The Automobile Racing

Automobile Racing, sport in which drivers race specially designed automobiles over tracks or courses of differing lengths, designs, and constructions. It tests the skills of the drivers, the speed capabilities of the vehicles, and the endurance of both. Automobile racing, which originally consisted of occasional challenges among wealthy individuals in the United States and continental Europe, has evolved into an international year-round professional sport. It is one of the most popular spectator sports in the world, with races run before millions of fans at events with wide coverage on television. There are three basic types of race courses in automobile racing. The first type, the oval track, which can be dirt, asphalt, or concrete, can range in length from 0.16 to 2.5 mi (0.27 to 4 km). Some oval tracks, longer than 1 mi (1.6 km) and highly banked, are called super speedways. The second category of track, the road course, comes in two different forms: courses that are created by temporarily closing off city streets, and courses specially designed to duplicate the driving conditions of country roads but only used for racing. Road courses of both types are generally 1.5 to 4 mi (2.4 to 6.4 km) long in the United States, although in other countries some are longer. The third type of track, the straight-line course, is a simple strip of asphalt or concrete used for drag racing (see below). Straight-line courses are generally 0.25 mi (0.4 km) long, but they can be 0.125 mi (0.2 km) long as well. There are five basic components of an automobile racing team: (1) the owner, (2) the team manager, (3) the driver, (4) the support crew, and (5) the sponsors. The owner of the car is the head of the team, but usually employs a manager to run the team on a day-to-day basis. The driver is always an independent contractor. Drivers may compete in cars of several owners throughout their careers. The car owner also employs a support crew, which maintains the car before, during, and after races. The driver and support crew work together during races as the car needs repairs, tire changes, and fuel refills. When a driver stops during a race to allow the support crew to service the vehicle, it is called a pit stop. Formula One racer begins another Grand Prix street race. These specially designed race cars, featuring front and rear wings that press the cars to the pavement, can consistently reach speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph). The term Grand Prix (GP), which is commonly used in connection with F1 racing, sometimes causes confusion in discussions of automobile racing. Originally the phrase, meaning grand prize in French, was used in the names of many races.