This weekend, international racers from many disciplines will participate in the classic car race with NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen. If you’re new to the NASCAR series because you’re looking to see products you like Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyator Mike Rockefeller, then you’re in luck. We’re breaking down the classic car series so even new fans can enjoy the action.
What is NASCAR?
Essentially, the National Association of Stock Auto Racing, is an American racing series that has its roots in illegal moonshine running and other racetrack competitions in the South. In it, “inventory” cars – initially, cars that you can buy right out of the box and slightly modified – compete for the ultimate championship.
Today, vintage cars are made for racing, although the shells of the cars are designed to mimic the cars you buy a lot; this year, Toyota Camry, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. The season includes 36 scoring races, plus two exhibit events.
Aren’t they just racing on ovals?
While NASCAR is primarily an oval-based series, the Cup Series has managed to expand its list of tracks over the years. Doing so is designed to help new fans interested in the sport, especially motorsport fans from other series. This year, there are six road courses on the schedule. In addition to Watkins Glen, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed at Circuit of the Americas, Sonoma Raceway, Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
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What’s New About the Car?
This year, NASCAR has a brand-new car. Called the Next-Gen car, it’s designed to be a little more cost-effective for teams to purchase and build, and it brings back a whole host of stock parts that teams no longer have to manufacture in-house. The car is also designed symmetrically; in the past, NASCAR machines used to be angled to take advantage of the G-forces they experienced on ovals. Now that NASCAR is looking to increase the number of road courses it races on in a year, the symmetry is important.
How Does the Race Work?
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen will run for 90 laps, or 220 miles. Unlike other series, though, a NASCAR race isn’t run straight through; instead, there are stages.
In essence, a stage breaks the whole race up into three smaller races. The first two stages are shorter than the final stage; at the end of the final stage, NASCAR declares its race winner based on who crosses the finish line first. At the end of the first two, NASCAR throws a green-white checkered flag, and the winner of that stage is awarded points that can be used toward the Playoffs.
What are the Playoffs?
You’re likely going to hear a lot about the NASCAR Playoffs this weekend, since Watkins Glen is the penultimate round of the regular season. It’s OK if that all sounds Greek to you.
Instead of the standard motorsport championship, NASCAR has the playoffs. During roughly the first three-quarters of the season, drivers compete for wins and points like normal, but in that last quarter, the series switches to an elimination-style format that whittles away a select group of drivers. Every few races, the group of championship-eligible drivers whittles away, leaving a showdown for the final race of the season.
The Playoffs are designed to resemble other sporting formats, and it also creates a little extra bit of artificial excitement.
If you’re tuning in as a casual viewer, you don’t need to know much more about the Playoffs than that — but if you want to go deep, we have a blog about it.
Road Ringer and Other Lingo
You may hear the phrase “road bell” mentioned on NASCAR broadcasts. It refers to the driver who regularly wins on the roads, usually a non-NASCAR driver who competes only on the roads.
Other terms that may be useful this weekend include:
- Crew: the name given to the team of workers who change tires and fill up gas
- Crew Chief: the driver’s chief engineer who gives strategy to the crew and the driver during a race
- Spotter: those with positions throughout the track who inform drivers of their position on the track, especially in relation to other racers
- Stickers: brand new tires that have not been used before
- cuffs: tires have been used before
- Overtime: if a crash at the end of the race causes a long delay, NASCAR will go into “overtime time” by adding some laps to the end of the race in the hope that it will finish under the green flag
- Short hole: also known as “undercut”, a short word for pitting well before you need tires or fuel in the hope of gaining a strategic advantage
How can I watch?
In the US, the NASCAR Cup Series event at Watkins Glen will air at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
