Originally published at Meanwhile... on Feb. 5, 2008
NASCAR is the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the United States, overseeing over 1500 events at over 100 tracks in 39 states, Canada and Mexico, many at a small-town track near you. The Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series are the three national divisions of NASCAR.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR's major league is the Sprint Cup Series. Back in olden times (the 40's to the 70's), it was called the Grand National Division. In 1971, RJ Reynolds put down the money to sponsor the series which became known as the Winston Cup. When cigarette advertising was banned, RJ Reynolds was forced to relinquish the series sponsorship. Nextel stepped in and the series became the Nextel Cup. Nextel was a casualty in the Great Cellphone Wars, snatched up by Sprint. Starting this year, the old Grand National series will be known as the Sprint Cup.
It sounds kind of dinky. Sprint means the same thing in auto racing that it does in other types of racing: small, short, quick races. But they're paying the money; they can call it what they like.
Sprint Cup has the best drivers, the best teams, the most prize money. They race 36 times during the season, including ten races in the Chase for the Cup.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series
This is also a new series name, and will probably be harder to get used to. Nationwide Insurance replaces Busch Beer as the series sponsor this year. Anheuser-Busch has been the sponsor since the series began in 1982 and the name "Busch" has always been used to identify the series. The Nationwide Series has roots in NASCAR's old Sportsman division.
If Sprint Cup is the major leagues, the Nationwide Series is probably Triple A. Here you'll find some good, young drivers hoping to make it to the big show. A few of these drivers are almost children, barely old enough to legally drive on public roads. You'll also find quite a few Sprint Cup drivers doing double driving duty in both series for various reasons. These Buschwhackers usually dominate the Nationwide Series. They have more experience, better teams, more money to spend. Sprint Cup regular Carl Edwards is the defending Nationwide Series champion.
The Nationwide Series races are often held at the same track as the Sprint Cup races on the same weekend, but the races are usually shorter. The Nationwide cars usually have a shorter wheelbase and less horsepower than Sprint Cup cars. They race 35 times during the 2008 season.
The Craftsman Truck Series
The Craftsman Truck Series, as the name indicates, is a series that features pickup trucks. The series began in 1995. This series will undergo a name change next year; Craftsman has announced that this will be their final year sponsoring the series.
The Truck Series is almost a senior league. Here you'll find a lot of former Sprint Cup drivers. You'll also newcomers looking to get into the Cup races and the occasional Cup regular. They race 25 times this season, and the races are even shorter than the Nationwide races.
In a typical weekend, the Craftsman Truck Series race takes place on Friday night, the Nationwide Series race on Saturday afternoon, and the Sprint Cup race on Sunday afternoon. Occasionally the races are all at the same track. Often they are not, making it difficult for drivers that want to compete in more than one series.
Update: As indicated above, the Craftsman Truck Series picked up a new sponsor in 2009. It is now the Camping World Truck Series.
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