NASCAR Whelen All-American - The Soul of NASCAR

NASCAR is arguably the most inclusive form of motor racing in the world. Whilst European drivers have to begin karting as a child in order to stand a chance of reaching the upper echelons of the sports and Indycar drivers need multi-million dollar sponsorship deals to move up from midget and sprint car racing, stock car drivers can begin as an adult, racing at their local track in a machine that once raced in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide Series.

NASCAR has been sanctioning weekly racing since 1982 through its Whelen All-American Series. It makes track, state and national champions out of local short track drivers and has been a stepping stone for drivers like Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Championship

More than 10,000 drivers compete each week in the series at close to 60 race tracks up and down the country. They accumulate points for a track championship and are entered into both a state and national championship. NASCAR points are earned in every race but only 18 scores count towards the championships, which are awarded during the series banquet at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Prizes

Each track champion is awarded a customized helmet by Whelen Engineering and the state champions are given a championship racing uniform to honor their achievement.

Divisions

There are various divisions that a track can sanction and no limit on the amount of divisions they can run. Tracks are free to decide on which to run but the most common divisions are Late Model, Super Late Model, Super Truck, Modified and Mini Stock. Only a track’s top division scores towards the state and national championship and each track is free to choose their top division.

1/4 mile tracks like Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina, favor the Modified division because these cars are the quickest and produce the best racing on the confines of the track. But some 1/4 mile tracks run other types of cars as their top division. New Stockton 99 Speedway in California and Rockford Speedway in Illinois both promote Late Model as their top championship.

Longer tracks like The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Maine, Houston Motorsports Park in Texas and South Boston Speedway in Virginia run Late Model cars as their top division.

Tracks

The tracks range from 1/4 mile to 5/8 mile in length with either paved or dirt surfaces. They don’t have to race each week but won’t attract many cars if they don’t hold regular races. They are free to sponsor each division and their only obligations to NASCAR are payment of a small sanction fee and prominent series branding at trackside and in victory lane.

The Soul of NASCAR

Most tracks are proud of the association with NASCAR. It helps to attract teams and drivers who want to be associated with the stock car’s biggest sanctioning body and race fans get to witness NASCAR in their home town.