INTRODUCTION WORLD OF RACING uto racing is the world's fastest sport Drivers propel their cars at incredible speeds on tracks all around the world How do fans land racing teams the drivers mechanics and others who make race cars go keep up with it all They study statistics stats What are auto racing's most important stats First it's helpful to know about different types of popular auto races NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing NASCAR began competing in 1949 It is second in sports to the National Football League NFL in the number of fans and television viewers in the United States Since 2001 36 Cup Series races are held each year Most NASCAR tracks are shaped like ovals but each track is unique A 2016 CUP SERIES RACE
O FUNNY CAR R DRAG RACING This is racing in which two cars line up side by side and roar down a straight track to the finish line The National Hot Rod Association NHRA holds the most popular drag races in the United States including the fastest professional classes of drag racing Top Fuel and Funny Car FORMULA ONE Formula One F1 is the world's most popular auto racing series A formula is a set of rules that car designers must follow These open wheel race cars are built to make sharp turns at high speeds A series of races called Grands Prix French for grand prizes are held on twisty courses that often include city streets About half the races are in Europe INDYCAR This series of races is the United States version of open wheel racing The name comes from one of INDYCAR the country's most famous races the Indianapolis 500 The race debuted in 1911 The IndyCar series features races on oval tracks as well as courses road
TAKING THE CHECKERED FLAG The great Richard Petty sped around NASCAR tracks from the 1960s to the 1990s He is the all time runaway leader in races won for NASCAR's top racing series But Petty had more chances to enter victory lane than racers who began their NASCAR careers later From 1956 to 1965 there were more than 50 races most years with a high of 62 races in 1964 Since 2001 the series has had exactly 36 races each year HISTORY HIGHLIGHT Richard Petty was called the King He comes from a family of race car drivers His father Lee won the first Daytona 500 NASCAR's most famous race In 1959 in Lakewood Georgia Richard Petty won his first race or so he thought His father complained about an error saying his son hadn't driven enough laps The laps were checked and Lee Petty was awarded the victory instead Richard Petty won his first race a year later and 200 in his career Most Career NASCAR Wins Richard Petty David Pearson Jeff Gordon Bobby Allison Darrell Waltrip Driver Cale Yarborough Jimmie Johnson Dale Earnhardt Rusty Wallace Lee Petty O 20 40 6080 100 120 140 160 180 200 Number of wins
