As the second most popular sport in America, someone from outside the country might assume that most people understand Nascar. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few of us who happen upon a race while channel surfing and see little more than a lot of left turns and the occasional explosion. 

Quicken Loans is hoping to change that by releasing an infographic to tackle the motorsport ignorance that plagues so many Americans. Nascar is America’s televised sports holy grail second only to the NFL, and this famous yet complicated sport packs a lot of information into one race.

The tracks, the drivers, the rules and oh good God those ambiguous flags — with all that in motion it’s no wonder some people have trouble keeping up. With the NASCAR season well underway, you might have already found yourself wondering what it all means. If you fall under that category, scroll down and read through the visual explanation. It’s much easier than having your uncle Earl explain it after he’s got beer breath.

The NASCAR Pace Car for the Capital City 400 was previously revealed to be a new 2012 Ford Focus Electric, and now we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

The two new pace cars were unveiled at a public ceremony held today at the Virginia State Capitol. The cars will officially debut this weekend at the Capital City 400, and will perform all pace car duties during the event.

Ford is calling the race a historic event, since these are the first all-electric vehicles to pace a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

“The arrival of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric pace car is a strong example of how the innovation cycle around green transportation is accelerating,” said  Mark Lynch, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Green Innovation. “The Ford Focus Electric was held to the same highly demanding standard of any pace car, and more than met the performance requirements,” said Lynch.

Check out the gallery to see the new Pace Car in full NASCAR attire.

Really want to support your favorite NASCAR driver? Check out Wallhaulers, from The Real Art of Racing. They create unique, limited, one-of-a-kind racing doors of popular NASCAR drivers.

These aren’t beat up, used doors coming off of actual race cars, but rather high-quality replicas that are individually hand-made in the good ‘ol U.S. of A. Measuring in at 54 inches by 29 inches and weighing in at 7 lbs, this may be the perfect work of art to put up on your wall if you’re a NASCAR fan. Each door goes through the same process NASCAR teams use to apply the vinyl decals, ensuring a perfect fit and finish.

They’re affordable too at $250. And better yet, a portion of each sale goes to the driver’s favorite charity that you’re supporting.

Watch a video of Wallhaulers showing off the door-making process after the break.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Who ever thought the Baywatch star famous for her slow motion running on the beach scenes would ever be a race enthusiast, let alone own and run a race team.

Well you better beleive it, because Pamela Anderson has started her own race firm called Downforce1, and will have cars competing in the European Le Mans Series as well as the International GT open series.

Pam has been a long time NASCAR and F1 fan, and is taking her passion to the next level with Downforce1.  ”Fast Cars and Fast women go together and here we are surrounded by men I love it,” said Pam on the sidelines of a NASCAR race. The team will run an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 in the ELMS.

Markus Fux, the marketing chief and team coordinator is the only driver as of right now listed on the Downforce1 website, a stable which will no doubt have to be added to if the team hopes to compete in NASCAR by next year.

Pamela has also announced her intent to have a Nascar team assembled by 2013, of which she will surely be the mascot.

The Chevy Impala has become a staple in NASCAR for the past few years, having claimed the checkered flag an astonishing 79 times since 2007. Just this past week, Tony Stewart took the win at Las Vegas and was one of three Impalas in the top five when the race ended.

Impressive as that may be, Chevrolet is ready to turn the page in 2013, welcoming in the new rules from NASCAR that has already helped produce great-looking race cars including the new Ford Fusion and Dodge Charger. But unlike their fellow American automakers, Chevrolet isn’t quite yet ready to debut what they have in the works for next season.

The biggest news announced from Chevy is that their 2013 NASCAR race car will not be an Impala, rather Team Chevy will be racing a vehicle based on a new nameplate to the brand’s lineup. Exactly what that new model will be is anyone’s guess, but the rumor mill is already churning and pointing towards a return of the rear-drive Commodore sedan from Australia – last sold here as the Pontiac G8.

Chevy did promise that both cars will be unveiled sometime this year but for now we’ll just have to wait patiently.

“We are keeping the wraps on the new car for now and will continue to prepare for next season by testing camouflaged vehicles,” said Jim Campbell, vice president, Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We know that Chevrolet fans are eager to see the new racecar and we hope that the prospect of being able to own one just like it will make the wait a little more bearable.”

After catching sneak photos of the new 2013 NASCAR Dodge Charger a few weeks ago, the American automaker headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and unveiled the real deal.

SRT Motorsports unveiled the Charger set to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season and we’re pleased to see that Dodge fans won’t have a difficult time identifying the car on the track. After NASCAR changed the rules on where automakers could put the glass and solid body pieces on their race cars, Dodge’s designers and engineers were able to make their NASCAR race car closely resemble the street version.

“We know NASCAR fans are passionate about cars,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “We’re excited about the results of the collective efforts of NASCAR, Dodge and the other manufacturers to create the 2013 Sprint Cup cars. The 2013 Dodge Charger race car design is a great example of what we look forward to seeing on the race track next season. We thank Dodge and all the manufacturers for their efforts, as we see the results here today with the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Dodge Charger.”

SRT Brand and Motorsports President Ralph Gilles was also at the unveiling, expressing his excitement for the new Charger race car, hoping to build off their 2009 Dodge Challenger racing campaign. More importantly Gilles reminded the public that “the Dodge Charger street car is the only rear-wheel-drive model in Sprint Cup competition that is available with a V8 engine.”

Unfortunately we are going to have to wait an entire season before the 2013 Charger hits the track, but we expect it to be a formidable competitor when it does.

Dodge‘s performance department, SRT, announced its 2013 Dodge Charger will be revealed during next week’s Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A little more than a week ago, the first images of the new race car leaked from Penske Racing.

Thanks to a 2010 NASCAR summit held with all four participating automakers, the series decided racing cars should carry a brand identity and look more similar to their production versions. Because of this, the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Dodge Charger race car will look much closer in line and design language to the standard production Charger. According to SRT president and CEO Ralph Gilles, “The fans were like, ‘Hallelujah, finally the race cars look a lot like the cars I can buy and drive.’”

While the new 2013 Dodge Charger Sprint Cup car gets revealed next week, Penske Racing is currently the only team to field Dodge cars for the 2012 racing series and had just announced the end of its contract with Dodge after 2012 and a new partnership with Ford for 2013. Naturally, this threatens the chances of seeing the new Charger sprint car race next year

Despite the uncertainties, Penske Racing is actively participating in testing and development for the Charger. Penske Nationwide driver Sam Hornish Jr. was the first to test the new race car and said, “The car looks the best out of any of the new cars, that’s for sure. Nice sharp lines and you can see a lot of the street car in the race car. It brings the Charger’s identity back onto the racetrack.”

Look out for the new 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dodge Charger at the upcoming Kobalt Tols 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It will be unveiled at the Neon Garage before the race begins.

GALLERY: 2013 Dodge Charger Sprint Cup Car

Involved in racing since 1972, Roger Penske has fielded many cars of different makes in his NASCAR efforts.

First entering the sport with a red, white and blue AMC Matador for Mark Donohue in 1972, Roger Penske has since fielded Chevrolets, Mercuries, and Pontiacs. From 1995 through 2002, Penske raced with Ford. Finally, from 2003 on, Penske formed an alliance with Dodge.

For 2013, Penske made the announcement that it will return to Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. According to Penske and Ford Racing’s Jamie Allison, the deal already underwent several months of negotiation. Allison called the deal a “historic day” for Ford Racing.

For Roger Penske, this new arrangement with Ford gives the team a chance to “make sure [they] can beat any team in NASCAR in the future.” What’s more, this new alliance is also meant to allow Penske Racing to take on the Ford Roush Fenway Racing Team head-to-head rather than entering as the black sheep Dodge team. Currently, Penske’s two-car effort is the only Dodge team in the series. In a year, there will only be three manufacturers in NASCAR: Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota.

Roger Penske continued, “When we weighted the plus and minus of opportunities, it was apparent to us we need to win NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. We’ve been trying to do it alone. But having the opportunity to benchmark with someone like Roush, who has been world class as we saw with the performance last week with Kenseth (winner of 2012 Daytona 500) and how good their cars are, we felt it was time to evaluate other options.”

At the moment, Penske would not commit to running his own engine department and will receive their engines from Roush Yates Engines instead, something other Ford teams are also doing. Although Roger Penske has about 70 employees in his engine department, the team believes in taking advantage of the shared engine information with Roush during practice and testing sessions.

As for Chrysler Group motorsport division CEO Ralph Gilles, he wished Penske all the success and pledged company support for Penske’s efforts to win races and championships this season. Gilles spoke in behalf of Dodge, “Our motorsports involvement isn’t limited to NASCAR. We do value our NASCAR program and will be evaluating the opportunities available moving forward. As those opportunities materialize, we’ll reveal our 2013 plans, not only in NASCAR but in other forms of motorsports,” he said.

GALLERY: 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR

[Sourc: ESPN]

Despite the dramatic explosion, folks didn’t seem to care very much for this year’s Daytona 500.

After experiencing the first-ever rain postponed race at Daytona, the event itself took a while to get started after a multi-car wreck on the first lap and then another two hour delay when Juan Pablo Montoya collided with a jet turbine track dryer, erupting into flames. Eventually, Matt Kenseth crossed the finish line to win the race.

Despite the multiple unforeseen surprises, or because of them, the 2012 Daytona 500 pulled a TV rating of 8.0, the race’s second lowest TV rating since 1995. According to Fox Sports, more than 11 hours of live coverage was provided over the span of three days. An average of 13.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the race, significantly lower than last year’s 15.6 million viewers.

In 1995, The Daytona 500 drew 11.4 million viewers for a rating of 7.8. The lowest TV rating since 1995 goes to 2010, when Fox only drew 13.3 million viewers for a rating of 7.7. Finally, the title for the highest rating belongs to the 2006 event, when NBC drew 19.4 million viewers and earned itself a rating of 11.3.

[Source: Inside Line]

Yesterday, the Daytona 500 was cancelled for the first time in its 53-year-old history due to weather. Heavy rains have been falling in the Daytona, Florida area and even though NASCAR hoped to start the race today at 12:00PM EST, it has been postponed once again until 7:00PM EST.

Everything surrounding The Great American race has been exciting so far, especially all the buzz around Danica Patrick. But it will be Carl Edwards that will start on the pole when and if the race gets underway. The opening race also marks the debut of electronic fuel injection to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the debut of a 2012 Toyota Camry as the pace car.

Pro golfer Bubba Watson bought himself a “General Lee” Dodge Charger for $110,000 at an auction because he loved it, not because he wanted publicity

Nevertheless, that is exactly what Watson got after being scheduled to drive the ’69 Charger on a parade lap before the March 4 Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix until NASCAR pulled the plug.

Why? Well, NASCAR is worried about the Confederate flag on the roof that made the General Lee famous, believing it would have a negative impact as the sport tries to grow and appeal to different demographics.

“The image of the Confederate flag is not something that should play an official role in our sport as we continue to reach out to new fans and make NASCAR more inclusive,” NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said.

The decision was made jointly by officials with NASCAR, the racetrack and the track ownership group International Speedway Corp. Unfortunately the decision has already irked Ben Jones, former actor in The Dukes of Hazzard who is also a former Georgia congressman.

“At a time when tens of millions of Americans are honoring their Union and Confederate ancestors during this sesquicentennial of the Civil War, NASCAR has chosen to dishonor those Southerners who fought and died in that terrible conflict by caving to political correctness and the uninformed concerns of corporate sponsors. This action by NASCAR is a provocative and unnecessary over-reaction to a problem that doesn’t exist. It is a disgraceful and gratuitous insult to a lot of very decent people. It is prejudicial toward those good-hearted folks who, like Uncle Jesse Duke, are in fact ‘never meanin’ no harm’,” Jones said.

Watson for the most part has remained neutral, but still believes that NASCAR should understand that the Confederate flag on the roof of the General Lee wasn’t used in the show for what people see it as today. Either way, Watson will still be attending the race in Phoenix; he just won’t be behind the wheel of the General Lee.

[Source: USA Today]

The new NASCAR Dodge Charger isn’t set to even make an appearance until next year, but the team out at Penske Racing is already hard at work in preparing it for its racing debut.

Much like the 2013 NASCAR Ford Fusion that was revealed earlier this year, the 2013 Dodge Charger actually looks like a stock car, resembling its factory counterpart. While the cars themselves may increasingly share a great deal underneath, it’s nice to see that a new generation of NASCAR stock cars are inheriting their design from the actual production models.

The photos taken over at Penske Racing also reveal the new fuel injected engines that the Chargers will run in the 2013 race season.

GALLERY: 2013 NASCAR Dodge Charger

[Source: Randy Ayers' NASCAR Modeling via Jalopnik]