NASCAR Dictionary of Common Terms

NASCAR Dictionary

NASCAR racing has a language all its own. Word meanings and usages specific to the sport are used frequently through any explanation of racing action. The following NASCAR dictionary of terms are common terms and jargon that you will hear during the 2007 season:

AERO PUSH
While following another race car closely, the airflow from the lead vehicle does not travel across the following vehicle in a normal manner resulting a descrease in the downforce on the front of the trailing vehicle. This will cause the trailing car not to turn in the corners as well, resulting in an "aero push." This condition is more apparent on the exit of the turns.

AERODYNAMIC DRAG
A calculated number that is a result of several factors that indicates how well a race vehicle will travel through the air and with how much resistance. Technical crewmen work to achieve the best "drag horsepower" rating possible by determining how much horsepower it will take to move a vehicle through the air at a certain mph rate. At longer and faster speedways race teams strive to achieve the lowest drag number possible for higher straightaway speeds.

AIR DAM
An extension below the front bumber that hangs under the front grill, very close to the ground. It helps provide downforce and stability at the front of the race car.

AIR PRESSURE
Changes in air pressure in the tires is used as another setup tool that is similar to adjusting spring rates in the vehicle's suspension. An increase in air pressure raises the "spring rate" in the tire itself and changes the vehicle's handling characteristics. If the race vehicle is "tight" coming off a corner, a driver will request a slight air pressure increase in the right rear tire to "loosen it up."

APPEARANCE
A driver makes an appearance when he shows up to sign autographs at any staged event.

APRON
The portion of a race track that separates the infield from the racing surface.

ASSOCIATE SPONSOR
These are companies that sponsor a race team and pay less money than primary sponsors do. Associates sponsors receive less exposure with logos on race cars and uniforms than primary sponsors.

BACK MARKER
A race car running off the pace near the rear of the field.

BACK STRETCH
On oval tracks the section of straight track located on the opposite side of the start/finish line.

BALANCE
When a car doesn't tend to oversteer or understeer, but goes around the racetrack as if its on rails, it's said to be in balance.

BANKING
The sloping of a racetrack, particularly at a curve or a corner, from the apron to the outside wall. Degree of banking refers to the height of a racetrack's slope at the outside edge.

BATTLING FOR POSITION
Occurs when two race cars are fighting for the same spot (weather 1st place or 5th).

BEING ON THE LEAD LAP
Any race car that has completed the same number of laps as the race leader.

CAMBER
The angle at which a tire makes contact with the track surface. "Positive camber" defines the angle of the tire that is tilted away from the vehicle's centerline while "negative camber" defines the angle of the tire that is tilted toward the centerline. A typical oval track setup would have positive camber in the left front and negative camber in the right front to help the vehicle make left-hand turns.

CAMSHAFT
A rotating shaft within the engine that opens and closes the intake and exhaust valves in the engine.

CAR CHIEF
The mechanic who works closest with the crew chief to devise setups for the race car.

CARBURETOR
Part of the engine where air and fuel are mixed on their way into the internal combustion engine.

CATCH CAN MAN

During a pit stop, the pit crew member who stands behind the car and holds a special container to collect gasoline that overflows from the gas tank after it has been filled.

CAUTION FLAG
Also known as the yellow flag waved by the flagman to indicate trouble on the racetrack. It signals the race drivers to slow down and follow the pace car.

CHASSIS
The combination of a race car's floorboard, interior and roll cage.

CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER
A device that measures the amount of power translated from the wheels to the racing surface.

CHASSIS ROLL
The up-and-down movement of a race car caused when traveling around corners at high speeds. The side of the car facing the turn becomes lighter while the extra weight goes toward the outside of the turn.

COMPRESSION RATIO
The volume of a cylinder compared to its’ compressed volume when the piston has been fully extended. The higher the ratio the more horsepower is being generated.

CONTACT PATCH
The part of the tire that's actually touching the road.

CONTINGENCY PROGRAMS
Bonus money given by companies whose products a driver uses or are displayed with decals on a race car.

C-POST
The post extending fro the race car roofline to the bottom of the rear window to the top of the deck lid.

CREW CHIEF
The leader of a race team who oversees employees and the building of the race cars. A crew chief decides what changes to make to the race car and what strategies to apply during a race.

DECK LID
The trunk lid of a race car that provides access to the fuel cell.

DISPLACEMENT
The size of a race car’s engine measured in cubic inches. Nextel cup race cars’ engines cannot exceed 358 cubic inches.

DIRTY AIR
The air used and discarded by the lead car.

DOWNFORCE
The air pressure traveling over the surfaces of a race car creates "downforce" or weight on that area. In order to increase corner speeds teams strive to create downforce that increases tire grip. The tradeoff for increased corner speeds derived from greater downforce is increased drag that slows straightaway speeds.

DRAFTING
The practice of two or more race cars, while racing, to run nose-to-tail, almost touching. The lead car, by displacing the air in front of it, creates a vacuum between its rear end and the nose of the following car, actually pulling the second car along with it.

DRAG
The resistance a car experiences when passing through air at high speeds.

ENGINE BLOCK
An iron casting from the manufacturer that contains the crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons.

FABRICATOR
The crew member who specializes in creating the sheet metal body of a stock car.

FIREWALL
A solid metal plate that separates the engine compartment from the driver's compartment of a race car.

FRONT CLIP
The front-most part of the race car, starting with the firewall.

FRONSTRETCH
The straight section of race track between the first and last turns.

FUEL CELL
A rubber holding tank for a race car's supply of gasoline.

GAS AND GO
A quick pit stop where a race car will get gasonline only, no tires.

GAS MAN
Pit crew member that fills the gas tank with a 90lb can of gas. He will usually use two 11 gallon cans during a pit stop.

GROOVE
Term for the best route around a racetrack; the most efficient or quickest way around the track for a particular driver. The "high groove" takes a car closer to the outside wall for most of a lap, while the "Low groove" takes a car closer to the apron than the outside wall. Road racers use the term "line." Drivers search for a fast groove, and that has been known to change depending on track and weather conditions.

HAPPY HOUR
Term for the last official practice session held before an event. Usually takes place the day before the race and after all qualifying and support races have been completed.

HANDLING
How a race car responds while racing, qualifying or practicing. How a car "Handles" is determined by its tires, suspension, aerodynamics and body style.

HAT DANCE
The ritual a winning team goes through in victory lane where dozens of sponsor caps are put on for photographers to snap photos to send to sponsors or to sell.

HEAD PROTECTORS
Protection built into the drivers’ seat to keep his head from moving during a crash.

HOSPITALITY
Gatherings before races that drivers hold with groups of employees from one of their sponsors.

INTERVAL
The time-distance between two cars. Referred to roughly in car lengths, or in seconds.

LAPPED TRAFFIC
Cars that have completed at least one full lap less than the race leader.

LOOSE
A condition created when the back end of the vehicle wants to overtake the front end when it is either entering or exiting a turn.

MARBLES
Small pieces of rubber that have been shaved off tires along with dirt and gravel blown to the outside of a corner by the wind created from passing vehicles comprise the "marbles" that are often blamed by drivers for causing them to lose control.

NEUTRAL
A term drivers use when referring to how their car is handling. When a car is neither loose nor tight.

PIT ROAD
The area where pit crews service the cars. Generally located along the front straightaway.

PIT STALL
The area along pit road that is designated for a particular team's use during pit stops. Each car stops in the team's stall before being serviced.

POLE POSITION
Term for the first position on the starting grid, awarded to the fastest qualifier.

PUSH
(Also referred to as "tight") "Push" occurs when the front tires of a vehicle will not turn crisply in a corner. When this condition occurs, the driver must get out of the throttle until the front tires grip the race track again.

QUARTER PANEL
The sheet metal located on both sides of a race car from the C-post to the rear bumper below the deck lid and above the wheel well.

REAR CLIP
The section of a race car that begins at the base of the rear windshield and extends to the rear bumper. It contains the car's fuel cell and rear suspension components.

RESTRICTOR PLATE
An aluminum plate that is placed between the base of the carburetor and the engine's intake manifold with four holes drilled in it. The plate is designed to reduce the flow of air and fuel into the engine's combustion chamber, thereby decreasing horsepower and speed.

ROOF FLAPS
Sections at the rear of a race car’s roof that are designed to activate, or flip up, if the air pressure flowing across them decreases. In the case of a vehicle turning backwards, the tendency for an uninterrupted flow of air is to create lift. The roof flaps are designed to disrupt that airflow in attempt to keep the vehicle on the ground.

ROUND
Term for a method of making chassis adjustments utilizing the race car's springs. A wrench is inserted in a jack bolt attached to the springs, and is used to tighten or loosen the amount of play in the spring. This can loosen or tighten the handling of a race car.

SETUP
Term for the tuning and adjustments made to a race car's suspension before and during a race.

SILLY SEASON The period that begins during the last part of the current season, where teams may announce driver, crew and/or sponsor changes.

SPOILER A strip of aluminum that stretches across the width of a race vehicle's rear decklid. It is designed to create downforce on the rear of the vehicle, thereby increasing traction.

STICK
A slang term used for tire traction.

STICKERS
A slang term for new tires derived from the manufacturer's stickers that come affixed to each new tire's contact surface.

STOP 'N' GO (BLACK FLAGGED)
A penalty assessed for speeding on pit road for which the race car must be stopped for one full second in the team's pit stall before returning to the track.

SUPERSPEEDWAY
Racetracks of one mile or more in distance, road courses included. Race drivers refer to three types of oval tracks. Short tracks are under one mile, intermediate tracks are at least a mile but under two miles and superspeedways are two miles or longer.

SWAY BAR
Also called an "anti-roll bar." Used to resist or counteract the rolling force of a race car body through the turns.

TEMPLATE
A device used to check the body shape and size to ensure compliance with the NASCAR rules. The template closely resembles the shape of the factory version of the car.

TIGHT
A race car is tight if the front wheels lose traction before the rear wheels do. A tight race car doesn't seem able to steer sharply enough through the turns. Instead, the front end continues through to the wall.

TOE
Viewing a race car from the front, the degree the tires are turned in or out. If you imagine your feet to be the two front tires of a race car, standing with your toes together would represent toe-in. Standing with your heels together would represent toe-out.

TRACK BAR
(Also known as a "Panhard bar.") This bar locates the vehicle's rear end housing from left-to-right under it. In calibrating the vehicle's "suspension geometry," raising or lowering the track bar changes the rear roll center and determines how well it will travel through the corners. During races, this adjustment is done through the rear window using an extended ratchet. Typically, lowering the track bar will "tighten" the vehicle and raising the track bar will "loosen" it.

TRI-OVAL
A racetrack that has a "hump" or "fifth turn" in addition to the standard four corners. Not to be confused with a triangle-shaped speedway, which only has three distinct corners.

TURBULANCE
Air that trails behind a race car that can disrupts the flow of air to the race cars behind it.

VALANCE

(Also known as as "front air dam.") This is the panel that extends below the vehicle's front bumper. Lowering the valance creates more front downforce.

VICTORY LANE
Also known as the "winner's circle." The spot on each racetrack's infield where the race winner parks the winning car and enjoys his victory celebration.

WEDGE
Refers to the relationship from corner-to-corner of the weight of the race vehicle. Increasing the weight on any corner of the vehicle affects the weight of the other three corners in direct proportion. Weight adjustments are made by turning "weight jacking screws" mounted on each corner with a ratchet. A typical adjustment for a "loose" car would be to increase the weight of the left rear corner of the vehicle, which decreases the weight of the left front and right rear corners and increases the weight of the right front. A typical adjustment for a "tight" vehicle would be to increase the weight of the right rear corner, which decreases the weight of the right front and left rear and increases the weight of the left front.

WEIGHT JACKING
The practice of shifting a car's weight to favor certain wheels of the race car.

WIND TUNNEL
A machine used by race teams to determine the aerodynamic efficiency of their vehicles, consisting of a platform on which the vehicle is fixed and a giant fan to create wind currents.

Return from NASCAR Dictionary to NASCAR Memorabilia