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NASCAR for Dummies (ISBN - 0470430680) PDF

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Mark Martin NASCAR driver and champion Learn to: • Identify the teams, drivers, and cars • Follow all the latest rules and regulations • Understand the top driver skills and racing strategies • Have the ultimate fan experience, at home or at the track NASCAR ® 3rd Edition Making Everything Easier!™ Open the book and find: • Top driver Mark Martin’s personal insights into the sport • The lowdown on each NASCAR track • Why drivers are true athletes • Explanations of NASCAR lingo • How to win a race (it’s more than just driving fast!) • What happens during a pit stop • How to fit in with a NASCAR crowd • Ten can’t-miss races of the year • NASCAR statistics, race car numbers, and milestones Mark Martin burst onto the NASCAR scene in 1981 after earning four American Speed Association championships, and has been winning races and setting records ever since. Considered by many to be the greatest active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver without a championship, Martin will vie for the 2009 title behind the wheel of the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet. $21.99 US / $25.99 CN / £14.99 UK ISBN 978-0-470-43068-2 Sports/Motor Sports Go to dummies.com® for more! Now updated! Your authoritative guide to NASCAR — on and off the track Want to have the supreme NASCAR experience? Whether you’re new to this exciting sport or a longtime fan, this insider’s guide covers everything you want to know in detail — from the anatomy of a stock car to the strategies used by top drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. • What’s new with NASCAR? — get the latest on the new racing rules, teams, drivers, car designs, and safety requirements • A crash course in stock-car racing — meet the teams and sponsors, understand the different NASCAR series, and find out how drivers get started in the racing business • Take a test drive — explore a stock car inside and out, learn the rules of the track, and work with the race team • Understand the driver’s world — get inside a driver’s head and see what happens before, during, and after a race • Keep track of NASCAR events — from the stands or the comfort of home, follow the sport and get the most out of each race NASCAR ® Martin 3rd Edition spine=.672” by Mark Martin with Beth Tuschak and Mike Forde NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver NASCAR FOR DUMmIES ‰ 3RD EDITION 01_430682-ffirs.indd i 01_430682-ffirs.indd i 1/8/09 9:18:47 PM 1/8/09 9:18:47 PM NASCAR For Dummies®, 3rd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/ or its affi liates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permis- sion. NASCAR® and the NASCAR Library Collection are registered trademarks of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH- OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZA- TION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2009920038 ISBN: 978-0-470-43068-2 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_430682-ffirs.indd ii 01_430682-ffirs.indd ii 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM About the Authors Mark Martin has been racing nearly all his life. Martin began his profes- sional racing career in the 1970s in the American Speed Association, where he was a four-time ASA champion. He successfully made the transition into the NASCAR scene in 1981 and has taken the sport by storm. Since 1988, he has won 35 races, fourth among active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. He is considered by many to be the greatest active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver without a championship. Martin’s runner-up fi nish in 2002 marked the fourth time he has fi nished second in the fi nal NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. Martin has fi nished in the top 10 in 16 of his last 18 full-time seasons. In 2007 and 2008, he ran a part-time schedule on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Martin rejoined the series full-time in 2009, driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Martin also has a record four International Race of Champions (IROC) titles to his credit and is the winningest driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with 48 wins. He also helped build a quarter-midget track in New Smyrna, Florida to help up-and- coming drivers. He lives in Florida with his wife, Arlene, and son, Matt. Beth Tuschak is a freelance writer associated with NASCAR and was invalu- able in updating the second edition of NASCAR For Dummies. She writes free- lance stories from her home in Concord, North Carolina. Mike Forde has been the Manager of Statistical Writing for NASCAR since 2007. Prior to joining NASCAR, Forde covered NASCAR for the New York Post. He lives in Lake Mary, Florida. 01_430682-ffirs.indd iii 01_430682-ffirs.indd iii 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 01_430682-ffirs.indd iv 01_430682-ffirs.indd iv 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM About NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), organized in 1947 by Bill France, Sr., is America’s premier motorsports and entertain- ment sanctioning body. NASCAR is guided by the third generation of the France family. Brian Z. France took the helm as Chairman of the Board and CEO in October 2003. Mr. France’s father, Bill France, Jr., led NASCAR during a period of astounding growth since January 1972. Bill Jr., as he was known, passed away in June of 2007. NASCAR’s best-known and most popular series is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Sprint/NEXTEL became the series’ primary sponsor in 2004. Other top national series include the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. These marquee divi- sions are well-known to the millions of fans who attend these events and to the millions more who watch them on television. NASCAR also sanctions seven other regional touring series. Since 2004, the NASCAR Sprint Cup season features the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. In this format, the top 12 drivers in points after the 26th race are assigned new point standings and compete for the championship in the last ten races of the season. NASCAR has become a recognized leader in the entertainment industry, with www.NASCAR.com, NASCAR Café restaurants, NASCAR Speed Parks, and NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway. 01_430682-ffirs.indd v 01_430682-ffirs.indd v 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registra- tion form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Joan Friedman (Previous Edition: Laura B. Peterson) Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Sandman Lefevere Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen Technical Editor: Ken Roberts Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar Art Coordinator: Alicia South NASCAR Publishing: Jennifer White, Director, Licensing & Business Development; Herb Branham, Director of Strategic Writing Communications; John C. Farrell, Account Executive, Licensing & Business Development; Heather Greene, Account Manager, Licensing & Business Development. Cover Photos: © LJ Weslowski, Light Capture Photography (front); Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images (back) Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Lynsey Stanford Layout and Graphics: Ana Carillo, Reuben W. Davis, Shawn Frazier, Joyce Haughey, Christin Swinford, Christine Williams Proofreaders: John Greenough, Toni Settle Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_430682-ffirs.indd vi 01_430682-ffirs.indd vi 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM 1/8/09 9:18:48 PM Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Part I: NASCAR 101 .................................................... 7 Chapter 1: NASCAR Racing: The Best Sport Around .....................................................9 Chapter 2: The Big Business of NASCAR .......................................................................23 Chapter 3: Distinguishing the Different NASCAR Series .............................................33 Chapter 4: The Ride of Your Life: How to Land a Job in NASCAR .............................47 Part II: What Makes It Stock-Car Racing? ................... 53 Chapter 5: Not Your Typical Family Sedan...................................................................55 Chapter 6: The Rules of the Road ..................................................................................75 Chapter 7: Working Together: The Race Team ............................................................89 Chapter 8: In the Driver’s Seat .....................................................................................103 Part III: What Happens on (and off) the Track ......... 117 Chapter 9: First, They Qualify ......................................................................................119 Chapter 10: Passing, Drafting, and Other Race Day Strategies ................................131 Chapter 11: Making Pit Stops .......................................................................................151 Chapter 12: Keeping Racing Safe .................................................................................161 Chapter 13: Winning It All: Making It to Victory Lane and the Championship ......169 Part IV: Keeping Up with NASCAR Events ................. 181 Chapter 14: Getting the Lowdown on Each NASCAR Track .....................................183 Chapter 15: Heading Out for a Weekend at the Track...............................................235 Chapter 16: Tracking NASCAR Events from the Comfort of Home .........................249 Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................... 259 Chapter 17: The Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time ............................................261 Chapter 18: Ten Can’t-Miss Races of the Year ...........................................................267 Chapter 19: NASCAR’s Closest Finishes ......................................................................271 02_430682-ftoc.indd vii 02_430682-ftoc.indd vii 1/8/09 8:57:50 PM 1/8/09 8:57:50 PM Part VI: Appendixes ................................................. 275 Appendix A: Glossary ....................................................................................................277 Appendix B: NASCAR Statistics ....................................................................................291 Appendix C: Race Car Numbers ...................................................................................297 Appendix D: NASCAR Milestones.................................................................................299 Index ...................................................................... 305 02_430682-ftoc.indd viii 02_430682-ftoc.indd viii 1/8/09 8:57:50 PM 1/8/09 8:57:50 PM

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