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For Beginners
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Auto racing for beginners is written for those of you who have an interest in auto racing but may not know all the in's and out's of the sport. No matter what type of racing you are interested in, most all races are ran on some kind of a track. The type of track and automobiles used determines how the race will be ran. All races are designed to allow a driver an equal start, meaning that everything possible is done as far as rules and regulations go to allow a fair chance start for each driver. It is then up to the driver to take advantage of the start to improve his position. All drivers want to be in the first position, hence it is called racing. In order to get to the first position or out front, each driver depends on a team of mechanics, strategizers, planners, and a pit crew led by a Chew Chief to get them there and keep them there. It's like a football team, each player has a specific task they perform and if done correctly and in a timely manner, the whole team benefits.
The Object of the Game.
Basically, the one who makes all the laps or passes and gets to the finish line first, wins. No matter what kind of racing it is, the first one to pass the finish line first wins. Winning the race is the ultimate objective of every driver and team. In order to win, you have the be the fastest driver on the track. All drivers want to get to the first place position, doing everything possible to get there and then keep it until the end.
Winning the Championship
Along with winning the race, the more races a driver wins, the better his standings in the run for the Series Championships. Most forms of racing uses a point granting system to keep track of the driver who dominates races although they might now win all the races in a season. Points are given for things like qualifying times, finishing positions, laps led, and some series award points for the fastest pit stops and number of previous entries. Veterans are sometimes given points for having won past championships. The point systems used to determine the Champion of a series can get quite difficult to figure out and to keep track of. We don't want to go to deep into this at this point, just know that a point system is in use.
Money is the Motivator
Remember, each driver loves what he or she is doing, but there is a dominate motivation here. Big money drives everything in modern day racing. Corporate sponsorships, advertising, endorsements, and product promotion is the name of the game now. Note that owning an average race team cost about four million dollars a year for some of the professional series. Drivers are paid as much if not more than most any other sports stars. Just remember that all racing revolves around money and it makes it easier to understand why there are so many people in the game.
James H. Jones Jr., A2Z Auto Racing ©2004 As printed in The New York Times Sports Page July 17th 2003.
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