From the outside, NASCAR can indeed be easily mistaken for endless circling. However, beneath the apparent simplicity of American stock cars lies complex work with aerodynamics, chassis settings, trajectory, and even airflow. Sometimes the result of all this work is determined by a difference that is impossible to notice with the naked eye.
At the Talladega track, the outer edge of the track is raised 8 meters above the inner edge — approximately the height of a two-story building. Such a huge banking was created for high speed. But today, cars on this oval complete a lap significantly slower than their technology would allow. The reason has long been known: speed here is intentionally limited.
The lap record at Talladega — 342.5 km/h — was set back in 1987. Since then, no one has been able to come close to this result. Engines have not become weaker over the decades; rather, the capabilities of the cars are deliberately held back.
Where did the counter-clockwise movement come from?
The reasons must be sought back in times when automobile racing in the modern sense did not exist.
When the first automobiles began to appear in the USA, there was no proper road network between cities. Therefore, racetracks were used for competitions, where prepared oval tracks already existed. And horse races there were held counter-clockwise.
The American tradition was established in this form. In British horse racing, the direction, on the contrary, was clockwise, and this difference has persisted to this day.
Later, a practical explanation for driving to the left also emerged. The driver sits on the left, so on a left turn, they are further from the outer wall. In an accident, the impact more often occurs on the opposite, passenger side. In addition, from the left seat on such a turn, it is more convenient to control the track and the position of rivals.
However, the statement that NASCAR always turns only left is incorrect. The calendar of the premier series includes tracks with right turns:
- Watkins Glen;
- Sonoma;
- Circuit of the Americas in Texas;
- Chicago street course.
However, oval tracks still make up the majority of the calendar. The reason is not only tradition. This format allows spectators to simultaneously see what is happening on a significant part of the track and get the main thing they come to races for — high speed.
Why the car itself tends to turn left
If a car is to move around an oval for hours, its design and settings are adjusted for such work. One important parameter is "stagger." The right rear wheel is made larger in diameter than the left, so the car has a natural tendency to move to the left.
The principle can be illustrated with a simple example. If you lay a plastic cup on its side and push it, it will begin to move in an arc towards the narrower edge. A similar effect occurs with wheels.
But too much "stagger" is also harmful. If the difference in diameters is excessive, the car starts to pull to the left even on a straight. The driver has to constantly compensate for this by steering to the right, and unnecessary corrections reduce speed.
With insufficient "stagger," the opposite problem arises: the car tends more strongly towards the outer wall, the front right wheel is overloaded, overheats, and wears out faster.
Therefore, there is no universal value here. The setting depends on the specific oval, its radius, and the degree of banking. The steeper the turns and the less their banking, the greater the difference between the wheels may be required.
Why two short ovals are so different
Even seemingly similar oval tracks require completely different settings. Martinsville is only 847 m long, Bristol is 858 m. But their character is completely different.
At Bristol, steep turns allow for high-speed cornering. The banking here increases from 24° at the inner edge to 30° near the outer wall. Therefore, a car traveling on the longer outer trajectory can maintain high speed in the turn.
Martinsville is designed differently. It is often compared to a paperclip: the turns here are flat, which means that before them, speed must be significantly reduced. The banking of the turn in Martinsville is only 12°.
And Talladega is at the other end of this scale. Its turns have a banking of 33°, making it the steepest track among the current premier series racetracks. That is why setting up a car for each oval is a separate engineering task.
When speed had to be limited
At Talladega, it once became clear that technological capabilities were outstripping safety requirements.
Four days after Bobby Allison's record lap, his right rear tire blew out at 320 km/h. The car went airborne and destroyed about 30 m of protective netting in front of the stands. Steel cables of the barrier held the car. Without them, the car could have ended up among the spectators.
After this, restrictor plates appeared the following year at Talladega and at Daytona, which is similar in character. They reduce the amount of air and fuel entering the engine, thereby limiting its power.
A paradox emerged: the technology is capable of going faster, but the organizers deliberately prevent it from realizing its full potential. With the same power limitation, the difference between cars becomes minimal. Hence the tight groups, in which cars sometimes go four abreast.
Any mistake in such a situation can affect several participants at once. Mass accidents are called "The Big One" by fans, and at Talladega, they are practically expected in every race.
Why NASCAR needs an "air pocket"
A tight group is not just a consequence of limited power. It itself becomes a racing tool. Two cars try to position themselves so close that the airflow perceives them almost as a single unit. The first car forms the flow, and the next one uses it, reducing air resistance.
As a result, a pair can drive more efficiently than two cars that are separate from each other. Working together, drivers can gain up to 8 km/h. There is another trick: the rear car can slightly push the front one with its bumper, transferring some of its acceleration. But here the price of error is high — too strong or unsuccessful a push can send the front car into a spin.
Aerodynamics can not only help an ally but also hinder a rival. If a car is positioned nearby, the flow from its front part affects the rival's rear spoiler. The rival loses some speed, and the attacker gets a chance to move forward.
What happens to the pilot's body
Several hours on an oval track is a serious physical exertion. According to Aric Almirola, even in cool weather, the temperature inside a race car is about 52 °C. On a hot and humid day, it can reach 60 °C.
During one race, a driver loses approximately 3–3.5 kg of weight. At the same time, for several hours, they endure overloads 2.5–3 times their own weight. There are no air conditioners in race cars.
That is, behind the apparent simplicity of moving around an oval lies prolonged work in conditions of high temperature, constant overloads, and continuous concentration.
When winning meant driving on the wall
Sometimes, not only technique but also desperate tactics decide everything. Four years ago at Martinsville, Ross Chastain was fighting for a spot in the final four contenders for the championship title. Before the last lap, his rival Denny Hamlin had a two-point advantage, and Chastain was in tenth place.
On the straight, Chastain engaged fifth gear, entered turn three, and deliberately pressed his car against the outer wall. Then he went along it through turn four, continuing to keep the gas pedal fully pressed. At the finish, he was fifth, overtaking five rivals at once. He beat Hamlin by a car length.
His last lap took 18.845 seconds. For comparison, the race winner Christopher Bell completed his lap in 20.512 seconds. The cost of such a maneuver was significant: the right side of Chastain's car was crushed.
Moreover, the trick itself was not his own invention. As a child, Ross and his brother Chad played NASCAR 2005 on a console and found that such tactics worked without consequences in the video game.
The following season, such a pass was banned. Using the wall now incurs a time or lap penalty, so positions gained in this way are still annulled. Chastain himself helped remove a piece of the barrier with a loader, on which his car's mark remained. It was kept as a souvenir.
How a race can be won by 2.5 cm
Another example of how small the difference between victory and defeat can be occurred two years ago in Kansas. With six laps to go, one of the cars spun, after which the race was extended and restarted. Chris Buescher was in the lead.
Kyle Larson attacked on the outside through turns three and four. Buescher tried to push his rival into the wall, but on the exit, both cars simultaneously rushed to the finish line. Along the way, the cars touched doors twice. Even 30 cm before the line, Buescher remained ahead.
Initial timing even declared him the winner. Buescher's team was already celebrating on the radio. However, Larson's crew chief believed the result should be different. After reviewing the super-slow-motion replay, the judges confirmed he was right.
Larson won by approximately 2.5 cm. In terms of time, this is only 0.001 seconds. He only learned of his victory after almost completing the lap after the finish. The previous record for the smallest margin had stood for over 20 years and was 0.002 seconds — exactly twice as much.
A year later, returning to Kansas, Buescher said that all week he had been replaying the episode in his head and thinking about what he could have done differently. At the same time, he acknowledged the main thing: in NASCAR, drivers fight for thousandths of a second every week. And that's the kind of fight they sign up for.
Therefore, NASCAR is not just several hours of driving in circles. Behind the outwardly identical left turns lies constant work with aerodynamics, car settings, temperature, trajectory, and airflow. And sometimes all this engineering and several hours of racing come down to a difference of 2.5 cm at the finish line.