Fast Facts About NASCAR

DRIVERS, START your engines! The annual NASCAR Cup Series kicks off Feb. 15 with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. Considered NASCAR'S most prestigious event, the Daytona 500 is often called the Great American Race. First place will pocket an estimated $3 million.

- Eric Raskin

2 TO WIN the Cup Series, a driver must top the standings at the end of the 36-race season.

What determines those standings are points, which drivers earn for their position at each stage of each race. Drivers race more than 12,000 miles in total each season. (The numbers in race names indicate the miles, not That's like going from New York to Los Angeles and back—twice.

3 THE NATIONAL Association for Stock Car Auto Racing—NASCAR for short—was founded in 1947. But its roots trace back to Prohibition. Bootleggers of the 1920s and ’30s moved alcohol in cars modified for extra speed so nimble drivers could outrun the police. The winner of the first official NASCAR race, held in Daytona in February 1948, was former booze runner Robert “Red” Byron.

4 IF AUTO racing hardly seems like a sport to you, consider this: During a race, a driver’s heart rate turbos to 170 to 180 beats per minute, right in line with the average marathoner. NASCAR drivers also lose up to 7 pounds of sweat from start to finish, so they use pit stops to wolf down energy gels and bars.

5 PIT STOPS last an average of 13 to 16 seconds. In that blink of an eye, five people from the pit crew refuel the car and change some or all of the tires. The fastest tire changers make a swap in about four seconds.