NASCAR Racing: NASCAR Drive, nascar series, race nascar

Question
Hi,

Firstly thanks a lot for your reply.

I noticed you said, "Race and win. That's all I can tell you" and also you said "Most drivers move up by consistently winning in their class and then having a ride offered to them by someone who has seen them winning."

When you say this, what class of racing do you mean? You mean race and win any thing or is there some class of racing that is similar or helps you to get noticed by NASCAR people? You see what i mean?

Thanks again





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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
How would a aspiring racing driver aim to get to race NASCAR one day. What sort of driving levels or classes of racing one must go through before having a shot at the NASCAR series and ultimately the NEXTEL CUP championship races? And what will be costs involved approx. Thanks.
-----Answer-----
Ahhh, the weekly "How do I become a NASCAR driver question?" Here's some of my previous answers:

"I'm sorry but there is no easy way into a drivers seat in any NASCAR series. I can only tell you to continue in a local series and win a lot. That way you have something to show to potential owners and sponsors.  Nobody just walks up and says I want to drive a race car. You have to work your way up from the bottom. It's like saying, "I want to be president of Microsoft, I've used a computer before." Race and win. That's all I can tell you."

"I'm sorry but I know of no apprenticeship type programs in NASCAR. Most drivers move up by consistently winning in their class and then having a ride offered to them by someone who has seen them winning.
All I can tell you is if he has his heart set on it he will have to keep winning and sell himself to sponsors so that he can continually upgrade. Sorry, I know this isn't the answer you want to hear but it's all experience and who you know."

In short, there is no definitive way to get into NASCAR, just drive and win and keep working towards the prize. Remember, there are 43 drivers that start every Nextel Cup race. Now figure how many drivers there are out there driving Sat. night dirt tracks who dream of doing the same thing....

And cost? Most of the winners are spending sponsorship money and driving cars owned by other people. Only costs the winners their time.

Good luck!

Answer
No, there is no certain class, type of car or racing series. Look at the drivers of today: Jeff Gordon drove go-karts, sprint cars and Busch cars, Dale Jarrett went straight thru Busch cars, Mark Martin and Rysty Wallace drove USAC stock cars, Tony Stewart drove sprint cars and Michael Waltrip started in the Daytona Dash series.

I wish there was an easy answer on this, as many times as I'm asked, but there just isn't. All you can do is win a lot and make a name for yourself, get some press, get some track championships and find some sponsors and car owners willing to give you a ride. Look at how the present drivers got to where they are and try yourself. There is no answer for this question on the internet, the only answer is how bad do you want it and how hard will you work to get there.