Introduction
Start Your Engines
NASCAR is a sport. NASCAR is entertainment. NASCAR is a cultural and economic phenomenon.
From a modest start centered mainly in the southern U.S. states, NASCAR stock car racing has exploded to the forefront of the sporting and cultural world in the past decade. It has surpassed older traditional sports in attendance, media attention and merchandise marketing. Also, through strong business acumen, NASCAR has become a financial giant.
NASCAR has come a long way from the races on the beaches in Florida and the dusty dirt tracks south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Through planning, insightful growth, and solid marketing and promotion, NASCAR has succeeded beyond all expectations.
NASCAR's popularity stems from its relatively simple racing machines that resemble the cars seen in everyday life that fans can relate to. And the stars of NASCAR, the drivers, are approachable athletes from humble beginnings who are quite willing to put back into the sport what they reap from it.
For 36 weekends a year, hundreds of thousands of fans, and millions more via television, witness the color, the noise and the excitement as dozens of sleek race cars and compelling drivers provide heart-stopping action in a competition like no other.
More than six million people attend NASCAR Sprint Cup races annually, with an estimated 275 million watching the races on national broadcasts across the globe. Billions of dollars are invested in sponsorship and promotion, and licensed NASCAR merchandise tops $2 billion per year. Each of the 36 Sprint Cup events averages 186,000 spectators. One Cup race draws more fans than the Super Bowl, a World Series Baseball game, and an NBA finals game combined.
Cup drivers are revered as folk heroes, and some have become idols on a national scale as part of the fabric of society. Driver rivalries are intense, as is the competition among auto manufacturers.
When compared to other major league sports, NASCAR races have unique presentations. Each race stands on its own as a major event with its own sense of urgency and importance, not unlike a playoff game in another sport. There is only one Cup race a week, so there's only one opportunity to view the race, and a concentrated effort is made to get the most from each weekly event.
NASCAR's stock car racing has grown to unprecedented levels not only as a major sport but as a part of our daily lives. The racing entity that Bill France envisioned in 1949 has grown over the past five decades, and to this day the tradition is upheld by the France family as it takes NASCAR to the next stage of sports entertainment.
NASCAR NOW! ushers in a new era in NASCAR racing.
After years of development, the Car of Tomorrow has become reality. The CoT functions like a salary cap in other major sports, leveling the playing field by allowing only a fixed amount of money to be spent for competition. In this new edition, you'll catch up on the story of the CoT's development and details of the thinking behind the new car style.
The four manufacturers all have new car models in competition, including Chevrolet's iconic Impala name, which, in CoT trim, won its first victory since 1963 in the first CoT race in March of 2007.
Another major development in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing has been the influx of former open-wheel race car drivers to the world of full-fendered stock car racing.
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, a former CART Champ Car champion, a former Formula One driver, and a former 24 Hours of Daytona winner, has successfully made the transition to stock cars. He placed 20th in the 2007 standings in his rookie year.
And open-wheel aces such as Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. are now all climbing into their stock cars.
NASCAR NOW! covers the entire scope of this engrossing sport, from its beginnings to its present action-packed season. Along with a history of the sport, you'll learn about some of the colorful personalities that helped make NASCAR what it is today. You'll follow the evolution of the NASCAR stock car, including the newest safety technology, and find out more about the tracks and how the drivers win points, as well as the marketing machine that has fueled the sport. You'll experience the drama of pit stops and meet the hottest and most influential drivers of the present NASCAR scene.
You'll also read about some of NASCAR's early ventures aside from stock car racing. And you'll get the latest about the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
So get buckled up and press that starter. It's time for the green flag.
