Terms and interesting tidbits CL thought you should know if you’re thinking about going to a race.
Banking: This has absolutely nothing to do with Wachovia or Bank of America when you’re at the racetrack. The track banking refers to the steepness built into the track. The steeper the banking, the faster the cars are allowed to go essentially. Lowe’s Motor Speedway has 24-degree banking in its corners and 5-degree banking in its straightaways.
Bump Draft: Nope, it’s not the name of a specialty beer (although someone should really think about brewing one and calling it that), it’s the term used when one driver pulls up behind another and actually pushes the front car. The technique, used mostly during restrictor plate races, makes both cars faster but is dangerous and makes both cars difficult to control. Some drivers don’t like it.
COT: This isn’t just me trying to work in a plug for one of Charlotte’s most beloved local bands of yesteryear, Come On Thunderchild, it’s actually referring to the Car of Tomorrow — the newly designed car that’s supposed to be safer, make racing more competitive and cheaper for race teams to build. The COT is being used in 16 races this year and will be used for the entire 2008 season. FYI … we haven’t seen the COT in action at Lowe’s Motor Speedway yet and so far, most of the drivers don’t like it.
Loose: Despite what you may be thinking, this has nothing to do with fans of racing superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. or female race fans in general. This is a term a driver will use to describe the way his car is handling. When a car is loose the front tires are getting a better grip on the racetrack than the rear tires and this causes the back end to want to come around in the turns making the nose of the car point towards the inside of the corner.
NASCAR Hall of Fame: After a bidding war that saw Charlotte, Atlanta and Daytona Beach as the top three competing cities, the Queen City pulled away as the winner and future home to racing’s official Hall of Fame. In case you didn’t know, the Hall will be located directly across the street from the Charlotte Convention Center with the front entrance facing the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and Brevard St.
Pole Position (aka The Pole): Correct, it is a well-known fact that Dale Jr. has a stripper pole at his house, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with that. It’s actually a term used for the number one starting position, usually earned when a driver is fastest during qualifying.
Restrictor Plate: This is a flat device with holes drilled in it designed to limit the amount of air that enters the engine. This effectively slows the cars down by limiting the horsepower of the engine. These devices are used primarily at Daytona and Talladega.
Scanner: A scanner is a headset that allows you to pick up the radio broadcast of the race, plus hear the drivers, spotters and crew talk to each other during the race. Trust us, we’ve been there. You will feel like a total dork if you don’t buy or at least rent a headset.
Three Wide: Nope, it’s not a specially designed trailer endorsed by the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr., it’s a term used when three race cars are racing side-by-side-by-side, typically door-to-door-to-door. And it usually provokes most TV or radio announcers to holler, “That’s racin’!”
BTW … Don’t get too attached to the name NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, because next year it’ll be named the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
FYI … Jokes questioning Jeff Gordon’s sexuality are pretty much out these days, but jokes about Kurt Busch’s ears are in.
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2007.
