they are racing and the amount of braking that speed requires into corners. It is extremely easy for a driver to drive their car to hard during a race and make both their tires and brakes overheat.

Another issue at road courses which often has great influence on determining the winner is how good of gas mileage the driver is getting. Drivers have to play a very strategic game on fuel mileage and when they decide to pit during a race to refuel. If a driver pits at the wrong time, he may find himself without fuel with only a few laps to go, even if he has the best car. Since road courses are so long, fuel mileage often plays a great role in the race. It is much harder to determine exactly how much gas a driver is using since he is constantly going different speeds as he is stopping and slowing down constantly.

Tires are often a concern at road courses as well. Since the car is turning in both directions the drivers are wearing out their tires differently then they are used to. This causes the car to drive differently then it does on an oval track. Often drivers get confused about how the car is handling and begin shifting into the wrong gears which sometimes causes them to throw out their transmission, ruining their day.

Road courses are an exciting and unique race during the NASCAR season. They are a wild card race and can always throw a radical change in the points. Some drivers have to work harder at other race tracks in case they finish badly, while others rely on road courses to boost their momentum. Either way, drivers are always driving aggressively and their lack of practice on road courses always makes the race interesting!