Auto Racing in the USA review and reasons of popularity Gentlemen, start your engines!

Auto Racing in the USA Auto racing is a motorsport involving racing cars. It is one of the world’s most popular sports. And it is very, very popular in the USA. But why is auto racing so popular in the USA? In this presentation I want to overview what American racing consist of and explain why is it popular.

Series Tracks Fans Let’s overview three sides of the American racing What race drivers drive Where race drivers drive Whom race drivers drive for

Open-wheel racingStock car racing Nowadays there are more than 50 racing series in the USA and I tell you about two main racing types. Series

Open-wheel car HistorySeries Open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car’s main body. Open-wheel racing in the USA has a very great history. The first open-wheel race was 100 years ago.

Stock car HistorySeries Stock car is a production-based automobile used in racing. Stock car racing in the USA has a great history. The first stock car race was 50 years ago.

History American Automobile Association was founded 1909 – first racing competitions 1916 – first championship 1955 – United States Automobile Club was founded 1979 – Championship Auto Racing Teams was founded Open-wheel racing 1996 – Indy Racing League was founded 2008 – ChampCar and IRL were merged CART was renamed to ChampCar – CART Indycar World Series – USAC National Championship – CART FedEx Championship – ChampCar World Series – IRL Series Since 2008 – Indycar Series

History 1948 – National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was founded 1949 – first NASCAR race 1949 – first NASCAR championship Stock car racing 1949 – Strictly Stock Series – Grand National Series – Winston Cup Series – NEXTEL Cup Series Since 2008 – Sprint Cup Series

Main series Open-wheel racing IndyCar Series Indy Lights

Main series Stock car racing Sprint Cup Series Nationwide Series Camping World Truck Series

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Opened – August 12, 1909 Capacity – 257,325 Length – mi (4.023 km) Turns – 4 Lap Record – ( km/h) Major Events: IndyCar Series – Indianapolis 500-Mile Race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Allstate 400 at The Brickyard FIM MotoGP – Red Bull Indianapolis GP There are 220 international-class racing track in the USA. Most of them are ovals and has capacity more than 100,000 people (except special “short-tracks”) Because of great capacity tickets are cheaper than to European racing events. I will present you the most famous one – Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is the largest stadium in the world. Tracks Click on the picture to enlarge

Some facts Auto racing is the 3 rd popular sport in the USA after football and baseball TV audience is more than 300 million people every year George W. Bush went to races during his pre-election campaign There are 2 world-class racing series and more than 50 other racing series. There are 220 international-class racing tracks and they have great capacity. Tickets to the races are cheaper than in Europe There are autographs sessions every race day There are several sport channels broadcasting racing events My opinion: Auto racing is very popular in the USA, because it is very well developed and available for fans. Everything in racing events is made for people and they like it. Fans So, why do fans love auto racing? Why is it so popular?

References IndyCar.comIndyCar.com – The Official Site of IndyCar NASCAR.COMNASCAR.COM – The Official Site of NASCAR Official Sprint Cup website Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor Speedway - Official website Auto racing governing bodies in the USA Thank you for attention, please visit following web-sites, if you want to learn more about auto racing in the USA