X-Nico

47 unusual facts about NASCAR


1990s in Japan

A NASCAR exhibition race was held in Motegi, Japan during the late 1990s in the hopes of getting people interested in stock car racing.

Abby Gaines

After hearing that Harlequin Books had signed a product licensing deal with NASCAR, Gaines, who edits 'The Dirt', an open wheel speedway magazine, sent a story proposal to the company.

Alabama State Route 34

Besides connecting the cities of Talladega and Pell City, one of the main functions of SR-34 is that serves as one of several routes that leads motorists to and from Talladega Superspeedway, the site of two NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

Alan M. Powell

His close association with NASCAR has allowed him to bring talented performers to the arena, such as Tyrese Gibson.

Allen Hunt

As Hunt has shared on the air, he enjoys hiking, reading, NASCAR, bluegrass music, and college sports.

Andrew M. Murstein

In November 2010, Medallion Financial Corp., as part of an investment group which includes Richard Petty and Douglas G. Bergeron, signed and closed sale on racing aseets of one of NASCAR's great names, Richard Petty Motorsports.

Bob Fish

Today, NASCAR uses fuel injection, which has made carburetors obsolete in the Sprint Cup Series.

Bray Cary

He is credited with a role in promoting the growth of NASCAR.

In 1998, he joined NASCAR as vice president of broadcasting and technology and helped consolidate all television rights to NASCAR races.

Carrie Weaver

In 2007, she was chosen to write two novels in the new series partnering Harlequin and NASCAR.

Chelsea Davis

When she is not doing gymnastics, her hobbies include video games, board games and NASCAR.

D. G. K. Goldberg

A lifelong NASCAR fanatic, much of her non-fiction dealt with the sport.

Danny Wiseman

He is a huge fan of IRL, NASCAR and NHRA auto racing, as well as heavy metal and alternative music.

Dany Bahar

During his time at Red Bull, Bahar lead the diversification of the brand into NASCAR and football with the acquisition of teams in Salzburg, New York and Ghana.

Derek Strong

During his tenure in the NBA, Derek was an avid NASCAR fan and remained committed to pursuing this childhood dream when his playing days ended.

Detroit Steel

He is a sort of Blackwater-meets-NASCAR corporate-sponsored armored enhanced guy available for hire to the highest bidder for whatever cause around the round.

Diamond-like carbon

DLC is also used in the engines of modern supersport motorcycles, Formula 1 racecars, NASCAR vehicles, and as a coating on hard-disk platters and hard-disk read heads to protect against head crashes.

Diana Binks

Mainly known for presenting regular late-night coverage of NASCAR and Indy Car racing on Five, and Motorsport UK for the ITV network, she has also worked for other broadcasters including Sky Sports.

Earl Ross

He was known for being one of only four non-American drivers to have won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (the others being Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Mario Andretti, who won the 1967 Daytona 500), and Marcos Ambrose who won the 2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen.

After competing in only 2 events in '75 and '76, Ross retired from NASCAR racing.

Elephant Rally

Since 1989 the meeting has taken place in the same area as the Stock Car club.

It's Raining Again

The song plays on Fox Networks NASCAR coverage in the USA whenever the rain interrupts activities.

Joseph Vollaro

Vollaro was responsible for getting the Gambino family involved in a NASCAR speedway that was planned for Staten Island; Andrews Trucking received a lucrative hauling contract at the site.

Leigh Diffey

He also did occasional lap-by-lap coverage of the NASCAR Busch North Series.

Lynne Kushnirenko

Also, Lynne graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 2005 and currently practises in a private clinic in her hometown of Scarborough, Ontario, although plans are for her to move to the Charlotte area with her husband, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A. J. Allmendinger.

Marcus Lemonis

As the CEO of Camping World, Lemonis’ teamed up with NASCAR for the first time in 2006, when the company sponsored driver John Andretti.

North Carolina Highway 150

This stretch of road has witnessed massive growth in the early 2000s (decade) with the construction of numerous big box stores as a result of the growing popularity of nearby Lake Norman and the local NASCAR racing culture.

Opera window

These windows were usually non-functional; however, in the case of the AMC Matador coupe NASCAR racers, the small windows that came with the Barcelona II trim package actually helped to clean up the aerodynamics when such windows were open to the wind under racing conditions.

Pablo Donoso

He believed that this series could be a step to finally get to a world-class category like NASCAR or the IndyCar Series.

Peter Golenbock

He also has written books on NASCAR, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox (his 1992 Fenway: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox was updated and re-released in 2005 as Red Sox Nation).

Richard Boswell

The son of former NASCAR Busch Series driver Dickie Boswell, Richard Boswell was selected to replace current Busch Series driver Shane Huffman in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup.

Rick Benjamin

Benjamin also did work for Mizlou Television Network for their NASCAR coverage, and for SportsChannel in 1990 when they aired Busch Grand National races, using the pseudonym Ron Williams.

Rick Horrow

Before selling a majority of HSV to Omnicom in 2000, Horrow served as a consultant to the NFL, NASCAR, PGA Tour, and Major League Soccer, among countless other professional sports franchises.

Rio Linda, California

This track is noted as the first track that four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon ever competed on.

Riverside Motorsports Park

In April 2007, the 1989 NASCAR Premier Series Champion, Rusty Wallace, joined the project to provide track design enhancement engineering to the eight world-class motorsports venues within the RMP facility.

Rocket Racing League

The RRL has been called "NASCAR with rockets", The Rocket Racer flew for a public audience at the 2008 EAA AirVenture Airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Sammy Bland

Bland worked with WCEC through the 1960s, and used that as the base for the Racing News broadcast and NASCAR Sprint Cup races which he broadcast live from the various tracks on the circuit.

Stuart H. Singer

He specializes in complex business litigation and represents clients such as NASCAR, Carnival Cruise Lines, Florida Power & Light, and Tyco International.

Tammy Leitner

Building a reputation as a tough-nosed journalist, Leitner has burst into a burning building, worked as a member of a NASCAR pit crew, gone one-on-one with trained attack dogs and volunteered to be shot by a Taser.

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack

"Smilin' Jack" was influential in the expansion of NASCAR racing.

The Last American Hero

The Last American Hero (also known as Hard Driver) is a 1973 sports drama film based on the true story of American NASCAR driver Junior Johnson.

Thomas Cacciopoli

The indictment stated that the defendants ran extortion rackets at the NASCAR track construction site in Staten Island and the Liberty View Harbor site in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Toby Lightman

Lightman performed the opening theme to Fox Sports' coverage of the NASCAR racing season with a song titled "NASCAR Love (Let's Go Racing)".

Turn Left

NASCAR, or the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, a motorsport where participants largely turn left.

Ty Dillon

Dillon finished second in the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, behind Matt Crafton; he was named the series' Most Popular Driver at the season-ending awards banquet.

ULTRA AP

The Ultra AP includes race car technology from NASCAR engineers like multipoint safety harnesses and shock-absorbing seats mounted on Skydex, which is used to cushion the outfield walls of baseball stadiums.

Vision Airlines

In 2011, Vision Airlines sponsored the 15 and 51 trucks (driven by Justin Johnson and Dusty Davis, respectively) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as Vision Aviation Racing.


1969 Alabama 200

The 1969 Alabama 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series racing event that took place on December 8, 1968 at Montgomery Speedway (Montgomery, Alabama).

1969 Richmond 500

Kenney would be black flagged in the race and end becoming the last-place finisher due to a NASCAR-implemented disqualification.

1971 Maryville 200

Abbreviation of the Cup Series schedule was the "order of the day" in the 1970s as the new sponsors wanted NASCAR to have a schedule that was structured closer to that of the National Football League.

1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Richard Petty finished a lap down in second; the 1-2 finish began one of the most celebrated periods in NASCAR history.

2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

The 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the 15th running of the event, was the twentieth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the fifteenth NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).

Austin Dillon

On July 11, 2010, Dillon scored his first career NASCAR victory in the Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series and won a Truck Series race in a truck wearing the No. 3 for the first time since Bryan Reffner won for Team Menard in 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bob Latford

Latford began his 55-year career in motorsports media and public relations by selling programs for the Daytona Beach races in 1946 for NASCAR founder Bill France, the father of Bill France, Jr. who was one of Latford's classmates at Seabreeze High School.

Bonnett

Neil Bonnett (1946–1994), NASCAR driver who ranks 35th in all time NASCAR Cup wins

Charlie Menard

While he was a member of Team Menard, the Menards racing team, Menard captured the 2004 NASCAR Late Model championship at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway with a season-high six feature wins, and also claimed the 2004 Dodge NASCAR Weekly Series Midwest Region championship.

Csaba Csere

He specialized in stories about technical issues and first-person experiences in competition machines ranging from NASCAR stock cars to Formula One cars.

Darrell Bryant

After Roper died from a severe neck injury sustained from a racing crash in his #50 Chevrolet Monte Carlo machine, Bryant has never worked in NASCAR ever again.

David Ray Boggs

Boggs made his debut in NASCAR competition in 1970, winning Rookie of the Year in the Grand American series.

Daytona 500

As an example, new affiliates WDJT in Milwaukee and WGNX in Atlanta — both cities that are home to NASCAR races — and WWJ in Detroit, close to Michigan International Speedway, were on the UHF band (channels 14–69), meaning that they had a significantly reduced broadcast area compared to former affiliates WITI, WAGA-TV, and WJBK, respectively.

Honey Nut Cheerios

Historically, Honey Nut Cheerios has participated in much the same promotional advertising as the original brand, while collaborating with the field of NASCAR and especially driver Bill Lester, in promoting healthy diets.

Hoosier Racing Tire

The company was founded in 1958, and has since provided tires for use in series sanctioned by IHRA, ARCA, CRA, NASCAR, IMCA, WISSOTA, SCCA, AIS, and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

I Wanna Date a Race Car Driver

The format was similar to ABC's The Bachelor, although contestants competed for dates with racing stars, like NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Jon Wood, and not for their hand in marriage.

Iggy Katona

In 1952, fellow Toledoan John Marcum created his Midwest Association for Race Cars as a Northern counterpart to the Southern stock car series of the day, Bill France's NASCAR.

James Blackburn

Bunkie Blackburn (James Ronald Blackburn, 1936–2006), NASCAR driver

Jorge Arteaga

Jorge begun racing in the USA in 2010, acting as an ambassador for NASCAR's D4D (Drive for Diversity Program) and working in Revolution Racing alongside with drivers such as Mackena Bell and Sergio Peña.

Keith Bryant

He charted for the first time in 2004 with the single "Riding' with the Legend", which Bryant co-wrote as a tribute to former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, who died in 2001.

Kieran Dynes

Kieran Dynes, born in Clonmore Dungannon, Northern Ireland, is a race car driver currently competing in the European Late model(NASCAR) series, he has also raced in the NASCAR nationwide series and the ARCA remax series in the United States.

Kroger 200

The Cheerios Betty Crocker 200, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held at Richmond International Raceway from 1995 through 2005, and which was titled the Kroger 200 in 2000, 2001 and 2004.

Lou Blaney

Dave Blaney is a World of Outlaws champion and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, while Dale Blaney is a sprint car driver.

Marcos Ambrose

NASCAR did not clear Ambrose to race the NCTS' first three races, as they were held on intermediate to high-speed ovals, and like fellow Wood Brothers/JTG Racing driver Bobby East, Ambrose was not cleared to start in the faster races.

Martin Truex

Martin Truex, Jr. (born 1980), American racing driver and NASCAR Busch Series Champion

Mudsummer Classic

The CarCash Mudsummer Classic Presented by CNBC Prime’s 'The Profit' is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

The game was the last to be released by the company before EA Sports bought the NASCAR license exclusively from 2004-09 (parent company Sierra's successor company, Activision Blizzard, reacquired NASCAR rights in 2011, with NASCAR The Game: 2011).

Parkway Properties

Some notable buildings in Parkway's portfolio include: Bank of America Center (Orlando), Frost Bank Tower, Hearst Tower (Charlotte), Liberty Place, Morgan Keegan Tower, NASCAR Plaza, One American Center, One Congress Plaza, Phoenix Tower, San Felipe Plaza, Schlumberger, U.S. Airways Building, Wells Fargo Center (Jacksonville) and 3344 Peachtree.

Randy LaJoie

LaJoie has not run a NASCAR-sanctioned race since 2006, focusing on team ownership for his son Corey, who finished second in the 2012 K&N Pro Series East championship to Kyle Larson despite five wins in the series.

Rockwell Automation Headquarters and Allen-Bradley Clock Tower

The tower made an appearance on the NASCAR Busch Series race car of Mike Bliss in 2004.

Silhouette racing car

Notable racing classes where silhouette cars have been used include NASCAR, Group 5 Special Production Cars, Group B rallying and DTM.

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma has been featured in many racing video games, beginning with Papyrus's NASCAR Racing for the PC, released in 1994 and has been a frequent addition to NASCAR based games and more recently road course variations have appeared.

Stanley Steemer

The company sponsors the NASCAR "30-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model" race held at Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Illinois.

Stratagraph

Due to Hagan's intense interest in automobile racing, Stratagraph has fielded several race teams of various types through the years, most notably in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now NEXTEL Cup Series), and in IMSA sports car events and endurance racing.

Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

Impressed by this display of performance, Indianapolis, Indiana's Dick Passwater, a USAC and NASCAR Grand National driver in the 1950s and 1960s, purchased the R3-powered car from Granatelli following the Bonneville runs.

Texas 500

In 2013, NASCAR became involved in controversy when the National Rifle Association (NRA) began to sponsor the race; although race sponsorships are negotiated with the track owner, not NASCAR itself, the sanctioning organization has final approval and did not object to the sponsorship.

Tony Siscone

Siscone also won the 1984 NASCAR Cardinal 500 at the Martinsville Speedway, only 2 years after receiving serious burns to both hands at the Martinsville track after being involved in a fiery crash with Ray Evernham.

Wild Bill

Bill Elliott (born 1955), 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion and twice Daytona 500 winner

WULM

During this time, its weekend programs along with NASCAR coverage included The Motown Show, Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast With The Beatles, Oldies Coast To Coast, Little Walter's Time Machine, Glenn Sauter's Hits of Yesteryear and Cool Bobby B's Doo Wop Stop.