Daytona Beach, Florida ... The city is historically known as having a beach where the hard packed sand allows motorized vehicles to drive on the beach in restricted areas. This hard packed sand made Daytona Beach a mecca for motorsports, with the old Daytona Beach Road Course having hosted races for over 50 years...
Stock Car Racing ... Today most American stock cars may superficially resemble standard American family sedans, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines built to a strict set of regulations governing the car design ensuring that the chassis, suspension, engine, etc... For example, NASCAR Sprint cup series (the highest racing series in the world) now requires fuel injection... In the UK and New Zealand there is a racing formula called stock cars but the cars are markedly different from any road car you might see...
Kart Racing ... Karts vary widely in speed and some (known as Superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 160 miles per hour (260 km/h), while go-karts intended for the general public in amusement parks may be limited to speeds of no more than 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). A KF1 kart, with a 125 cc 2-stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150 kilograms has a top speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h)...
Off-road Racing ... On August 14, 2010, a modified Ford Ranger pickup truck, racing in the MDR sanctioned "California 200", careered off the track into a group of spectators, killing eight, and raising questions about the future of offroad racing on public lands... Short course racing Short course off-road racing has races on a circuit of less than five miles (such as Crandon International Off-Road Raceway), which are sanctioned by CORR (or its predecessor SODA), and by World Series of Off Road Racing (WSORR)... Another format made popular by the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group was called stadium racing, where offroad racing vehicles were used in a temporary offroad racetrack was constructed inside a stadium...
Formula Racing ... Categories such as Formula Three and GP2 are described as feeder formulæ, which refers to their position below Formula One on the career ladder of single seater motor racing... There are two primary forms of racing formula: the open formula that allows a choice of chassis and/or engines; and the control or "spec" formula that relies on a single supplier for chassis and engines... The first racing formulæ Formula One In the process of reviving Grand Prix racing after the end of World War II, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Commission Sportive Internationale was responsible for defining the standardised regulations of Formula One in 1946...
Hillclimbing ... It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905...
Production Car Racing ... The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway, on June 19, 1949. Where a racing class requires that the cars raced be production vehicles only slightly adapted for racing, manufacturers typically produce a limited run of such vehicles for public sale so that they can legitimately race them in the class...
Arabian Horse ... The Arabian developed in a desert climate and was prized by the nomadic Bedouin people, often being brought inside the family tent for shelter and protection from theft. Selective breeding for traits including an ability to form a cooperative relationship with humans created a horse breed that is good-natured, quick to learn, and willing to please...
Sports Car Racing ... A kind of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style of racing is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race... Longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes—sports car racing is seen more as a team sport than a gladiatorial individual sport, and team managers like John Wyer, Tom Walkinshaw, driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo, Peter Sauber and Reinhold Joest have become almost as famous as many of their drivers... The prestige of Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Lotus, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and Aston Martin derives in part from success in sports car racing and the World Sportscar Championship...
Racing ... Forms of racing Further information: List of forms of racing Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races may be conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses or dogs... In a relay race members of a team take turns in racing parts of a circuit or performing a certain racing form...
Rallying ... From then on, racing in Europe (apart from Italy) would be on closed circuits, initially on long loops of public highway and then, in 1907, on the first purpose-built track, England's Brooklands...
Historic Motorsport ... Championships range from "grass root" Austin Seven racing to the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship for classic Formula One chassis...
Thoroughbred Racing In New Zealand ... During the 2008-09 racing season 19 New Zealand bred Thoroughbreds won 22 Group One races around the world...
Drag Racing ... Basics of drag racing Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction...
Racing Flags ... If the session is not under caution or delayed, it is said to be under green-flag conditions, though the flag is not actually displayed. A green flag at the entrance to the pits may indicate that the pits are open...
Track Racing ... Nature of the sport Track racing involves between 4 and 6 sometimes 8 competitors riding around an oval track in a counter-clockwise direction over a set amount of laps - usually 4 to 6 sometimes 8 - with points being awarded to all but the last finisher on a sliding scale...
Grasstrack ... Many famous Speedway riders such as 1976 world champion Peter Collins started their racing careers in Grasstrack... More spectacular racing takes place at larger roped tracks including the Poacher and ASTRA Champion of Champions and Grand Slam meetings in Kent and in particular the most exciting meeting of all at the famous Rhodes Minnis circuit...
Auto Race ... Since then the sport has very much gone its own way to develop into a form of motor sport exclusive to Japan, although in the 1990s, there was non-betting series featuring flat-track motorcycles on paved ovals in the United States, the Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Series...
American Quarter Horse ... The American Quarter Horse is well known both as a race horse and for its performance in rodeos, horse shows and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle...
Motorcycle Drag Racing ... The most well-known form of motorcycle drag racing is the Pro Stock Bike category, although several other categories exist, including 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) nitromethane engine...
Motocross ... In 1952, the FIM, motorcycling's international governing body, created an individual European Championship using a 500 cc engine displacement formula. In 1957, it was upgraded it to World Championship status...
V8 Supercars ... They are strictly governed in most aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing...
Motorcycle Racing ... Sidecar racing has many sub-categories including: – Sidecarcross (sidecar motocross) – Sidecar trials – F1/F2 road racing True road racing See also: Isle of Man TT See also: North West 200 True road racing is run on tracks built from closed public and/or park roads and sometimes extra pieces of purpose built track... In the past true road racing was very commonplace but today few races have survived and even fewer have been added... Only one truly international championship exists at present by the name of "International Road Racing Championship" (IRRC)...