NASCAR Explained

 

Drafting

When two cars work together to move around
the track faster, it is called drafting. Drafting is beneficial for all
cars because when the air goes up on top of the first car it goes
strait on to the next, creating a vacuum, which is beneficial because
the air is no longer pushing down the back of the first car which makes
it difficult for the tires to spin. It is beneficial for the other cars
because the first car is blocking the turbulence in front. When you
think of drafting, think of the first car pulling the second car and
the second car pushing the first car.

Flags 

The Green Flag is waved at
the first lap of the race and only the first lap.

The Yellow Flag is waved,
when there is debris on the track or when an accident occurs, unorder to slow
the cars down.

The Blue Flag with a Yellow
Slash, commonly known as the "passing flag", is waved at a slower car
telling them they need to let the faster cars by.

The Black Flag is waved at a car
when they are to slow or it is breaking the rules telling them
they need to come down pit road to serve their penalty.

The Black Flag with a
White Cross on it is waved at a car that doesn’t obey the black flag
telling them NASCAR will not score them until they come to pit road.

When the Red Flag is waved it
signals a race delay. This happens in a couple situations, when there is
so much debris on the track that the crew needs all the cars to exit, when
a driver is seriously injured and needs assistance, or when it is raining.

The White Flag is waved when the first place
driver crosses the start-finish line on its last lap. 

The Checkered Flag is waved when
the first place car crosses the finish line, signaling that car has won the
race!

Lucky Dog Rule

This rule was added because NASCAR has banned racing back to the yellow
flag, for safety reasons. Racing back helps drivers get their laps
back. So, NASCAR had to think of a way for cars to get their laps back.
When a caution happens, the first car a lap down gets to pass the first
place car and receive their lap back. This gives fans something to
watch and keep track of in addition to what is going on in the front.

Points System

There are 36 races in one season. All drivers will race 26 races and
collect points. NASCAR will then take the top twelve drivers set their
points to zero. Nascar will then give each drive ten bonus points for
every race they won during those first 26 races. For the last ten
races all the drivers will race just like they did for the first 26,
but only the the selected drivers will get points and whoever has the
most points will be the NEXTEL Champion.

After a race the 1st place driver gets 180 points, the 2nd place
driver gets 170, then 3rd through 6th place finishers points decline by
five points, from 7th through 11th the point drop by 4 and 12th and
below points drop by 3. Here is a Chart Showing the points awarded in
one race.

1. 180 pts      2. 170 pts

3. 165 pts      4. 160 pts

5. 155 pts      6. 151 pts

7. 147 pts      8. 143 pts

9.  139 pts     10.  135pts

11.  131 pts    12. 128 pts

13. 125 pts     14. 122 pts

15. 119 pts     16. 116 pts

17. 113 pts     18. 110 pts

19. 106 pts     20. 103 pts

21. 100 pts     22. 97p pts

23. 94 pts       24. 91 pts

25. 88 pts       26. 85 pts

27. 82 pts       28. 79 pts

29. 76 pts       30. 73 pts

31. 70 pts       32.  67 pts

33. 64 pts       34. 61 pts

35. 58 pts       36. 55 pts

37. 52 pts       38. 49 pts

39. 46 pts       40. 43 pts

41. 40 pts       42. 37 pts

43. 34 pts