Auto Racing: Expert Guides and Resources

If you want to follow Formula One racing, there are a few essential things you need to know, like when the races take place, who the drivers are, and what race numbers they carry with them throughout their career.It is also really useful to know what the warning flag colors mean when you see them waved at the side of the track, and how the current crop of racers compare to some of the most successful competitors of the past.

Pit stops are one of the most tense and exciting features of a Grand Prix or other formula one auto race. In fact, auto races are frequently won and lost because of the pit stops and pit crews. In just a few seconds a huge number of actions are carried out by a Formula One pit crew. Here they are broken down: A second-by-second look at the pit stop Pit-stop actions explained Pre-programming: Once the strategists have agreed on when the driver is to make a pit stop and the intended duration of the next stint, the driver's fuel rig is programmed to deliver the precise amount of fuel required.

Ever since its inaugural season in 1950, Formula One — also known as F1 — has captured the attention of fast car fans across the globe. And for good reason: the prestigious series of races, held internationally on both custom circuit courses and closed public roads, features the fastest open-wheel, single-seat race cars in the world.

If you're a newcomer to NASCAR, learning some basics — like the differences between the NASCAR series and what the flags signal during a race — will have you talking like a race pro in no time. And if you're heading to a NASCAR race, know what items to take (and not to take) so your day at the track is fun and safe.

At the start of the NASCAR race, keep your eye on the flagman (a NASCAR official), who is perched above the race track at the start/finish line in a crow's nest of sorts. He's waving different colored flags at the drivers as they zoom by in their race cars. These are the various flags used and what they signal: Green flag: The flagman waves this flag to start or restart a race.

You may not think of stock-car racing as a team sport — racing certainly seems like an individual sport, considering all the attention a driver gets. But while a driver is arguably the most important part of a race team, he isn't the only reason a team wins or loses. Dozens of people work on a race team and contribute to the performance of a car every weekend.

We all like to think that driving a racing car flat-out would be easy, but it isn't, even if you have heaps of talent. A modern-day Formula One driver has to work very hard if he's going to win a race. Sometimes drivers work 15 hours a day at the racetrack and then spend their nights thinking about how to do it even better.

In racing terms, "formula" implies a pure racing car, a single-seater with open wheels — a format largely unconnected with, and unrecognisable from, road cars. Formula One implies that this is the ultimate in formula racing. "Formula" One and the baby formulas that came later The reason why the sport is called "Formula" One is rooted in history.