Okay, so I got curious the other day about NASCAR and just how fast those cars actually go. I mean, we see them on TV, but it’s hard to get a real sense of the speed. So, I decided to do a little digging and, well, I was pretty blown away!
My Little Investigation
First, I jumped onto Google, you know, the usual starting point. I typed in something like “NASCAR top speeds” and started browsing. I quickly found out that it’s not as simple as one single number. There are different tracks, different conditions, and all that stuff that affects the speed.
I learned that the speeds can change, that is really related to different types of tracks. Superspeedways, short tracks, road courses… they all have their own characteristics, and, therefore, their own speed ranges.
Figuring Out the Numbers
I spent a good hour just reading through articles and forum posts. It was kind of overwhelming, to be honest! But I started to get a clearer picture. I saw a lot of mentions of speeds “around 200 mph” on the bigger tracks, like Daytona and Talladega.
I dug into track records. I wanted to see the absolute fastest speeds ever recorded during races, not just averages.
The “Aha!” Moment
I finally found some solid info! I learned that restrictor plates, that use in some races, can decrease the speed.
There are records without restrictor plates, I figured out that, these speeds, can be up to 212 mph or more, but these are qualifing record, not actual racing record, I guess.
So, yeah, these guys are driving fast. Really fast. Faster than I ever imagined, actually. And honestly I kind admire that.
