NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing grew from NASCAR’s early “strictly stock” series. You used to be able to drive your car to the race track and race it. These days the cars are purpose-built speed machines. NASCAR has many rules to keep the cars equal. Here are some of the basic things that define a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car.

A. NASCAR Race Car RulesNASCAR NEXTEL Cup race cars are based on American-built sedans. While Formula One, CART and the IRL race open wheeled speedsters NASCAR cars have fenders and vaguely resemble the cars that people have in their own driveways.

NEXTEL Cup race cars are required to have three “stock” parts from the manufacturer. The hood, the roof and the trunk lid are all standard parts. The rest of the vehicles are pure racing fabrications.

• Weight: 3,400 pounds
• Wheelbase: 110 inches
• Fuel Capacity: 17.5 gallons (most tracks)
• Fuel Type: 110 octane unleaded fuel
• Top Speed: 235 (Rusty Wallace ran 228 in a test at Talladega in 2004 and believes 235 was possible)

NASCAR Engines

A NASCAR NEXTEL Cup motor is the heart of the race car. They use somewhat older technology in that they have carburetors instead of modern fuel injection. This helps keep costs down since all of the components are mechanical instead of allowing complicated electronics.

The basic facts:

• 8 cylinders
• 358 cubic inches
• 750 horsepower (approximate)

Random Facts About NASCAR Race Cars

• The headlights on a NASCAR race car are just realistic decals
• NASCAR race cars have to meet a series of templates that NASCAR uses to limit the shape of the cars. This keeps all cars looking basically the same
• NASCAR tires have no tread, so they can not race in the rain
• Because NASCAR race cars are heavier they require a harder tire compound than any other racing series

Over five years in design, the NASCAR Car Of Tomorrow was designed from the ground up to be safer, more competitive and cheaper for the race teams. NASCAR has spent extensive time on the drawing board, computer simulations, in the wind tunnel and on the track to design the ideal NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car for the future.

The Car Of Tomorrow is wider and taller than the current NEXTEL Cup race car. The drivers roll cage has been moved back and the driver’s seat has moved in towards the center of the car. This provides a larger crumple zone around the driver and will help protect him in a side impact.

The exhaust system in the Car Of Tomorrow has been rerouted and designed to keep heat away from the driver. This will help reduce fatigue and prevent some of the blisters and heat exhaustion that we sometimes see today.

Car Of Tomorrow Competitive Features

Another big aspect of the Car Of Tomorrow are the competitive improvements in the design. The Car Of Tomorrow was designed to provide more passing and make the cars less sensitive to other cars.

NASCAR made a number of changes designed to make the cars less aerodynamic. The windshield is now standing up much straighter causing it to catch more wind, increasing drag and slowing the cars. Also the front bumper has been redesigned with a new front splitter to catch the air instead of cut through it.

The Car Of Tomorrow will be less aerodynamic and will depend less on the wind for its stability. This will help the cars drive better in traffic and will reduce the “aero push” which currently makes it very difficult for cars to pass on the track at speed.