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The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. History Bootleggers Run From 1928 to 1945 the backroads of North Carolina were home to the Bootlegger's run, a series of races showcasing bootleggers ability to out run police Grand National From 1950 through 1971, the top tier NASCAR series was called the Grand National, not to be confused with the later Busch Grand National Series (now simply the Busch Series), the second tier division of NASCAR. Winston Cup From 1972 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series. It was sponsored by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (RJR) as an advertising mechanism to bring attention to its Winston brand of cigarettes. In its later years, RJR's sponsorship became more controversial in the wake of U.S. legislation that sharply restricted avenues for tobacco advertising. NEXTEL Cup In 2003, RJR dropped its sponsorship of the top series, and NASCAR obtained a sponsorship from NEXTEL, a telecommunications company. The contract was not renewed for several reasons; one, because of the steady decline of revenue of RJR, and two, because cigarette and other forms of tobacco advertising were deemed illegal by the U.S. Congress in 2002. In 2003, the Cup series became known as the NEXTEL Cup. The merger between Sprint and NEXTEL will potentially result in the series being renamed Sprint Cup in 2007, although it is still being discussed and debated by all involved parties. (The name Sprint Cup might be confusing because there already is a class of racecars called sprint cars, which are quite different from stock cars.) Chase for the Championship Short track racing, the grassroots of NASCAR, began experimenting with ideas to help the entry-level racer. In 2001, the United Speed Alliance Racing organisation, sanctioning body of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, a short-track stock car touring series, devised a five-race playoff system where the top teams in their Hooters ProCup North and Hooters ProCup South divisions would participate in a five-race playoff, the Four Champions, named for the four Hooters Racing staff members (including 1992 NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki) and pilot killed in an April 1, 1993 plane crash in Blountville, Tennessee. The system organised the teams with starting points based on the team's performance in their division (division champions earn a bonus), and the teams would participate in a five-race playoff. The five races, added to the team's seeding points, would determine the winner. The 2001 version was four races, as one was cancelled because of the September 11th terrorist attacks; however, NASCAR watched as the ProCup's Four Champions became a success and drivers from the series began looking at NASCAR rides. When Nextel took over NASCAR's premier sponsorship for the 2004 season, they looked to USAR and the Hooters ProCup for two major changes in scoring. First, five additional points were added for a race win. Second, a new formula for declaring a series champion based on the ProCup system was devised. A cut was made after 26 races, with the high ten drivers and teams plus ties, and anyone within 400 points of the leader placed in the Chase for the Championship (or simply "The Chase"). The Chase participants have their points increased to a level mathematically unattainable by anyone outside this field (roughly 1800 points ahead of the first driver outside of the Chase), which usually is 5,050 points for the leader, with other positions dropping by five points per position, with a limit of 5,000 points after ties and the 400 point cut. Race layouts remain the same and points are scored the same way in the final 10 races. Whoever leads in points after the 36th race is declared the NEXTEL Cup champion. The highest finishing non-Chase driver is awarded a bonus (approximately one million dollars) and the final position on stage at the awards banquet, to encourage continued competition among all drivers. (There are awards at the Top 20 and 25 drivers and teams, and 35 teams at the end of the season.) This playoff system was implemented primarily to make the points race more competitive late in the season, and indirectly, to increase television ratings during the NFL season, which starts around the same time as the Chase begins. Furthermore, the Chase also forces teams to perform at their best during all three stages of the season -- the first half of the regular season, the second half of the regular season, and the Chase. Previously, the Cup champion may have been decided before the last race (or even several races before the end of the season) because it was mathematically impossible for any other driver to gain enough points to overtake the leader. From 2004-2006 the Chase was shown on NBC Sports and TNT. Beginning in 2007, ESPN on ABC has acquired the license to air the Chase, until 2014. (NOTE: Effective September 2006, Disney's sports properties will have the ESPN label, and all sports programming on ABC will be labeled as ESPN on ABC.) NEXTEL Cup Owners Championship The NEXTEL Cup Owner's Championship operates in the same manner as the Driver's Championship, but with one addition. In the event of more than 43 cars attempting to qualify for a race, owner's points are awarded to each car in the following manner: the fastest non-qualifier (in essence, 44th position) receives 31 points, three less than the 43rd position car. If there is more than one non-qualifying car, owners' points continue to be assigned in the manner described, decreasing by three for each position. There is a separate "chase for the championship" for the owners' points. A 2005 rule change in NASCAR's three national series affects how the owner's points are used. The top 35 (Nextel Cup), or top 30 (other series) full-time teams in owner points are awarded exemptions for the next race, guaranteeing them a position in the next race. These points can decide who is in and out the next race, and have become crucial since the exemption rule was changed to its current format. In some circumstances, a team's owners' points will differ from the corresponding driver's points. In 2005, after owner Jack Roush fired Kurt Busch during the next-to-last race weekend of the season, the Manufacturers Championship NASCAR does have a Manufacturer's Championship in their national series, although the Driver's Championship is considered more prestigious. In the past, manufacturer's championships were very prestigious because of the number of manufacturers involved, and the manufacturer's championship was a major marketing tool. In the Busch Series, the championship is known as the Bill France Performance Cup. Points are scored in a 1960-1990 Formula One system, with the winner's manufacturer scoring nine points, six for the next manufacturer, four for the manufacturer third among makes, three for the fourth, two for the fifth, and one point for the sixth positioned manufacturer. This means that if Chevrolets place first through tenth in a given race and a Ford is 11th and a Dodge 12th, Chevrolet earns 9 points, Ford 6 and Dodge 4. History
Modern Cars
Car of Tomorrow The "Car of Tomorrow" is now in the final stages of development. This car has focused mainly on safety, with the driver's seat being moved closer to the center of the car. The car's width has been increased by 4 inches, the front bumper has been re-designed to virtually eliminate bump-drafting, and the height of the car has increased to accommodate taller drivers. The most noticeable change to fans will be the addition of a rear wing. The spoiler currently used will be removed. This has generated some controversy, as teams that run cars in open wheel series (where cars have had wings on them for decades) will have a huge advantage. NASCAR is responding by closely regulating the wing, although some teams have requested that NASCAR issue the wing all together, like they issue restrictor plates. This car's first scheduled race is the 2007 Bristol NEXTEL Cup series race, aside from Bristol events, drivers will use the Car of Tomorrow in 2007 events at Phoenix International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway and New Hampshire International Speedway. It also will see action at Darlington Raceway, the fall event at Talladega Superspeedway and road-course events at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International. The Car of Tomorrow will be used at all races by 2009. Specifications Intro NASCAR races are not conducted on identical tracks. Oval tracks vary in length from 0.526 miles (847 m) (Martinsville Speedway) to 2.66 miles (4.28 km) (Talladega Superspeedway). While some tracks are ovals (Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway), many are tri-ovals (Kansas Speedway, Daytona International Speedway). Other configurations are quad-oval (Lowe's Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway), D-oval(California Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway), oval with unequal ends (Darlington Raceway), triangular (Pocono Raceway), and almost-rectangular (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). Courses also differ in degree of banking on the curves, with differences in degree of banking and course length contributing to different top speeds on various courses. New Hampshire International Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway are considered "flat" tracks as they have only 7 and 11 (respectively) degrees of banking in the turns. Two courses (Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International) are complex shaped road courses and the only two tracks where NASCAR has developed (but never used) rain tires for. Race speeds vary widely based on the track. The fastest track is Talladega Superspeedway where the record race average speed is 188 mph (303 km/h) with the record qualifying lap of 212.809 mph (342.483 km/h) set by Bill Elliott in 1987. The slowest tracks are Infineon Raceway, a road course, with a record race average speed of only 81 mph (130 km/h) and qualifying lap of 99 mph (159 km/h); and Martinsville Speedway, a very short, nearly flat "paper clip" shaped oval, with a record race average speed of 82 mph (132 km/h) and a qualifying lap of only 98 mph (156 km/h). The average speed is figured out based upon the winner's lap speeds throughout the entire races including laps spent under caution. Generally, tracks with a length of less than one mile (1.6 km) are referred to as "short tracks". Initially tracks of over one mile were referred to as "superspeedways", but many Nextel Cup venues now are 1.5 miles or 2 miles (2.4 or 3 km) in length. Tracks on today's standards are now considered superspeedways if they are over 2 miles (3 km) in length. Tracks between 1 and 2 miles in length are called "intermediate" tracks. List of Nextel Cup Series Tracks Manufacturer Representation: Grand National Era (1949-1971) General Motors Ford Chrysler GM Chrysler Ford American Motors GM Ford Chrysler Toyota NASCAR Nextel Cup trivia See also | |||||||||||
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