NASCAR Nation (3 page)

However, to say that NASCAR is just entertainment is to ignore what that risk means. That risk is more
than just fun. It speaks to something greater. Fans admire drivers and their lives. They want to witness the bright cars speeding down the straightaways. Fans want drivers to win the race for them and feel like winners in the process.

It's similar to Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and all the superheroes in colorful costumes who face life-threatening danger and succeed. Drivers, dressed in full uniform, with their suits on and their helmets over their faces, become superheroes to a lot of fans. They even
look
like superheroes. We don't want our superheroes to lose, but we do want them to fight villains. Can you imagine telling the Caped Crusader not to drive the Batmobile too fast? NASCAR is more than simply a taste for danger. It's a desire to conquer a challenge. If the risk wasn't there, then there would be no challenge, and no NASCAR.

What's great about NASCAR drivers is that they are average people in many respects who are somehow superheroes. They range in age from twenty-five to fifty and older. Some of the guys aren't very tall, nor do they have athletic builds – but they're still great drivers. Mark Martin is in his fifties and at the top of his game. These drivers are human and relatable, so their feats on the race track make us feel like we, too, can succeed when we face challenges, even if the outcome is unsure. NASCAR drivers are real-life
superheroes. Children idolize them, women admire them, and men are inspired by them.

Many of these superheroes start out on a dirt path made in the backyards behind their family homes. They begin refining their skill early, and through dedication, perseverance, and natural talent, they ultimately begin a rise to fame and success. The very story of the NASCAR driver is that of risk. When beginning the career path of becoming a driver, who can say where it will end and if it will take you to the desired destination? The risk, like the challenges on the track, must be faced in order for NASCAR to continue. Meeting these challenges calls for a very particular type of athlete and person. Think of Edwards jumping out of a wrecked car and then heading home for a relaxing evening of stunt airplane flying. Now that's a real athlete.

I did not believe that NASCAR drivers were athletic when I started covering the sport, but this type of a personality and spirit must be coupled with an agile mind and body. When a competition forces people to refine the human body and mind to its sharpest elements, those people are athletes, and that is a sport. It's true that driving well is more of a skill than a physical undertaking. Nonetheless, if you are more of an athlete, you are going to be a more successful driver.

The drivers face many physical difficulties while driving. The more their bodies can endure, the better
they will be able to race. One hindrance is the physical heat and fatigue it causes. Anyone who has driven for a long duration can understand how the activity can be wearing. Imagine driving long distances at top speeds, racing other drivers, covered in gear and a helmet, sweating, making sharp hairpin turns, and trying to focus – all at once.

With the mental and physical risks drivers are asked to take comes a major test of endurance, and that simple fact is not always appreciated enough by the sporting world. This is a highly competitive sport. Even if these athletes are not athletes in the same sense that baseball, football, and soccer players may be considered athletes, they are pushing their bodies. It is a different type of athleticism. It may be more easily compared to marathon running than to other sports. In marathon running, runners must pace themselves so that they can endure long distances. Driving in NASCAR is a test of endurance, but no one is jogging here – it's all happening at lightning-fast speeds. Driving skill, athleticism, critical thinking, split-second reaction times, quick thinking, and sheer fearlessness are required of the most successful drivers. You don't see the drivers running out on the track, but drivers are always being pushed to endure in much the same way as other athletes, and to take risks that aren't required in many other sports.

Many people mistakenly assume that NASCAR is all about the cars. Sure, hundreds of thousands are spent on perfecting vehicles, including hours of testing and fine-tuning, examining every aspect of the vehicle's performance using complicated telemetry data to achieve the ideal tire suspension and steering, and countless other head-spinning procedures that these cars go through to become superior machines built for competition. Despite all this, the sport isn't about cars. Well, maybe it is about cars – but someone has to drive. The best driver, even with a bad car, will make the most out of what he has, whereas the worst driver with the best car won't get very far.

In the United States, we like to think of our country as the land of opportunity. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll quickly realize that not everyone has the same opportunities. Some are dealt bad hands from the very beginning, born into poor, dysfunctional families, sent to bad schools where they can only be expected to hang out with the wrong kids from a very early age. Think of immigrant families looking for a better life or a struggling small-time farmer, working long hours and still not making enough. Still, these are the people who make up America and the great stories of our country. That's why America loves the underdog, because the greatest Americans have been those who have faced a challenge, been dealt a bad hand, taken a risk, and succeeded against all odds.
That's what makes NASCAR great: the challenge, the risk, and that final cross of the finish line.

But how do drivers get across that finish line? Part of the answer is a combination of endurance and careful strategizing. Drivers have to be flexible and fit to sit in a car for four to five hours. Because it demands so much of their mental and physical capacities, it's very difficult for drivers not to get physically worn down after hours and hours of high-speed racing.

As far as strategy is concerned, drivers must pace themselves and drive according to the track they're on. If drivers are at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, for example, they have to drive carefully. Driving there makes for tight racing, which means lots of wrecks. The way drivers maneuver around this track is different from how they would handle another track, as Talladega calls for a certain finesse and strategy, not just speed.

Jimmie Johnson is a good example of a driver who's won a variety of different races on a variety of different tracks: everything from short tracks to superspeedways to intermediate tracks to road courses. Getting across the finish line isn't just about how fast you can go; it's about strategizing and planning how to manage the specific risks particular to each track.

The Coca-Cola 600, which is on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, is the longest NASCAR race. At 600 miles long, not only does it test the drivers' skills, the
winner is often the one who endures with grace and patience, takes a daring risk at the end, and steals first place. It's important to know when to play it safe and when to take a chance.

The race is long and risk is always tempered by staying power. To return to the marathon analogy, let's look at the format of a race such as the Coca-Cola 600. Because it is the only 600-mile racing event, it requires that drivers pace themselves. They have to focus the entire time, knowing when to pass and when to draft. For the most part, that focus is channeled toward staying ahead of the pack while still saving energy for those last few laps leading up to the final one, when everything counts the most. But if drivers aren't on top of their game during the whole race, they can fall behind, and then at the end, be out of the race. The best drivers know how to pace themselves, but that isn't to say that most of the excitement happens at the end of the race. It is thrilling to watch over 40 stock cars zipping along, each trying to stay ahead of the other and taking calculated risks to keep them at the front of the pack.

The test of endurance applies just as easily to the cars, which are engineered to very high standards and must meet tough demands. Imagine what would become of the average automobile if it had to endure just a dozen laps at those speeds, without the proper pit crew, machinery, and engineering. NASCAR
vehicles must be carefully maintained, even during the race, which is why having a good car can make all the difference; fewer pit stops means more time saved. On the other hand, refueling, changing tires, and making running repairs can really help a car and the driver's time. If major repairs aren't needed, a pit crew can be done in less than fourteen seconds; however, it doesn't mean that the driver isn't sacrificing valuable time. If drivers can save even just a few seconds, it can change the entire outcome of a 600-mile race.

Good drivers know their cars. They have to be able to identify problems and make decisions about whether to continue with the race or head to a pit stop. This means that drivers can't just drive fast and burn rubber; they have to be on the ball, as both drivers and mechanics. They have to judge, solely by the feel and sound of the car, with a crew chief talking in their ears, whether that tire really does need changing. Other issues are sometimes only picked up on through intuition. The driver's inner sense and ability to detect mechanical flaws can be a deciding factor in the race. Races have been lost due to flat tires and car malfunctions; leaders have become followers due to a blown-out tire. Drivers and pit crews who are able to carefully time their pit stops according to their car's needs and the demands of the race are the most successful on the track. Drivers need
to know when to trust their machines and intuition – when to take risks and when to play it safe.

Pit crews play a major role in all of this. They do what your mechanic probably takes days to do in a matter of seconds – then again, it's a team of trained professionals concentrating on one vehicle. The driver has to drop speed very quickly, like coming off the highway straight into a driveway. And it might as well be a driveway – the driver is given an incredibly small amount of space to pull into.

Pit activity is closely monitored and regulated according to NASCAR rules. A breach of these rules can lead to damaging penalties for the teams. For example, if a driver goes over the maximum pit-road speed, the team can get assessed with a pass-through penalty where the driver will have to visit the pit road on the next lap and drive at the speed limit as precious time slips through their tense fingers.

While all this is happening, there could be dozens of other teams doing the same thing at the same time. In order for pit stops to be successful, their choreography must be flawless. Crew members are handpicked, oftentimes former college athletes, like hockey players or retired pro wrestlers. They leap over walls and race to cars to change oil and tires at record speeds. Every second is priceless.

Pit crews encounter risks as well, facing countless occupational hazards during every race. After being
driven at full throttle, the car's tires are hot with friction when it pulls into the stall. The crew has to immediately spring into action. Besides the physical strain that their bodies go through, they have to be worried about possible injuries, which are unlikely because drivers aren't careless. Nevertheless, if they are, the team will be penalized for it. Carelessness can cost a driver the race. Risk in NASCAR isn't synonymous with carelessness. In fact, drivers can't be careless on the track as they weigh each risk against the possible reward in terms of passing, pit strategy, or any other phase of racing. Carelessness can get you, and others, injured. Taking the right risks is the way to victory.

If drivers want to win the race, they need to know when to take risks and why. They have to know when to make the pit stops, what to ask the crew chief, and how to follow up with critical decisions that can make or break a race. It's about consistency, intelligence, and knowing when to gamble. Making a pit stop takes valuable time; however, fresh tires can give drivers the extra speed that not only makes up time, but can get them ahead. If the stop isn't made, they may end up blowing out in the last few laps and sacrificing the race. Tony Stewart offered a classic example of intelligent risk near the end of the race at Kansas Speedway during the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup when he had two tires
changed instead of four, gambling that he'd somehow hold on. He did, and he beat out competitors who changed all four of their tires. It's a small distinction, but for Stewart, it made all the difference.

The best NASCAR teams and drivers are mentally and physically equipped to face unexpected obstacles and take necessary risks. With pit crews of trained mechanics and athletes, sharp-minded and confident drivers with strong critical-thinking skills, experienced crew chiefs, and specially engineered cars, NASCAR is an extraordinary display of coordinated talent under pressure. It all may seem like a lot of work to race at high speeds, but the purpose of racing is more than getting to the finish line. It's a test of talent and of what people are capable of under pressure. It's a show of skill and a story of perseverance, danger, and success. That's why NASCAR drivers are seen as heroes: because they are taking risks in order to push the limits of what we think we're capable.

It isn't only the guys out on the track who have to take risks – the people in charge have to be open to new risks and challenges as well. A few years ago, Toyota offered its sponsorship to NASCAR. Initially, there was great resistance to the automaker among some of the fans. I acknowledge the importance of supporting American businesses; however, NASCAR stood to succeed economically from the venture. The organization realized the potential and took Toyota
up on its offer. NASCAR realized that what happens on their race tracks is one of the most important factors for their business. Without solid competition, which is what Toyota was bringing to the table, there was a possibility of losing fan support. Fans build NASCAR, but fans want to see competition; without that, the fan base is lost. This change of mindset is vital for the sport to continue to grow and expand. By staying open to a certain element of risk, NASCAR realized that it could think big without giving up its roots – and secured a major sponsor and car manufacturer along the way.