The Car of Tomorrow is just a simple design where teams slap either a Ford, Dodge, Chevy, or Toyota sticker on the front of it. To me, this seems like a waste of stickers if you're going to run cars that all look the same and don't put brands on them.

Since most parts come from a handful of companies, not all parts are from their respective companies. This just makes the racing more even for everyone, which in a way is good. The only annoying thing is that they'll still use the saying "What wins on Sunday sells on Monday". In my mind you wouldn't need the stickers if the Chevy looked anything like an Impala.

I think that NASCAR should allow the automakers to design their cars to at least somewhat resemble the real car. It will add more pride to the automaker who wins and allows a larger difference between the cars.

I don't really see who loses from this approach. It's not as if people will stop watching the races from it. The automakers would get more exposure, which during these economic times, is really much needed anyway.

The displacements such as the power trains should also resemble the sponsoring auto maker. To do anything else paints an inaccurate picture about the brand and makes things seem more like stock cars.

If the racers drive a car where the engine is made by the auto maker sponsoring the car, not only will this create a few more jobs, but it'll assign that much more responsibility to the sponsoring auto maker for the driver's success.

On an unrelated note, I also took offense to last year's races, during a time where gas prices were at an all-time high, yet the cars burned through gallons and gallons like there was no tomorrow during races. Many fans I know felt this was done in poor taste, and favor a shift to ethanol.

This could help NASCAR get some good publicity by using no gas in their cars. I have heard about many people who dislike NASCAR saying that they hate how they use so much gas. By changing to ethanol they could maybe pick up some of these fans. If gas prices were to hit 4 dollars again i think they could lose some regular fans when they realize the MPG of the cars.

Ryan Chandler is an auto racing journalist with strong opinions about his beloved sport. He regularly contributes at his favorite NASCAR forum and plays NASCAR pickem on a weekly basis.

If you're a fan of NASCAR and you're tired of carrying plain, boring personal bank checks then you might want to think about spicing up your checkbook with your favorite sport. While you might have anxiety over the money you spend, you can at least have something great to look at while you're writing out the checks themselves!

Formally known as the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR is one of the most watched sports in the country. NASCAR has loyal fans that will actually travel hundreds of miles, and sometimes even thousands, just to see their favorite drivers win a race. The only other sport in the United States to get more viewers than NASCAR is professional football. At extremely popular races, just about 100,000 fans can show up in turnout.

NASCAR drivers have become legends in their own right as well. Dale Earnhardt is now a revered sports hero, especially since he met his untimely death on the racetrack. Likewise, Richard Petty and Kyle Petty, Carl Edwards, and Jeff Gordon are virtual household names.

NASCAR is traced to stock car racing which got its start during Prohibition when drivers would bootleg alcohol. The drivers would reform their cars to make them drive more quickly so that they could better escape the police when they were being trailed.

Drivers no longer have to race down winding country roads. Nowadays, their racing is done on track. Some of the most renowned NASCAR tracks are located in Daytona Beach, Bristol, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Talledega.

NASCAR has become so popular that it has taken on other forms of pop-culture as well. The highly successful Disney movie "Cars" is based on NASCAR. Another movie based on NASCAR is the hilarious comedy "Talladega Nights" starring Will Ferrell. In addition, country music comedian Cledus T. Judd recorded a spoof of Toby's Keith "I Love This Bar" and changed the words to "I Love NASCAR."

Several different check series available for you to consider. The trendy "NASCAR Collections" series contains four check images. You can experience a day at the races in Darlington, Daytona, Talladega, and Watkins Glen when you look at these checks. You can also purchase a coordinating checkbook cover and address labels with these checks, too.

If you were or are still an Earnhardt fan, then you can also purchase limited Dale Earnhardt Sr. checks. These feature a image of the famous driver in the middle of the checks themselves. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also has his own checks as well.

The NASCAR Racetracks check series show images of some of the sport's most famous racetracks including Daytona, Talladega, California Speedway and Michigan International.

Many of the checks also have coordinating accessories as well.

If you order your checks online from a trusted website you can save up to 50% off of what you might have paid at your local bank. In addition, you will have more checks to choose from as well. It can be frustrating to go to your bank, only to find out that their supply is limited and that it will take weeks for you to get your checks in the mail. By ordering online, however, you'll only have to wait around 5 days.

Before your purchase NASCAR checks, visit Nascar-Checks.com to find coupon codes and to save 50% off your next order of NASCAR personal checks.

Recent news that Dodge would no longer support the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is strongly suggesting that America's number three automaker is seriously reconsidering every single one of its marketing and publicity ventures. The NASCAR exit shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone in light of the automakers' big losses and huge need to raise capital.

But, Dodge's departure from NASCAR does shine the light on what could be additional changes to the motorsports industry: cash strapped Ford and GM might also be looking at ways to trim nonessential expenses, turning the Dodge void into a gaping hole, one that could threaten NASCAR's survival or at least its broad appeal.

Dodge's parent, Chrysler LLC, hasn't been a big player in the truck series of late, supporting only one team, Bobby Hamilton Racing. The automaker is well represented in both car series, winning several races this year while accumulating numerous top ten finishes. Still, even in auto racing Toyota, GM and Ford dominate, lavishing their teams and cars with cash in a bid to pull down more wins each year.

There is another matter which could create a gaping hole in the motorsports industry that no one is talking about yet. The Big 3 automakers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – are pursuing what amounts to be a $50 billion low-interest loan package from the federal government to help the automakers transition their product lines from trucks and SUVs to small cars.

That plan is working its way through Congress and is expected to gain widespread partisan support and end up on the president's desk for his signature. Though President Bush hasn't tipped his hand yet on whether he'll approve the legislation or not, the legislation could be delayed until the next president takes office in January 2009.

What isn't known is what Congress will demand in return for low cost loans. Some analysts are speculating that Congress will require that the monies fund specific programs, including hybrid vehicles and alternative powered engines and related technology. A handful of people are thinking that Congress may use the loan guaranty as a way to force the automakers to divest themselves of unrelated programs which, conceivably, could include NASCAR participation.

Regardless of the strings attached, additional changes are coming which will shape the future of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler LLC. A NASCAR truck series departure for Dodge may not sound like a big deal, but it underscores the financial difficulties found in America's auto industry and the political help needed to see the companies through these difficult times.

Clint Bowyer, the 26 year old savvy racer from Emporia, Kansas, started racing in motocross at the young age of five. He was a good on two wheels but soon discovered that he was even better on four wheels after his grandfather brought him to a dirt track in Humboldt, Kansas. His father, Chris Bowyer, wasnt very happy with his second sons decision at first because the family had already invested a lot of time and money into motorcycles and the young Clint Bowyer had shown a lot of potential. His older brother, Andy Bowyer, was racing motocross nationally. Eventually, Chris Bowyer supported his young son because of his enthusiasm.

His mother lays claim that they werent in it to make him a NASCAR star but rather they did it because they enjoyed it as a family. After awhile, the whole family turned to four wheels and Chris even set up a shop in his storage lot near his towing company in Emporia. Even until this day, his parents and their dog follow the Cup circuit in a motor home to show their support to Bowyer and it has paid off.

Because Bowyers father had many drivers for customers, he would hang around race shops to try and pick their brains. By the time he was 15, he was driving short-bed Chevy pickup that he had put together with the spare parts from his fathers storage lot. He was also working at a Goodyear shop in middle school to pick up the tools of the trade. From there, he was taught what made a person successful with their cars.

Bowyer is a fierce competitor and the markings of a winner was clear from the get go. He won and liked it. When he is on the race track, he is in it to win the trophy. Since racing at the age of five, Bowyer has gone on to achieve over 200 wins and countless championships throughout the years. He broke into the street stocks scene in 1996 at age 17 during the Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas. He counts that as one of his most memorable races because an angry competitor had chased a flagman into a bathroom for 45 minutes and threatened to crush the winner, only to then realize that the winner was 17 years old.

Dick Ross, who was tuning up Bowyers engine that night, realized that Bowyer was made out of special material when Bowyer managed to guide home a 50,000-pound fire truck, a 6-foot towing chain during a 10 mile stretch of two lane highway in central Kansas without getting a scratch on the vehicle.

4 years later, Bowyer went back to the Thunderhill Speedway and won the 2000 Modified championship and finished second in the Modified points at Lakeside Speedway. He continued to get 18 more wins, 32 top fives in 40 starts en route to the 2001 Modified Championships at Lakeside Speedway and Heartland Park. After that he was made the 2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Champion after another Modified Championship at Lakeside Speedway and a Late Model crown at 1-70 Speedway in Odessa. Bowyer has gone on to win a great many more championships when he began running for the NASCAR Busch Series in 2004.

His parents are still in awe at how much their son has achieved and they are still amazed when fans congratulate them. Although Bowyer now resides in North Carolina, he still enjoys going back home where people still remember him as Clint and not the NASCAR star. And like any Kansas native, he believes that the best barbecues cant beat Kansas Citys barbecue.

Nascar was always criticized for the lack of safety ordinances in its races. But since 2001 after a series of accidents killed many peak drivers, including the ill-fated last-lap wreck of Dale Earnhardt, Nascar had to disengage and modify its position on this. It has now begun to bring in safety devices and accessories.

The Seat

The Seat has evolved over the last few years. The seat in a racing car is designed to contract and distribute the impact over a greater part of the body in case of a wreck. The rib cage is one area where the force of a crash can get centered. Another area is the shoulder. This will contract the impact and it will not get centered on one particular area, which can often be fatal.

Harnesses

Now Nascar has updated its norms, and the HANS device is now mandatory. Earlier, the Hutchens device was all that was required. But since the accidents, the norms have converted.

The Seat Belt

A very fundamental accessory when it comes to the safety of the driver. In Nascar, the six-point seat belt is utilized. In this system, two straps come over the drivers shoulder and two come over the waistline. One strap even comes up between the legs of the driver.

The Restrictor Plate

This is a very important accessory that reduces power on the racing circuits. This is placed in between the carburetor and the intake manifold. It confines air flow and subsequently power as well. Since this add-on was made mandatory in high-speed racing circuits like Daytona, the speeds have reduced considerably.

Today, in order to see high speeds, the spectator has to go to certain race courses where the restrictor plate is not required. In such race courses, high speeds like 230mph have also been achieved. But the restrictor plate has become a mandatory part in most race circuits by Nascar.

Barriers

The new S.A.F.E.R (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers have been put in across most Nascar race courses. This will absorb a lot of zip from the car in case of a crash. This is much better than a concrete wall, which does not absorb any energy at all. There are some other types of softer walls and barriers as well. Cello-foam barriers are also very popular. The PEDS system, which involves the use of small cylinders inside bigger ones, is also a popular form of barrier.

Compression barriers were also used in earlier times. This involved the use of soft materials like tires over the walls and then covering it up with a soft surface. This guaranteed that the walls came back to their original shape as soon as the impact was over.

They say that racing is in your blood. For most of these drivers, it is all that they have ever done…tinkered with cars since their boyhood. That may justify the reason why it is extremely tough to walk away from the most competitive form of auto racing in the United States. Several NASCAR superstars of the 1980’s and 1990’s are having a difficult time walking away from the sport. When you look at some of the drivers that are returning in 2009, whether it is on a full-time basis or just part-time, it is rather surprising considering that NASCAR has supposedly evolved into a young man’s sport.

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Bill Elliott announced his retirement from full-time competition following the 2003 season. Nevertheless, he continued to compete on a part-time basis in 2004 with Evernham Motorsports. When Elliott walked away from the No. 9 ride in 2003, he was on top of his game, winning at Rockingham in the final month of the season. In 2005 and 2006, he continued his partial schedule, driving for Evernham Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports. The performance was not there, and ‘Million Dollar Bill’, or ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ was a mere field filler. In 2007, Elliott began driving for the Wood Brothers in select races, hoping to facilitate the team from a performance standpoint. With Elliott behind the wheel, the venerable No. 21 Ford improved, but it was nothing dramatic. Elliott returned to the Wood Brothers in 2008 for a partial schedule. In 2009, Elliott is expected to compete in at least twelve races

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It is good to see Elliott at the racetrack, and he will always be a legend, but you cannot help but question how his sticking around has affected his legacy. When you think of Bill Elliott, you want to think of his super speedway dominance in the mid-1980’s in the red Coors Ford Thunderbird, or him turning a lap that surpassed the 212 miles per hour mark at Talladega in the pre-restrictor plate era. You do not want to remember Elliott as the driver that used up his past champion’s provisionals, and was lapped by the leaders ever fifty laps. Terry Labonte is another name that comes to mind when thinking of drivers that seem to be having a difficult time hanging up their helmet. He relinquished his full-time ride with Hendrick Motorsports following the 2004 season, but remained with the organization to run a partial schedule in 2005 and 2006. Since stepping away from a full schedule, Labonte has driven for Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Hall of Fame Racing, and Petty Enterprises. Labonte will drive for the upstart Prism Motorsports in the 51st running of the Daytona 500. He recently admitted that he is interested in adding to his workload in 2009

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“I wouldn’t mind running eight, ten, or twelve races, something like that. It would depend on who it was. I’ve got to know them. I had a blast last year. It was actually fun,” said the two-time champion. Of course, you have the irresolute Mark Martin. Now fifty years old, Martin announced his ‘Salute To You (fans) Tour’ in 2004, as the 2005 season was supposed to be his final season. When Kurt Busch asked for his release from Roush Fenway Racing in August of 2005, Jack Roush needed another driver, and nobody available was more qualified than Martin. He agreed to return to the No. 6 Ford for one last season

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The problem with Martin was the fact that he was still ultra-competitive, qualifying for the Chase for the Championship in 2004, 2005, and 2006. He still wanted to race against the world’s greatest drivers. He signed with the now defunct Ginn Racing to compete in a limited schedule in 2007, and stayed with the team in 2008, even though Ginn Racing was absorbed by Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. In fact, Martin replaced the mega-popular Dale Earnhardt Jr in the No. 8 Chevrolet

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When Martin raced, he was competitive, nearly winning on several occasions. By the summer of 2008, he decided to return to full-time competition, but this time he will endeavor to win the elusive title with Hendrick Motorsports, in the car that, ironically, Terry Labonte used to drive. Martin’s success at the half-century point in his life is reminiscent to Bobby Allison, who was still contending for wins up until a career-ending injury at Pocono in 1988. Allison was fifty years old at the time of his devastating injury, and could have possibly raced until he was in his mid-fifties. Unfortunately, Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte are hanging on a little longer than they should, similar to Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty. Well, at least the two stock car luminaries are still having a blast

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Bill France Sr., on February 21, 1948, established National Association for Stock Car Racing. Initially, it was divided in three divisions: Modifieds, Roadsters and Strictly Stock. During these days, NASCAR racing is very much popular in America. It is gaining more and more fans everyday. Basically NASCAR is an organization that arranges different types of racing throughout the country.

National Association for Stock Car racing runs three top racing series: NEXTEL Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman truck Series. On June 19, 1949, the first car race held in the section 'Strictly Stock' and Jim Roper was winner of that race. Presently we all know this division as NEXTEL Cup Series. From the past, some famous NASCAR drivers are Dale Earnhardit, Darrell Waltrip, and Bobby Allison. All of them were known for their open wheel racing activities.

All the time NASCAR follows certain rules in the section of car construction. Super-speedway and the Short-track are the two most important kinds of NASCAR cars. As the name implies 'super-speedway cars' are for super speedways such as Alabama's Talladega while 'short-track cars' are for short track raceways like Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway. Super-speedway cars require more speed than short-track cars.

There is a point system to choose winner in NASCAR car racing. Drivers can also get bonus points if they're leading by one lap of the race. After 36 races, the driver with highest scoring points is the winner of the racing series. If there is a tie between two drivers then the winner is declared by counting most wins as the cup winner. In case two drivers get equal number of wins then there is system of declaring second-place wins, third-place wins and so on. This is done until the final winner is declared.

The visitors can also enjoy car race thrills by sitting in the cars at Daytona USA, which is a fun fair, situated at Daytona Beach, Florida. It is sponsored by National Association for Stock Car racing. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are very much famous drivers in NASCAR car racing at present.

So you found yourself a redneck partner and want to impess them? Well, A NASCAR date is like a commitment - it can be cheap and not well thought out, or it can be over-the top and a lifelong memory. You're going to need tickets, grub, beer and a good pick-up, (truck, that is) to get you there.

You will want to plan a pre-party, either the night before you leave for your trip, or with your friends that are going along, if you live near a track. The NASCAR party theme can be in the decorations and food, such as black and white checkered tablecloths, racetrack cake, (chocolate fudge brownies with checkerboard pattern cutout stencil to sprinkle powder sugar squares on top), diesel dogs, Petty pepperoni pizza pie, or blackened steak sandwiches and waffle fries. Get creative with it. You can take the grill and the black-checkered tablecloth and make it a tailgate party for just the two of you.

NASCAR tracks are scattered around the country, and the price of their tickets vary as much as their location. Kansas Speedway offers a one-of-a kind, Sprint Fan walk, for the pre-race experience at $15.00 a head. You can watch mechanics in the pit area, get autographs, (be sure to bring a camera, a permanent maker and plan to buy a Nascar t-shirt to have the drivers sign, for a lasting souvenir.) Many other tracks also sell pit passes.

Then there are the tickets, they can range from $15.00 for grandstand to over $200 for great seats-per person, so you need to check the location you are planning to attend. There are several NASCAR ticket websites, just use your search engines to find the ones that offer the cheapest. They also sell the pit passes and parking passes.

If the NASCAR track is not close enough for same day driving, then you are going to need a hotel room, aw-shucks! Yes, but before you get too excited, it could "cost ya' a pretty penny". Hotel rooms are normally marked way up for an event because they know they will sell out, so unless you plan to sleep in your car, plan ahead, make lots of calls and plan to shell out some dough. Some hotels offer race packages that include tickets, lodging, shuttle service to the track and maybe some other perks. These packages are usually multi-day, before and after the event and can cost several hundred per person, but are worth the convenience.

So in summary, a NASCAR date needs to be planned out with a little notice depending on how far from the track you are. If you have a number of friends going, you can contact the track for group ticket pricing and maybe rent an RV or camp to save money. The cheap date package is still going to set you back about $100 per person, (camp, hotdogs, beer, park and grandstand tickets). The over-the top will be several hundred per person. Be ready for some loud noise, not much talkin' going on, shuckin' out some dough, and a fun time!

The most excellent innovation with NASCAR online TV live is the NASCAR RaceView. It is not only a program that allows you to have control over your racing experience but it also lets you watch the race in a 3D multi angle perspective making you see most of the action of live racing from three virtual camera views. With this, you can now witness what it is like at the front end of your favorite driver's car from a different point of view and see all the other cars chasing fast from behind using the draft view. Aerial views also give you the chance to see all the cars in front of your driver's car.

Using this program to watch NASCAR online TV live, you can then choose what car you would like your eyes to be hooked into. Moreover, you will also receive tons of updated information about the race. Some of the important fine points include track pit statistics, crash updates and all of the driver's positions in the rankings, which are continually changing based on real time. To top it all, you can also eavesdrop or listen to how the different drivers of each team communicate with one another and how your favorite driver does his own talk as well. All of these are very exclusive features that make you informed at all times. Truly, with this program you will practically get all of the complete action using the convenience of your own personal computer. Raceview may be playing a major role in the evolution of NASCAR telecasts.

NASCAR online TV live seems to eliminate all drawbacks in ordinary racing telecasts. The most common of which is the camera attention that some drivers are receiving is way too much compared to what other drivers get. If your favorite driver is one of the top brass in the racing industry, then he will surely be highlighted in all of the racing broadcasts, no matter whom or what organization is covering the event. Yes, it is true.

Unless your driver can manage to race up to the top of the game then he will continue to plunge deeper into becoming a "nobody" in the racing scene. This is what usually happens to the dozens of the other lower ranked drivers eating the dirt behind the top five.

The solution to this problem is the RaceView tool or program. Now, there is a brand new definition to NASCAR online TV live. Its three dimensional type of viewing gives you some accuracy with what the actual race really looks like. However, is this program purely remarkable or what? RaceView does have its own list of pitfalls. Like the popular NASCAR 1990s video game, the video seen when you use the program does have the same look as the computer game. Some of the car's behavior may even seem very unlikely and the overall images of the cars seem to become a little hazy at times. The worst that could possibly happen is watching the race like the cars are moving backwards.

Yes, this is no exaggeration because there had been many reports from the program's customers regarding these visual flaws. Maybe it was even more annoying seeing your favorite race get transformed from its original picture quality into something comical. Lastly, the loading time of the program usually takes several minutes to start, thus for the impatient viewers, this is really going to be a pain on the back.

Nascar uses a points and rating system of rules to award its drivers. Now the prize money is not the only thing that matters. The points also count. Let's now take a gander at the history of the Nascar points system. From 1949, when Nascar began, to 1951, Nascar awarded points on the base of the position in the race. The 1st position got 10 points, the second got 9 points, and so on. These points were increased by the 0.05 race purse. Then, from here until 1967, the winners were awarded points on a linear scale.

From 1949 to 1971, Nascar tried six different point and rating systems before they reached the current rating system. In 1972, Nascar inaugurated a new points system. Then, three various systems were tried for three various years. The systems were strange in some of the cases. Some counted mileage; some counted the finishing position as well as the mileage. There were complaints coming in from fans. The points system was not favorable. There was a Nascar champion that had won just one race in his career. The bigger races had more points. Those who won the bigger races eventually scored more points than their counterparts who had won more races.

The Current System Comes Into Existence -

It was in 1975 that the current points system was developed. Two forms of this system were again tried from 1982 to 1998. In this system, the points were awarded according to the final position and the number of laps covered during the race. There are three scales again for the number of points that a person can receive according to his finishing position. In the current system, the winner receives 180 points, the 2nd place gets 170, and so on, with 10 points separating the winner from the next position. Then, after the 2nd position, the first scale starts. In this scale, 5 points separate one position from another. This scale lasts from the 2nd to the 6th position. Then, from the 7th to the 11th position, the second scale comes into effect. Four points separate one position from another, and in the last scale 3 points separate one position from another.

Other Points -

There are other points also that come into the picture. For every lap that is completed, a racer gets 5 points. There is also an additional 5 points awarded for the most number of laps based on lap leadership. Driver points are also counted. If a driver is replaced during the race, then the points earned by the replacement driver still count toward the original driver's tally.

Owner points are also given to the owner of a car. For every car that qualifies for the race, the owner points given are the same as driver points.